Hands down the best pre-editor editing advice I’ve ever read. It’s a fast read, wry, comprehensive and spot-on. Print, laminate, and hang over your computer screen. From editor Karen R. Sanderson via Romance University.
http://romanceuniversity.org/2014/11/17/editing-and-proofreading-tidbits-by-karen-r-sanderson/
A comprehensive, in-depth and fascinating explanation of why you will be glad you decided to work with an editor:
Who knew? A little-known fact about apostrophes from two experts:
http://zettasdesk.com/2014/07/16/apostrophes-and-the-abusive-author/
Let’s move on to my pet peeve: em dashes. Plus the article will make you ROFLYAO.
<g> I rest my case!
Another peeve: the that vs which squabble (yeah, I know about Chicago Manual of Style, but…)
http://www.dailywritingtips.com/which-and-that-to-introduce-clauses/
And my latest hobbyhorse: overused words. This one from a fellow fiction editor reveals just the tip of the iceburg, and if I get the time, I’ll blog about it in much greater depth.
http://www.jamiechavez.com/blog/2012/05/words-i-never-want-to-see-in-your-novel-please/
Kick-ass visual key for writing emotion-packed scenes. I’d laminate this one and post it above your monitor!
http://earthsky.org/human-world/where-we-experience-emotions-in-our-body
Great insights from a BookBub survey that apply to book sales page blurbs, synopses and other advertising, as well as BookBub ads:
http://unbound.bookbub.com/post/71990474519/5-test-results-to-help-you-market-your-ebook
Two great new articles (as of September, 2013) with practical and spot-on suggestions for how to work successfully with your editor:
http://www.dailywritingtips.com/5-tips-on-how-to-work-with-an-editor/
http://writersinthestorm.wordpress.com/2013/09/04/your-editor-is-your-friend-really/
Wonderful blog post by author Athena Grayson about whether to write for yourself, or for the market.
http://athenagrayson.com/blog/2013/10/15/life-act-two-sday-all-in/
Want to see how you stack up in terms of vocabulary? After you’ve taken the test, check out the statistics link!
http://testyourvocab.com/
This guy’s right. Don’t feel bad; just about everyone I work with makes at least one or two of these grammatical errors:
http://litreactor.com/columns/20-common-grammar-mistakes-that-almost-everyone-gets-wrong
Having trouble deciding where to put your marketing time? Here’s a very interesting informal but comprehensive survey of readers, not fellow authors or pundits, from Marie Force of the E-book Formatting Fairies.
A very useful primer for new authors, an infographic which offers ideas for writing through networking, marketing and advertising. A keeper!
https://magic.piktochart.com/output/e04c731d-6991-4b4c-b6b2-a4bf426ed3df#
A list of classic, indispensable books for authors, with a few of my writing bibles – with big thanks to Karen Saxon for the Goodreads list:
http://www.goodreads.com/shelf/show/a-writer-s-helper
And some other favorites of mine … The Complete Writer’s Guide to Heroes & Heroines, Please Understand Me, Rivet Your Readers with Deep Point of View
How to take your editor’s Track Changes feedback and incorporate it quickly and accurately, a very detailed tutorial. If you’re a Mac user, this also works, but I know that the top of the windowpane can look very different. If you need more help, search the ‘net using Mac-Word-Track Changes and you’ll get extremely helpful results.
One of an excellent series of articles about creating and editing a novel, from Kevin Hanrahan’s blog Soldier Writer: Balancing the Sword and the Pen
http://khanrahan.com/2013/02/25/lessons-learned-during-the-edit-of-a-novel/
Sick of worshiping at the altar of The Hero’s Journey as the only plot structure? Try these geek’s-eye views. They’ll either get your creative juices flowing, or your blood boiling!
Comprehensive ebook publishing resources & guide – Digital Book World:
http://www.digitalbookworld.com/resources-going-from-indesign-to-ebook/
From Romance University, two very informative and useful posts about choosing and using an editor.
http://romanceuniversity.org/2013/03/01/tips-before-hiring-an-editor-with-donnell-ann-bell/
Punctuating dialogue driving you nuts? Some good solutions:
This one has welcome humor if you read carefully: http://theeditorsblog.net/2010/12/08/punctuation-in-dialogue/
http://www.dailywritingtips.com/dialogue-dos-and-donts/
http://data.grammarbook.com/blog/effective-writing/spacing-with-dialogue/
http://grammar.quickanddirtytips.com/how-to-write-dialogue.aspx
Free software, including a Word plugin. I haven’t used these yet, so can’t recommend, but they look very interesting.
http://prowritingaid.com/Free-Editing-Software.aspx#.UT31pFfTNw7
Protecting your family’s rights to your creative product, from a major author
Two good posts about common errors. I agree with the first, but think authors still need to be more careful than most.
http://news.yahoo.com/7-bogus-grammar-errors-dont-worry-060000215.html
http://www.dailywritingtips.com/10-classes-of-careless-usage/
A free basic grammar book, an excellent resource:
www.dailywritingtips.com/download/Basic-English-Grammar.zip
A great blog about words, writing, punctuation, all kinds of useful stuff:
www.dailywritingtips.com
A fun and creative way to SEE if you’re overusing any words:
http://www.wordle.net/
Read this any time you feel discouraged:
http://kriswrites.com/2012/06/27/the-business-rusch-perfection/
A free editing program to use before submitting to a critique group or an editor:
http://www.smart-edit.com/
Another free editing tool:
http://www.grammarly.com/?q=grammar&gclid=COeh0MeGhbECFYio4Aod33bWmg
Heard horror stories about others’ editing experiences? This is a watchdog site that reports ripoffs, scams and other less-than-desirable people claiming to provide editing services:
http://pred-ed.com/
My absolute favorite novelist’s blog, full of wisdom, great advice, inspiration and fun ideas:
http://writersinthestorm.wordpress.com/author/writersinthestorm/
A must-join discussion group if you plan to self-publish romance. Absolutely everything you’ve ever wanted to know, and lots more. I suggest signing up for digest mode, because there are more than 1,000 busy, talkative members in this group!
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/IndieRomanceInk/