Hi Folks, These are the most commonly committed mistakes I’ve seen in manuscripts from writers over the past thirty-plus years. (I published a blog similar to this a year ago, but this one is a bit different.) If you master these few problems, and if you’ve written a good story in the first place, I guarantee your work will be worthy of publication. Not only that, but it will grab the attention of the agent or … Read more
Hi Folks, When I edit a manuscript, my sole purpose is to make the reading experience seamless for the reader, thereby enhancing the writer’s reputation for excellent writing. When I’m finished there should be no rough edges over which the reader can stumble, no ambiguity or lags in the flow of information that can momentarily confuse the reader, and no punctuation that fails to direct the reading of the work and help convey the mood of … Read more
Hi Folks, The Microsoft Word for Writers series will return on October 30, but right now I wanted to share this very important reprint with you. I’ve trimmed away the non-essentials but kept the main points and the rationale. I’ve indicated omissions with an ellipsis. This series of excerpts is reprinted with permission from “The Book Marketing Expert newsletter,” a free ezine offering book promotion and publicity tips and techniques. http://www.amarketingexpert.com. Where I added anything, it’s … Read more
Hi Folks, At this writing, the first post in this series (Preaching to the Choir) garnered one response from a writer who thought perhaps I was being “snarky”—that well-intended comment led to Preaching to the Choir, Part Two—and two more comments that brought to mind an old quote. I can’t quite remember it, but to paraphrase, “A piece of writing is never finished, but the deadline comes anyway.” In the first post of this series, in … Read more
Hi Folks, First, a housekeeping note: I intended for the following post to sound a bit cynical and humorous. When it came out this morning, I heard a note of seriousness in it that I did not intend. Please read beyond the words and take it as a tongue-in-cheek piece. Thanks, Harvey After I posted Preaching to the Choir and wagged my finger, I guess, at writers everywhere who submit work that isn’t ready to be … Read more
Hi Folks, As the title implies, I suspect what I’m about to write will do little good, if any, but I guess I kind’a sort’a gotta write it anyway since I took on the role of Writing Instructor what sometimes seems like a millennium ago. Okay, so here goes. Ready? Okay. Here it comes. DON’T SUBMIT WORK THAT ISN’T READY! Now I can understand submitting work that you believe is ready. For example, say you’ve finished … Read more
Hi Folks, I work with computers a lot, for both my personal work as well as for editing and cover design and web design clients. I transitioned from my IBM Selectric to my first dedicated word processor—a Brother with a 1” tall by about 6” wide screen—in the early ‘90s, and from that word processor to my first computer in the mid-‘90s. I developed my first website in 1996. You can’t do that without learning pretty … Read more