SPA Girls Podcast – EP155 – Self Editing for Authors
Podcast: Play in new window | Download
Subscribe: RSS
This week we talk about self editing, and how to get your manuscript to the highest possible standard before sending it to your professional editor.
Everyone will have a different style, focus and ideas on the best way to do self editing, and it’s the kind of thing that’s different for different people. No one does it the same, and that’s okay.
But as always, we give a load of tips and advice on how we do it, what works and what doesn’t.
Find your own style
Don’t get stuck self-editing first chapter over and over – finish your book first.
SPA Girls different editing levels : high altitude – developmental / structural; sense checking – consistency; nuts & bolts level – sentence level, grammar, punctuation, typos
Makes sense to us that plotters and pantsers self-edit different. Plotters do almost preemptive self-edit at developmental level when they’re plotting the beats / story arc / key scenes
Seven Sexy SPA Girls Self-Editing Tips:
1) Read your work aloud, or use a text to speech programme on your computer. You’ll pick up awkward phrases and sentences.
2) Use a grammar programme such as Grammarly, ProWriting Aid or AutoCrit
3) Put your manuscript into a programme that creates a word cloud to see your most used words.
4) If you know you overuse certain words or phrases do a “find” search for that particular word, to assess it through the document.
5) Read your book in a different format. If you’ve been working on it in word or scrivener, consider printing it off, or putting it onto your kindle to read in a different format. You’ll be amazed how much more you pick up.
6) Read difficult pages backwards. By reading backwards, you pick up the words by themselves, and make sure they’re spelled correctly, rather than relying on your brain to skim over the words and correct them in your head instead of on paper.
7) Show others – you can swap with friends or other authors or find some BETA readers (they will pick up some stuff, but they won’t be as good as a professional editor.)
Links:
Grammar Girl: https://www.quickanddirtytips.com/…/3-tips-for-creating-sen…
Books: https://www.amazon.com/Line-How-Edit-Your-Writ…/…/0395393914
https://www.amazon.com/Revision-Self-Editing-Publicatio…/…/…
James Scott Bell’s free webinar: http://www.writersdigest.com/…/meet-james-scott-bell-author…
Episodes 100 – 200 List
200 What we’ve learned so far…
199 Interview with Adam Croft – Mindset and Marketing
198 Find Your Sparkle – with Julie Schooler
197 Hack Your Muse – with Kelly McClymer
196 Public Speaking For Authors – with Alena Van Arendonk
195 The Magic Pill – with Laura Van Arendonk-Baugh
194 A Day In The Life Of A Writer
193 Keep It Simple
192 Interview with Skye Warren: Money Mindset and Facebook Ads
For Authors (Part Two)
191 Interview with Skye Warren: Time Management & Advertising
For Authors (Part One)
