personalblog – CherryEdits

POV: Improve your writing by doing more of it.

☺️☺️ Just to be sappy a moment… I love seeing writers improve over time. I am lucky enough to work with some authors whose creative wells seem bottomless. They are always writing. There are always more stories to tell. And I get to read them. And when you’ve seen someone’s early stories, then later ones,Continue reading “POV: Improve your writing by doing more of it.”

POV: You do your best proofreading when you’ve committed your work to its most permanent form. Confessions.

🎻 What’s that music you’d hear on those Radio 2 confessions? Bring it to mind to accompany this post. 💭 A memory popped into my head this morning. And that memory involves an occasion where an error I introduced into a text went to print. ❗ Before you all scratch me from your proofreading Rolodex, know this: I wasContinue reading “POV: You do your best proofreading when you’ve committed your work to its most permanent form. Confessions.”

Come in. The water’s fine. How working with an editor can be scary, but it doesn’t have to be that way.

I reckon signing up with an editor must be like looking at the sea and deciding whether you want to dive in. It could be amazing. It might be awful. I shared with you recently that the next six — now eight! — months are looking really decent for me work-wise. All fiction. Perfect. AllContinue reading “Come in. The water’s fine. How working with an editor can be scary, but it doesn’t have to be that way.”

How 2022 was the year that changed everything. My editing journey.

It’s the end of the year and I’m going to be self-indulgent and reflect on the fact that this was the year that changed everything. Early in 2022, I had a financial story session with Mahmood Reza. We worked out that if I scaled up the editing work I’d been doing part-time, I would beContinue reading “How 2022 was the year that changed everything. My editing journey.”

The best non-fiction I’ve read this year: ‘Dialogue’ by Robert McKee

Ah, this was much harder to decide. But here’s my top NON-FICTION read of the year. (Though I’m not enamoured with your cover, Mr McKee.) I’ve also read McKee’s popular ‘Story’, but I found this one better. It’s less pretentious. More actionable. And thoroughly entertaining. It seems I love learning from non-fiction books with aContinue reading “The best non-fiction I’ve read this year: ‘Dialogue’ by Robert McKee”

The best fiction I’ve read this year: ‘The Invisible Life Of Addie LaRue’ by V E Schwab

⭐ The best FICTION I read in 2022 … ⭐ The Invisible Life Of Addie LaRue Stunning piece of writing. Gripping plot. Wide-ranging. Spans centuries and geography. I want to tell you my favourite line, but it’s kind of a spoiler, so I won’t. There are fantasy elements for the sake of the story, notContinue reading “The best fiction I’ve read this year: ‘The Invisible Life Of Addie LaRue’ by V E Schwab”

The best way to learn is through stories. A review of The Glamour of Grammar by Roy Peter Clark

The best way to learn is through stories. The Glamour of Grammar is not a textbook. It’s a story of language from one who loves its bones. You will remember so much more about language because the lessons here are attached to tidbits, anecdotes and analogies. I wholeheartedly recommend the audiobook. Clark narrates his ownContinue reading “The best way to learn is through stories. A review of The Glamour of Grammar by Roy Peter Clark”

Do your research before hiring an editor. Beware false economies.

𝗧𝗟;𝗗𝗥. 𝗗𝗼 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗿𝗲𝘀𝗲𝗮𝗿𝗰𝗵 𝗯𝗲𝗳𝗼𝗿𝗲 𝗵𝗶𝗿𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗮𝗻 𝗲𝗱𝗶𝘁𝗼𝗿. 𝗕𝗲𝘄𝗮𝗿𝗲 𝗳𝗮𝗹𝘀𝗲 𝗲𝗰𝗼𝗻𝗼𝗺𝗶𝗲𝘀. 🆕 I got a new fridge yesterday and it made me think. Not all edits are created equal… (Bear with me.) Because. Here’s the thing. My new fridge, from the outside, looks a lot like my old fridge. It has the same outward appearance.Continue reading “Do your research before hiring an editor. Beware false economies.”

The Motivation Myth by Jeff Haden: An excellent reminder that motivation comes once you start doing something, not before.

I think about this book often. I finished it a year ago, my phone reminds me. And the messages in the book have definitely stayed with me. Lines like this are brilliant: 𝗬𝗼𝘂 𝗳𝗲𝗲𝗹 𝗺𝗼𝘁𝗶𝘃𝗮𝘁𝗲𝗱 𝗯𝗲𝗰𝗮𝘂𝘀𝗲 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝘁𝗼𝗼𝗸 𝗮𝗰𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻. 𝗠𝗼𝘁𝗶𝘃𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗶𝘀 𝗮 𝗿𝗲𝘀𝘂𝗹𝘁, 𝗻𝗼𝘁 𝗮 𝗽𝗿𝗲𝗰𝗼𝗻𝗱𝗶𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻. 𝗬𝗼𝘂 𝗱𝗼𝗻’𝘁 𝗻𝗲𝗲𝗱 𝗺𝗼𝘁𝗶𝘃𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝘁𝗼 𝗯𝗿𝗲𝗮𝗸 𝗮 𝘀𝘄𝗲𝗮𝘁. 𝗕𝗿𝗲𝗮𝗸Continue reading “The Motivation Myth by Jeff Haden: An excellent reminder that motivation comes once you start doing something, not before.”

Wide for the Win? We’ll definitely look into that. Amazon keyword woes have given me a touch of the Mrs Cratchitts.

EDITED TO ADD: Whoop! It’s fixed 🎉. But we still don’t know what the actual problem was. What they keyword was that caused this glitch— 🤷‍♀️ So it’s still been a valuable lesson. Thanks for reading my stressy post. I love it how my mind immediately turned to a Dickens passage when we were goingContinue reading “Wide for the Win? We’ll definitely look into that. Amazon keyword woes have given me a touch of the Mrs Cratchitts.”