One of the most common questions I get from my editing clients is: which is best for authors—traditional or self-publishing? Whether you’ve finished writing your book or are still immersed in the process, it’s important to know the answer to that. Let’s talk about the pros and cons of both publishing paths, and clear up a few misconceptions.
Read MoreWrong Word Placement: Your Manuscript’s Hidden Flaw?
Wrong word placement is one of the mistakes I find most often in my business of editing books. Authors, is this your manuscript’s hidden flaw? Take a look at these two sentences, and see if you can identify the problem: The tree proved an irresistible temptation to the birds, hung with ripe cherries. The delighted nursing home residents sang along ... Read More
Should a Memoir Focus on Just One Theme or Time Period? It Depends on Your Intentions
Memoir authors are typically told they should center their story around one particular theme or time period. In response, they tend to write about subjects like divorce, abuse, health struggles, caregiving, or travel, all of which have been extensively written about already. Other writers ignore the advice and try to pack their whole life into a single narrative, sometimes shoehorning two or three unrelated books into one. As a book editor and writing coach, I’m sometimes asked if I agree with this advice …
Read MoreThree Great Reads
I promised to do another post soon for my writer blog-readers about some of my favorite novels, and this is me fulfilling that promise. Insurrection, the first book I want to recommend, was written by my client Brandon Teskey. Brandon is an infantry officer and 1st Lieutenant in the U.S. Army National Guard. During his service in the Middle East, he ... Read More
Should You Rewrite Your Novel or Memoir as a Screenplay?
If you’ve been shopping your book to literary agents and have had no luck courting their interest, you may have heard you should rewrite your novel or memoir as a screenplay. Guess what? Screenwriters who’ve had no luck with their scripts are being told the reverse: that they should rewrite their screenplay as a novel. I have a foot in ... Read More