Inventing Reality Editing Service

Writing Inspiration: Get into the zone

Lose yourself in the momentum of your writing. Turn off the automatic spell checker and your inner self-critic and allow yourself to simply write. After you’ve finished writing, you’ll likely find that your paragraph or scene is better than you initially thought.

Need an editor? Having your book, business document or academic paper proofread or edited before submitting it can prove invaluable. In an economic climate where you face heavy competition, your writing needs a second eye to give you the edge. Whether you come from a big city like Youngstown, Ohio, or a small town like Hogshooter, Oklahoma, I can provide that second eye.

 

Ask at end of your book for a review

One of the best ways to encourage people to buy your book is by having others speak highly of it, especially on a web page where a person can make a purchase. Amazon.com and other bookselling websites know this and so allow reviews to be posted on pages that hawk books. The challenge then facing authors is to get people to post reviews on that web page.

A good way to do that is to encourage people who’ve read your read to write and post a few positive words. After all, if someone has made it all the way through your book, they probably enjoyed it. So a good spot to make such a request is after the last page of your book.

The request need not be anything long or complex. A simple, direct sentence will do:

If you enjoyed this book, please take a few moments to write a review of it. Thank you!

Be sure to include the URL where the post can be made; in the ebook version of your book, include an actual link to that page.

While there’s always a chance that someone might pen a negative review, the odds are against it. Someone who disliked your book gave up on it long before reaching the page requesting a review. In addition, most people who post reviews do so because the book in some way positively affected them. Regardless, the more reviews you receive for your book the better. A total of 50 positive and 5 negative reviews will benefit your book sales more than 5 positive and 1 negative reviews, even though you received more bad ones.

Need an editor? Having your book, business document or academic paper proofread or edited before submitting it can prove invaluable. In an economic climate where you face heavy competition, your writing needs a second eye to give you the edge. Whether you come from a big city like San Diego, California, or a small town like Eek, Arkansas, I can provide that second eye.

Four main ways exist to present your ebook

Most of us know what an ebook is – it’s text structured like a paper book that is presented to us digitally, similar to the way that a web page appears in that the text appears on a screen. From there, though, an understanding of the terminology and of how an ebook works or is presented typically takes a sharp downward turn among authors. Yet, knowing that information can help authors make better decisions when self-publishing.

Among the important concepts to know are the various ways that an ebook can be presented to readers. There are fair major formats – PDF, Epub, Mobi and AZW.

Long before there were ereaders, tablets and Smartphones, authors distributed ebooks via PDF, or a Portable Document Format. This is a fixed version of what appears like sheets of paper that can be seen on laptops and other computers. Often when creating either a paperback or an ebook, the author must convert their MS Word document into a PDF, which then is uploaded at a website to the ebook’s printer or distributor.

An alternative to the PDF is the Epub, or electronic publication. The Epub is an international standard used by ebook vendors to display text and photos on a screen. Nearly 300 ebook vendors use Epub, most notably Apple’s iBooks and Barnes & Noble’s Nook.

Amazon.com and its division, Kindle, do not use Epub to display text and photos but a version of Mobi, a standard that once was used by the Mobipocket eBook. Technically, the Kindle uses AZW, or Amazon Whispernet, but many often say that Kindle uses Mobi. That’s because the only difference between AZW and Mobi is the former uses DRM, or Digital Rights Management, which includes access controls limiting use of the text and the devices it’s being read on.

An ebook can be designed in MS Word that can be converted to both Epub and the Mobi/AZW formats. Typically, the MS Word file goes through what is called nicknamed a “meat grinder” at a vendor (such a Kindle DP or Smashwords) that converts the MS Word document (or the PDF that the MS Word was converted to) into an Epub or a Mobi/AZW file that then can be read on ereaders, tablets, mobile phones, laptops, desktops and so on.

Need an editor? Having your book, business document or academic paper proofread or edited before submitting it can prove invaluable. In an economic climate where you face heavy competition, your writing needs a second eye to give you the edge. Whether you come from a big city like Phoenix, Arizona, or a small town like Last Chance, Idaho, I can provide that second eye.

Grammar tip: Groundbreaking vs. ground breaking vs. ground-breaking

Here’s an old grammar controversy that’s easy to deconstruct.

The older you are, the more likely your junior high school teacher pounded into you that ground breaking and ground-breaking were the correct spellings when referring to the start of a construction project. These days, however, groundbreaking is far more prevalent, and both Merriam-Webster and Oxford Dictionaries consider it the correct spelling. This is the same spelling that’s used for the traditional definition of the word meaning “new and revolutionary” as in The scientist’s proposed theory was groundbreaking.

Ground breaking is still used, though its meaning generally is more literal, as in actually cracking the ground open, like Thor smashed his hammer in a ground breaking smash.

Need an editor? Having your book, business document or academic paper proofread or edited before submitting it can prove invaluable. In an economic climate where you face heavy competition, your writing needs a second eye to give you the edge. Whether you come from a big city like Seattle, Washington, or a small town like Uncertain, Texas, I can provide that second eye.

Writing Prompt: Fix your problems

Suffering from writer’s block or need to add some spunk to your writing? The problem may be that you need to change up your routine.

To that end, try this tip: Find conflicts in everyday life. Look at the problems those around you are going through and have your characters deal with and rectify those same issues in their universe.

Need an editor? Having your book, business document or academic paper proofread or edited before submitting it can prove invaluable. In an economic climate where you face heavy competition, your writing needs a second eye to give you the edge. Whether you come from a big city like Houston, Texas, or a small town like Chicken, Alaska, I can provide that second eye.

