I’ve often looked at the style sheet I’ve created for a book I’m working on and thought that the words listed could be used as writing prompts. ‘Pick any three consecutive words and write 1,000 words based on them’, sort of thing. I even tweeted about making the executive decision that ‘asshat’ is one word […]
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Vampires, history, swords
Sometimes even when I think the pieces I’m working on have no connection, I realise that they actually do. These three topics are a case in point. Vampires, history, swords – what could go together better? I’m excited to be working on the next book by R. H. Hale. Her first title, Church Mouse: Memoir […]
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How to improve your writing by avoiding things that I don’t like
Maybe it’s just a coincidence. You don’t see a particular mistake for years and then several examples turn up at once and you find yourself asking, ‘Is this a thing now? Why are people doing this?’ So here we go. How to improve your writing by avoiding things that I don’t like. Will it actually […]
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Valentine’s Day shopping
On rare occasions someone pays me money for something that isn’t editing. No, not that, you dirty-minded people! If you’ve been reading my ‘About me’ section with the thoroughness that I’d expect, you’d have found that tiny one-word link to my art gallery. In my precious spare moments, I often put pen to paper. As […]
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The post I really wanted to make
It’s about time I came clean. I hate writing blog posts. There. I said it. I thought long and hard and I … oh, who am I kidding. I didn’t have to think hard at all to figure out that honesty is the best policy. And it doesn’t take a genius to work out that […]
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Professional SfEP membership!
I’m excited today because I’ve been accepted by the Society for Editors and Proofreaders (SfEP) as a Professional Member! Their standards are high, so I feel honoured to have achieved this. Who knows, one day maybe I’ll attain the lofty heights of Advanced Professional Member! So, in the unlikely event that you had any lingering […]
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A dispatch from the editing coalface
I admit, I struggle to find a balance between working and blogging about work. The more work I do, the less time I have to blog! It’s time for me to redress that balance. I haven’t posted news about myself for a while. You’ve had advice on getting your ebook ready for self-publishing, choosing […]
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11 searches made by an editor
I’ve done a post a bit like this before, but as an editor I like to stop every now and then, take stock and be grateful for all the new things I’ve learned recently as a result of online searches. This time everything is fairly innocuous and unlikely to bring an ominous knock at the […]
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International Women’s Day 2018
It’s International Women’s Day and I feel oddly pressured to jump onto the bandwagon and write something topical. After all, I’m a woman, so it feels as though I’d be letting the side down if I didn’t at least mention it! I don’t want to go down the boring route of ‘X female authors you […]
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Working with an editor: getting the most out of the editing process
You’ve finished your draft, done a spot of proofreading of your work and followed last week’s advice on how to choose an editor. You’ve found someone you like and you’re about to embark on that scary journey: getting your book edited. You’re probably wondering how you can get the most out of working with an […]
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