by Sue A. Fairchild I began my editing career by taking any bit of work that came my way. Initially, I worked a lot for online marketplaces like Guru and Fiverr. Although these places were a decent place to start, I wouldn’t recommend them now to emerging freelancers. Typically, the pay was abysmal and the…
By Ken Walker I led two workshops at PENCON last May, including one focused on planning your work daily on a spreadsheet. I’m still a big believer in this. It helps keep me focused on priorities, and lets me know when it’s time to put a particular project aside to move on to other paying…
by Iola Goulton There are two main reasons for using italics in fiction: The chosen style guide recommends using italics. The chosen style guide suggests italics, but there are reasonable alternatives. In these cases, the choice is typically up to the publisher (or the author, if they are indie publishing). Style Guide Requirements The Chicago…
by Denise Loock Is it worth the money? That was the first question I asked myself when I read the announcement about PENCON 2017 in Atlanta. I’d attended many writers’ conferences, justifying the expense as an opportunity to interact with potential clients while I honed my writing skills. But could I justify the expense of…
by Karin Beery As the managing editor for Guiding Light Women’s Fiction at Lighthouse Publishing of the Carolinas, I’ve received manuscript submissions in all states of readiness, from “let’s get this contracted” to “let me recommend an editor.” There are a few writing issues that transcend manuscript readiness though. The next time you’re hired to…
by Lora Doncea In every genre, editors can help authors enhance their writing to hook readers. Typically authors have their content established, substantive editors smooth it out and verify consistency, copy editors make it grammatically correct, and proofreaders catch all the sneaky errors. But today, that’s not enough. People are inundated with reading options, have…
by Iola Goulton My previous post looked at how to correctly punctuate dialogue in fiction. Today I’m going into more detail about alternatives to dialogue tags. There are three main alternatives to dialogue tags: Action Beats Body Language Interior Monologue Action Beats Action beats are small actions performed by the speaker. They are used to…
In every thing give thanks: for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you. (1 Thessalonians 5:18 KJV)
by Rebecca Florence Miller As nonfiction editors, our vocation is to midwife better ideas into the world. But as we work out that calling, one challenge we face as Christian editors is how to handle questionable theology. What is our obligation—both to our client and to God in that case? First, do your best to…
by Dori Harrell When it comes to fine-tuning a manuscript, there can be as much art involved as science. If you insert a comma before that dependent clause, even though conventional wisdom says no comma is needed before a sentence-ending dependent clause, will it reveal the author’s true intent? That introductory phrase is five words,…