190 Dragon Wrangling with Scott Baker: secrets for
Successful dictation
189 Interview with Patricia McLinn: Writing by the seat of
Your pants
188 Interview with Morgana Best: Writing & Marketing
Cozy Mysteries
187 Interview with Geoff Symon: Wounds & Crime Scenes
186 Interview with Natasha Bajema, WMD for Authors
185 The Writer’s Detective with Adam Richardson
183 Facebook Advertising with Maria Luis ~ Part Two
182 Facebook Advertising with Maria Luis ~ Part One
181 Learn dictation with Kilby Blades
180 Interview with Brian Meeks, Mastering Book Descriptions
179 Interview with Tara Cremin, Kobo Writing Life
178 Interview with Larissa Reynolds – Newsletters Part Two
177 Interview with Larissa Reynolds – Newsletters Part One
175 Wrangling Facebook: How To Make It Work For You
174 How To Write A Regency Romance
173 How Do You Identify Your Writing Weaknesses?
172 Interview With Dan Wood, D2D
171 Interview With Serenity Woods
169 5 Goals You Need To Make In 2019
168 Jumpstart Your 2019 Marketing with 31 Quick To Dos for Jan.
167 Scheduling For Writing Success
166 Our 2018 Roundup
165 He Said, She Said: Creating Dazzling Dialogue
164 Interview with Steffanie Holmes: Reverse Harem
163 Interview with YA author Kelly St Clare
160 Amazon Excl v Wide – things to consider and how to market
159 Interview With Kathryn LeVeque
158 Some Like It Hot – Or Not. Heat Levels In Romance
157 Interview With Louisa George
156 The Kindness Factor: Helping You Achieve More and Stress Less
155 Editing
153 Characters: From Cookie Cutter to Kapow
152 Interview with Tina Dietz: Audiobooks
151 Interview with Grace Burrowes
150 Should You Prune Your Mailing List?
149 RWNZ18 Interview with Damon Suede & Geoff Symon
148 Interview with indie superstar, Bella Andre
147 Top Ten Traits for Success
146 Write Better Faster with Becca Syme
145 Newsletter Ninja Tammi LaBrecque
144 Looking After Your Creative Health
143 Interview with Carlyn Robertson from Bookbub
142 Personal Branding For Authors with Lauren Clemett
141 Ten Free Online Tools For Authors
140 Tempting Taglines & Heartstopping Hooks
139 Findaway Voices with Kelly Lytle
138 Get Your Writing Mojo Back
137 Interview with Toni Kenyon: facebook live & serials
136 Dealing with misinformation and change in Sp-ing
134 Interview with Kevin Tumlinson, Draft2Digital
133 Interview with Sara Rosett
132 Organization For Authors – how to keep track of your
research and book details without losing your mind
131 Interview with Ricardo Fayet of Reedsy
130 Critical Care: Leveraging feedback for success
129 Brand You
128 SAS Special: Interview with Johnny B. Truant & Sean Platt
127 Industry Insiders with Damon J. Courtney of Bookfunnel
& Christine Monroe of Kobo
126 SAS Debrief with Jami Albright
125 SAS Special: Interview with Michelle Spiva
124 SAS Special : Interview With Michael Anderle
123 Sports Psychology for Authors – Interview With Nate Vella
122 Using Sub Plots To Amp Up Your Writing
121 Interview with Scott King: Outlining Your Novel
120 Pen-names Pros, Cons and Possibilities
119 Reader Engagement with Nalini Singh
118 Writing the Small Town Setting
117 Handling Negativity and Naysayers
116 Tough Mindset Questions For 2018
115 Interview With Nicola Davidson: Sex and Sensibility
114 Tropealicious
112 Interview With Honoree Corder & Ben Hale: Write Like A Boss
111 Ten Health Hacks For Writers
110 Interview with Kathryn Burnett: Your Writing Audit For Future Success
109 Interview with Melissa Storm: What Readers Want
108 Interview With Zoe Dawson: Writing Across Genres
107 Interview With Dave Chesson, The Keyword King
106 Pros and Cons of Kindle Unlimited
105 Why YOU should do Nanowrimo
104 Ten Truths For New Self Publishers
103 Find 30 Minutes A Day EXTRA!
102 Your Christmas Presence: Maximizing the Holiday Season for Authors
101 The Writing Life: Interview with Katie Cross
100 100 Episodes! Retrospective with funny moments; changing AO title
SPA Girls Podcast – EP189 – Pantsing with Patricia McLinn
Podcast: Play in new window | Download
Subscribe: RSS
If you’re a writer who struggles to outline, you’ll love this week’s podcast! We talk to Patricia McLinn, a USA Today bestselling author of mystery and romance, who is also a pantser who writes out of sequence. She’s here to tell you that it doesn’t matter how you write it, as long as it comes together in the end!
Patricia worked at the Washington Post for more than 20 years, is a past president of NINC, and has published more than 50 novels (at least that’s how many we could count on her website…) so she’s an experienced writer and editor who knows what she’s talking about.
She talks about how she writes first and subsequent drafts, her techniques for ensuring she has the right structure, and how her characters talk to her until she writes their stories…
Are you worried that you can’t outline, and that you’re not following the latest advice on how to write faster, better or smarter? Join us to hear Patricia’s take on how to succeed as someone who writes by the seat of their pants and still keeps producing many, many books.
Pat’s website: www.PatriciaMcLinn.com
SPA Girls Podcast – EP188 – Cozy Mysteries With Morgana Best
Podcast: Play in new window | Download
Subscribe: RSS
Morgana Best is the best-selling author of over 40 Cozy Mysteries, and she joins us in the SPA to tell us everything she knows about writing Cozies.
From word counts to reader expectations, and even her writing process – which involves using Dragon Dictate, and is totally fascinating – Morgana gives us insider information on how to put together a bestselling Cozy Mystery.
She also talks about her daily schedule, her marketing techniques and how she chooses her victims…
If you love Cozy Mysteries, or you’ve ever thought you’d like to write a Cozy Mystery, this is the episode for you!
For more information about the lovely Morgana Best, check out her website here: https://morganabest.com/
SPA Girls Podcast – EP187 – Interview With Forensics Expert Geoff Symon
Podcast: Play in new window | Download
Subscribe: RSS
Want to figure out how to create the perfect crime for your cozy mystery character to solve?
Or find out how your investigator protagonist would investigate a murder?
Perhaps you just want to discover what investigators look for at a crime scene so you can figure out what to plant at your fictitious scene?
Well, your questions will all be answered during this in-depth chat with Federal Law Enforcement Special Agent, Geoff Symon.
For more than 20 years, Geoff has been using his expertise and experience to put away the bad guys. Now he’s begun lecturing and consulting with authors in genre fiction communities to help bring verisimilitude and meaningful detail to the depiction of crime and investigation.
A forensics expert, Geoff was able to give us his expert guidance on crime scenes for authors, giving us the correct language (it’s spatter not splatter, people) as well as explaining jargon like ‘crime scene integrity’ and ‘crime scene cross-contamination’, and even what an investigator might get wrong when you need them to make mistakes for your story.
He also debunked popular stereotypes, and gave us a behind the scenes glimpse into forensics investigations in the US, all in his charming, hilarious style…
Another fantastic guest for Mystery May, giving you valuable insight into crimes and the people who solve them.
