The Concierge (Blog)

Have you used the “here’s how I would write it” editorial query? In making editorial suggestions, editors sometimes drift into “here’s how I would write it” territory, which is something I discourage. Authors don’t care what you would have done. They want to learn what they can do that will make their manuscript better. What…

To help editors struggling with the overlap in different types of editing, we need to revisit line editing vs developmental editing. From my inbox: “I’m a little confused about how much line editing is expected during a developmental edit. Are we expected to smooth over all of the tics in the author’s writing that might…

How can information products boost your business’s bottom line? People like to pretend that you can write a book and make passive income from it.  You can’t.  If you write a book and stick it up on Amazon and never do anything to promote or market it, you’re not going to sell any copies. Okay,…

Stop Focusing on a Sales Funnel Marketers talk a lot about sales funnels, where you get a bunch of people to purchase a no-cost or low-cost item, then get them to buy a higher-priced product and so on up to your highest-priced product. Fewer people will buy your highest-priced product (thus the narrowing of the…

How can I get someone else to license my content?  I got this question a while back and I’ve been pondering what I want to say about it ever since. The idea is that if you’ve written a novel, say, you might be able to license it to a movie or television producer and earn…

A few weeks ago at the ophthalmologist’s office, I got the “Do you need a doctor’s excuse for work?” question again. I’m always shocked at this question. There are jobs where a GROWN ADULT has to provide a permission slip from Mommy? I mean the doctor? Are you kidding me? No, I don’t need a…

A burning question for editors – how fast can you edit? There is a limit to how fast you can edit. Editors often ask me how they can edit faster. Some even boast that they’ve found techniques that allow them to go 15% faster! Or 25% faster!  And . . . okay. I get it;…

Mastering Storytelling: Emotions in Writing Being able to convey emotions in writing is a storyteller’s dream. Kate Rusby is an English folk singer-songwriter whose songs sometimes make me laugh and sometimes make me cry. I typically write and edit in long form – novels, not short stories. So I’m always interested in how writers manage…

The goal of every editor should be that of providing a cohesive developmental edit for a manuscript. A lot of the skill in developmental editing is just keeping your mouth shut. Not every single thing you notice needs to be commented upon. It doesn’t make the author’s revision go more effectively when you’re nitpicking about…