Let’s talk about the two biggest publishing mistakes writers make. I see these over and over again. Are you making these mistakes? Publish Mistakes Writers Make: The 2 Biggest In my many years as a book author, agent, and editor, I’ve met thousands of writers, professional and aspiring, and it has struck me that we…
How can someone effectively combine writing and editing skills to make a good living? By establishing what I call a “hyphenated career”: becoming a writer-editor! Combine Writing and Editing Skills In my book The Business of Storytelling, I talk about how to create a writer-editor career, where you use what you learn as a writer…
One of the challenges writers often face is not knowing whether their work is on the right track. How do you know if your novel is any good? We often only vaguely understand what we mean by “Is my work any good?” And we often ask others for input – friends, family, beta readers, freelance…
My best book editing tip is just three words: Less is more. The deliverables for a developmental edit are (1) an edited manuscript and (2) a revision letter. It doesn’t get any more basic than that! Basics of Book Editing Deliver an edited manuscript and a revision letter. That’s it. Sometimes newer editors also add…
We often talk about telling stories, but how to tell a story is something of a misnomer for novelists. A novelist needs to show the story. Undoubtedly you’ve heard the old advice, “Show, don’t tell.” And you may have heard that yes, indeed, you can and should sometimes tell. For example, you don’t need to…
One of the common questions I’m asked by newer editors is “How much should I charge for editing?” Some editors undervalue their work in an attempt to stay competitive. This approach can lead to exhaustion and potentially compromise the quality of your work. How to Price Editing Services My hair stylist moved to Indiana from…
What are the essentials needed in a query letter? These query letter must-haves are the most important pieces a query letter needs. Tips for Query Letter Must-Haves In the course of my work (as an agent, as an acquisitions editor, now as a publishing consultant), I have found that writers often overlook a few important…
Where I share the basics of how to write a novel synopsis and what exactly it is—plus a novel synopsis example for show-and-tell. What Is a Novel Synopsis? A novel synopsis is a description of the characters and storyline of an author’s manuscript. A brief synopsis runs two or three single-spaced pages, while a longer…
The search term “Editing jobs near me” is apparently a popular one (or so my SEO guru tells me), and of course I completely understand why: people think of jobs as a thing they commute to as an employee and if they have to have one of those, they’d rather it be near them. But…
If you’re a self-publishing author, you know you’ll need to hire a freelance editor to make sure your manuscript is in tip-top shape. And if you’re seeking traditional publication, you may want to hire an editor before you submit to make sure your work has the best chance of success. So at some point in…