This is a wonderful book. I love the examples given. The texts she chooses to exemplify structural elements span a wide range of genres. And she happens to have chosen loads I’ve read too so that made it extra engaging. I tried for a while to plot out my own ideas against the structure given.Continue reading “What’s the best book to read if you want to write a novel?”
Tag Archives: forauthors
What words and phrases do you find pleasing?
Some words and phrases are just pleasing. “Belt and braces.” This is the idiom my computer repair guy used last week when he came to fix my WiFi issues. I now have two ways of connecting and, if one’s slow, the other will kick in. “Cut and shut.” This phrase came to mind when myContinue reading “What words and phrases do you find pleasing?”
Is it it’s or its?
𝗜𝘁’𝘀 𝗶𝘀 𝗼𝗻𝗹𝘆 𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗿 𝘀𝗵𝗼𝗿𝘁 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝗶𝘁 𝗶𝘀. I don’t mind admitting it took me far longer than it should have to learn this rule. I don’t remember anyone ever saying it to me as bluntly as this. ‘It’ (apostrophe) ‘s’ is only ever short for ‘it is’. And it confused me because it seemsContinue reading “Is it it’s or its?”
Yesterday’s top 3 #proofreading spots from a gritty fantasy novel that were missed by Word’s spellcheck or by ProWritingAid.
The three errors below cropped up during the course of yesterday’s edit. All the errors were missed by either Word or ProWritingAid or both. 1️⃣ 💎 He toyed with his feather earing. ❌ He toyed with his feather earring. ✔ In the Oxford English Dictionary, ear has more than one meaning. There’s the obvious oneContinue reading “Yesterday’s top 3 #proofreading spots from a gritty fantasy novel that were missed by Word’s spellcheck or by ProWritingAid.”
Will a British editor be cheaper than an American editor?
🇺🇲 FYI, American and other international indie authors. 📢 🇬🇧 A British editor (*coughs🙋♀️) may be an affordable option for you at the moment due to our weak pound. 💷 As a BBC article explains, ‘A cheaper pound makes it less expensive for people around the globe to buy goods and services from British firms,Continue reading “Will a British editor be cheaper than an American editor?”
Indie authors: when you can’t work, your books can. Book sales can give your family wiggle room.
📍Indie authors take note. There’s money to be made even when there’s a bump in the road. *** I am obviously not rejoicing that my son has picked up some kind of primary school freshers’ flu on his return to class this September… But I am rejoicing that I no longer have to ask permissionContinue reading “Indie authors: when you can’t work, your books can. Book sales can give your family wiggle room.”
Is it stationary or stationery?
At this time of year, there are a lot of good stationery offers in the supermarkets. ✏️✉️📏✒️ StationEry. 💡 Stationery — ‘e’ for ‘envelopes’: that’s how I remember it. And for those of you who like to get organised and maybe even label a cupboard or drawer… I mean, the cupboard is stationary (unless it’sContinue reading “Is it stationary or stationery?”
More satisfying proofreading spots that Word and AI grammar checkers did not flag.
aka I sell confidence 1. permitter ❌ ➡ perimeter ✔ The grammar checkers didn’t see an issue with this. Why? Because ‘permitter’ is one who permits. Was that what my author meant? Nope. He intended to say ‘perimeter’. 2. the closet person ❌ ➡ the closest person ✔ I suppose one could be a closetContinue reading “More satisfying proofreading spots that Word and AI grammar checkers did not flag.”
If you want an insight into what it takes to get a book to print, read the acknowledgements.
📢 New writers. Have you studied the acknowledgements? If you follow me on social media, you may have seen yesterday I suggested The Editing Podcast is an excellent port of call for those wanting advice on the various components of publishing… May I also suggest you check out the acknowledgements sections of the books youContinue reading “If you want an insight into what it takes to get a book to print, read the acknowledgements.”
Timeline woes! How careful line edits can avert an author’s panic.
Panic Averted. Or, The tale of the different emotions of an editor and author. (See Messenger screenshots for context – shared with the author’s permission.) 1. Me: 🤔 I’m past half way in the edit and some timeline issues have cropped up. Should I flag them for the author to deal with in his editContinue reading “Timeline woes! How careful line edits can avert an author’s panic.”
CherryEdits 