Thursday, March 27, 2014

Writing, editing, proof reading and... choose your own book cover.

Like the title says, I've been trying to do too much at one time (again), which isn't unusual for me. But one thing at a time and here's what to look forward to: 1.- Finish the darn book/story/novella/novel...epic 'whatever' adventure. 2.- Hours and hours of proof-reading. 3.- More proof-reading (break for a snack, exercise, run errands) return and scroll through the open document to find mistakes, grammar errors, missing/ extra punctuation, needed dialog, etc. 4.- Editing. This is never a 'finished in one day' kind of thing. 5.- Revise, rewrite and re-do. This includes plots, scenes, characters, etc. 6.- Don't quit while the iron's hot. Keep a rough draft handy in a notebook. 7.- Does it read okay? Any missing chunks of time (and space) between events? Correct them before it goes to the self-publishing sites. 8.- Many first-time and seasoned pro writers will face bad criticism at some point in their writing career. How to avoid this: don't send off a first draft to an editor and don't expect a reply. Also, avoid submitting your manuscript to "cc" (carbon copy) editors all at the same time. I hear this is something like 'spamming' when it goes out to many recipients. You'll likely make their 'crap list' or worse. 9.- Choose a cover from a stock photo. Many places offer this service and there's oodles of photos to choose from. 10.- Your books/ short stories/ novel is published. Want to skim a paper back "proof" copy of your work? It will cost a little bit of money to get the books in print for proof reading if your eyes are bugging out from staring at Microsoft word too long. Writing is not easy. There are long hours, days, weeks, months and sometimes years that go into creating a story and/ or book. Also, writing is not a high paying profession, either. It is feast or famine. The aspiring author needs to be aware that their books/ stories, etc. will not make an instant splash on a best selling book list of hot reads like a Harlequin steamy romance. However, writing is very therapeutic and can, with enough determination to promote your own stuff, be rewarding.

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