Changes in Contract

Cassie brought to my attention that we need something in the contract saying our editors will not share authors' work. Great idea.

I added this:

Editor agrees not to share the author’s work or distribute work.

It's right at the end. I posted it on the contract page, too.

Beginning of a Book

There is a lot of advice about how to start a book. Action, no dreams, someone's on fire, conflict from the first pages, a mystery in the first few sentences.

I like conflict in the first pages. And mystery. But a big bonus is creating a character who is unusual enough to make me want to know more about her.

Characters make books, and plots keep readers reading, but only if they care about the characters or are so intrigued by how unusual they are, they just have to keep reading.

Editing Vs. Proofreading

I did a post on this a while back. Sometimes I go through samples and can tell if a manuscript is at the editing stage or at the proofreading stage. And sometimes the author is asking for the wrong service. And then sometimes I have to write and tell them their book needs to be edited rather than proofread. That's tough to do because the price is twice as much.

Indie writers take a risk paying money to get their books in great shape. Without a publisher to do their editing and covers, they have to fork the money out of their own pockets not knowing whether or not the book will pay out the money put into it and eventually make a profit.

I know one thing. A book that doesn't have good editing may be loved by readers, but they will complain about editing. The reviews will reflect that and book browsers will be turned off by that.

So what makes an editor good? All four of us have experience editing novels, and I also have experience editing educational texts and some nonfiction. Editors love to edit. I chose this job because I love to read and I love to fix, polish and make a good story shine. Since I started this company, I've been able to cut back on content writing and spend my days immersed in awesome indie books. I haven't had one I didn't get into and fall in love with.

As I said in the post I linked to, if you don't know which service you need, editing or proofreading, feel free to send a sample and I'll give you my honest opinion. You'll be able to tell from my sample that I'm being straight with you.

Then and And Then

Another stylistic post.

Some writers write things like, "The cat licked her shoulder, then looked unconcerned."

The proper way to do it is: "The cat licked her shoulder, and then looked unconcerned."

I don't change "then" to "and then" if the writer has written it that way. My preference is just "then," even if it isn't in the style books. I like to trim out words that don't have to be there. It makes for a smoother read.

I look for what the author uses and make it consistent throughout the manuscript.

And the Cat Was Happy...

Sometimes writers like to start sentences with "and" or "but." I covered "but" in another post, and much of the same applies to starting a sentence with "and."

The mama cat licked her kittens. And they were dirty.

The mama cat licked her kittens and they were dirty.

There's a difference. The first implies they were really dirty, in a way. The second combines the two sentences for one complete sentence.

Starting a sentence with "and" is stylistic. I advise writers not to do it too much or it doesn't have the same impact as it would if it were used occasionally.

...s

...s are done like this:

The kitten sniffed the other kitten's ear...something wasn't right in there.

No spaces.

Same with beginning a new sentence:

The tom cat paused...There was the scent of another male in the air.

Opinion of one editor: Adverbs can be okay

Most writers hear we should never use adverbs. The cat loudly meowed. The kitten crept slowly along the carpet.

Most editors will take these out. The cat meowed. The kitten crept along the carpet.

When should you use adverbs? Too many adverbs, in my opinion, clutter a reading experience. But look at the above sentences. In the first example, saying it was a loud meow makes a difference. In the second example, the word "crept" indicated that it was slow movement. Don't need the adverb.

My advice is to not depend on adverbs to emphasize actions. Your verb should do that job. Sometimes, you want a little emphasis, and when you use an adverb to do that, think it over and choose just the right one.

I would change the first example to a stronger verb. The cat howled. I would take "slowly" out of the second example.

A fine place to use an adverb is in action sequences. If your verb doesn't do the action justice, carefully pick an adverb.

The litter screamed while mama cat settled in gently to feed her babes.

The litter screamed while mama cat settled in to feed her babes.

Adding "gently" says something about how mama cat feels about her kittens.

Use adverbs sparingly and with some good thought.