Editing client publishes post-apocalypse novel

A recent editing client of mine, John Gaiserich, has published his first novel, “The Prelapsarians.” Twenty-five years after Yellowstone erupts, a handful of humans struggle to survive in the ruins of their shattered civilization. Among them is Ciarán Ó Corraidhín, an aging American mercenary trapped in the Caucasus. When he meets Ani Ohanyan, a beautiful young woman smuggling Mamikonium, the lone drug that allows humanity to breathe the ash-filled air, Ciarán finds himself questioning all that he knows and believes. John’s epic debut adds character intimacy and dynamics to the post-apocalyptic fiction genre’s standby of action and adventure. The novel is available for purchase online.

Need an editor? Having your book, business document or academic paper proofread or edited before submitting it can prove invaluable. In an economic climate where you face heavy competition, your writing needs a second eye to give you the edge. Whether you come from a big city like Seattle, Washington, or a small town like Uncertain, Texas, I can provide that second eye.

Five Great Quotations about a Writing Life

“Writing is not apart from living. Writing is a kind of double living.” - Catherine Drinker Bowen

“There is nothing harder to estimate than a writer's time, nothing harder to keep track of. There are moments—moments of sustained creation—when his time is fairly valuable; and there are hours and hours when a writer's time isn't worth the paper he is not writing anything on.” - E.B. White

“Writing is like giving yourself homework, really hard homework, every day, for the rest of your life. You want glamorous? Throw glitter at the computer screen.” - Katrina Monroe

“To say that a writer's hold on reality is tenuous is an understatement - it's like saying the Titanic had a rough crossing. Writer's build their own realities, move into them and occasionally send letters home. The only difference between a writer and a crazy person is that a writer gets paid for it.” - David Gerrold

“My aim is to put down on paper what I see and what I feel in the best and simplest way.” - Ernest Hemingway

Need an editor? Having your book, business document or academic paper proofread or edited before submitting it can prove invaluable. In an economic climate where you face heavy competition, your writing needs a second eye to give you the edge. Whether you come from a big city like Miami, Florida, or a small town like Normal, Illinois, I can provide that second eye.

Developmental edit guides author through writing

Authors who haven’t started penning their book and need guidance through the writing process typically need developmental editing.

This generally includes:
• Selecting concepts that a book will focus on
• Helping organize the book’s structure and its various elements
• Encouraging authors to maintain a writing schedule and to complete the manuscript by deadline
• Providing substantive editing to drafts of “completed” chapters

Most self-published authors don’t work with a developmental editor. Instead, they rely on fellow authors or colleagues to bounce ideas off of. If going with developmental editing, you will need to work with an editor who you feel comfortable with, as the process will be lengthy and you will receive a lot of suggestions with which you may not agree.

That’s an expensive route for those self-publishing books. Most self-published authors can do the developmental and substantive editing themselves with the help of fellow writers or colleagues. They definitely need copy editing and then a proofreading of their formatted book by an outside source, though. And if a beginning writer, having a substantive edit done until you become more skilled is a good idea.

During the days ahead, we’ll look more in depth at each these different types of editing.

Need an editor? Having your book, business document or academic paper proofread or edited before submitting it can prove invaluable. In an economic climate where you face heavy competition, your writing needs a second eye to give you the edge. I can provide that second eye.

Substantive edit needed early in writing process

A type of editing you can have done early in the writing process is substantive editing.

This generally includes:
• Correcting spelling, capitalization, punctuation and obvious grammar errors
• Improving readability of text
• Identifying clarity and organizational issues
• Identifying accuracy issues
• Identifying consistency issues
• Recommending sections to add, reduce or delete

A substantive edit generally is needed after the writer has taken the manuscript through at least one draft. That is, the manuscript is “completed” with no missing parts. A substantive editor may find that additional parts need to be written, but before the edit begins, at least in the writer’s mind, the manuscript is “complete.”

Editors vary on their approach to substantive editing. Many will rewrite whole sections, and generally the more expensive the editor, the more likely that will occur. Other editors (including myself) believe in the integrity of the manuscript and tend to merely recommend that parts be rewritten, added or subtracted. Such editors take on more of a mentoring role as the writer makes such changes.

Need an editor? Having your book, business document or academic paper proofread or edited before submitting it can prove invaluable. In an economic climate where you face heavy competition, your writing needs a second eye to give you the edge. Whether you come from a big city like Minneapolis, Minnesota, or a small town like Nothing, Arizona, I can provide that second eye.

Copy editing intended for book near completion

One type of editing you can have done is copy editing.

This generally includes:
• Correcting spelling, capitalization, punctuation and obvious grammar errors
• Ensuring the text is clear and understandable (which may involve minor rewriting)
• Checking for potential copyright violations
• Cross-checking for consistent use of references and sources

While copy editing includes elements of proofreading (correcting spelling, capitalization, punctuation and obvious grammar errors), the latter also can focus on formatting issues. At the copy editing stage, your manuscript is still getting in shape to be formatted, so checking such items as the table of contents would be premature.

The manuscript that needs copy editing usually is fairly far along in the drafting stage, though, as major issues such as organization and maintaining a consistent voice have been worked out.

Need an editor? Having your book, business document or academic paper proofread or edited before submitting it can prove invaluable. In an economic climate where you face heavy competition, your writing needs a second eye to give you the edge. Whether you come from a big city like Minneapolis, Minnesota, or a small town like Nothing, Arizona, I can provide that second eye.