Nice Mommy~Evil Editor

Here’s the thing: editors and agents know you’re really proud of the book you completed during NaNoWriMo. We think you SHOULD be proud of it. It’s not an easy task to complete a book, and especially not in a month. But please, do us a favor and don’t send it to us…yet. First, set it [...]

Today marks the release of the second annual holiday collections. Unlike last year, I decided to edit all 12 of the holiday stories for the 2011 collections. First, I adore holiday novellas and second, I don’t get to edit much anymore, and this was a great opportunity (third, working with me actually seemed to be [...]

  If you’ve heard the Carina Press authors talk about the self-editing workshop I gave all of them in January, this is the workshop! The next 3-week, work-at-your-own-pace class starts April 11th and is the last class I’ll be giving for a few months. I *may* do one in July, but if not then, then [...]

Months ago, I asked people if they had editor questions. I found this one in my drafts and decided to post it. Today’s was from @patrickdoris who asked: does a bad first sentence doom a manuscript? Not at all. I know authors agonize over the first sentence, wanting it to be perfect. And certainly it’s fun [...]

I’m going to give you permission for something, not that you need MY permission, but it might make you feel better to know that editors and agents really do understand… see more Lolcats and funny pictures When you get The Call, whether it’s your very first or your tenth, it’s okay if you take a [...]

I’ve had many inquiries about when the next installment of Before You Hit Send, my self-editing workshop for authors–both aspiring and established–will be held again. That time is here! January 10th-30th, I’ll be holding a three-week session of Before You Hit Send on Savvy Authors. You can go here to register. And for more information. [...]

In past years, it would have been impossible for me to do this post. During my time with Samhain, I edited just over 250 titles in 4 years. I worked for royalties and more editing equaled a living wage! But since my situation with Carina is different, and editing is not actually in my main [...]

Every other week or so, we get a newsletter from Brianna’s swim team. Often, the newsletters are short and contain only a line or two of information, but they always come with an article about swim team and young athletes. I’ve started making sure I read the articles, because they’re always full of great info [...]

I think it’s only fair to follow the “what do you hate” post from earlier in the week with a post of the three things that are just about guaranteed to grab me when I’m reading 1) Injure the heroine: Yes, I’m a bit sick in the head, but I love it when the heroine [...]