Inventing Reality Editing Service

Editing clients publish their first children's books

Two recent editing clients of mine – George Le Fave and W.H. Auden Cheryl Pestor, a husband a wife team – have published their first children’s book. The lushly illustrated “The Journey to Whispering Gardens” takes children to a place where the myths and legends they were told are true. Fairies are real. Nature is ruled by magic. And we all possess magical powers that we may discover— if we just learn how to listen to “the Whispers.” The book is available online, with 10 percent of all profits will be donated to OneTreePlanted.

Professional Book Editor: Having your novel, short story or nonfiction manuscript 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.

Why self-published authors must keep records

As a writer, you undoubtedly keep every one of your writings. You’ve got journals full of story ideas, descriptions and story outlines, you’ve got great lines and character names scribbled on scraps of paper, you’ve got file folders with printouts of stories in various stages of revision.

Once you self-publish, you’ll need to bring all the meticulousness of that word hoarding to bear on your business records. That means never tossing a receipt and tracking them on income statements and balance sheets.

I know, I know, that sounds all terribly boring. But there are several reasons why you must keep business records:
• Monitor your business – Records allow you to see if you’re making a profit or loss, to identify which products or services are selling, and to decide via data about how to make your business more profitable.
• Provide financial statements – You’ll need income (specifically profit and loss) statements and balance sheets when you pay taxes or should you decide to seek a business loan.
• Identify source of receipts – This information is needed to separate business from nonbusiness receipts and taxable from nontaxable income.
• Keep track of deductible expenses – You then will be able to ensure you save some money at tax time.
• Support items reported on tax returns – The IRS will require you to submit some of these records and at any time can request to inspect them to prove the validity of your returns.

Usually just a few minutes a day are needed to maintain your business records. Remember that recording the expenses as they occur will be much easier than trying to remember them or locate receipts when doing taxes. And before you offer the excuse, “But that cuts into my writing time!” know that not doing so likely means you’ll spend days of having to forgo writing at tax time.

Professional Book Editor: Having your novel, short story or nonfiction manuscript 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.

14 Frequently Confused Words to Watch For

• Core vs. corps  
• Disconsternation vs. consternation  
• Hypothesis vs. hypotheses 
• Pore vs. pour  
• Rein vs. reign  
• Stick up vs. stickup  
• Wrack vs. rack 

Professional Book Editor: Having your novel, short story or nonfiction manuscript 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.

7 Ways to Bust Out of Writer's Block

• Tracked Down 
• Trapped  
• Turning a new page  
• Vengeance 
• Violence 
• Zealotry  
• Use journaling to develop plots for stories 
• BONUS: “Find the key emotion; this may be all you need know to find your short story.” - F. Scott Fitzgerald 

Professional Book Editor: Having your novel, short story or nonfiction manuscript 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.

15 Tips on How to Build a Story

• Basic guidelines for your story's rising action  
• Develop conflicts related to resolving your story's central problem 
• Unfold action to develop a stronger story 
• Your main character must fail 
• Your story: Thrusts and counterthrusts  
• Add ticking clock to create sense of urgency 
• What is a scene and a vignette? 
• How to build a scene for your story 
• Add 'big scenes' to give story some oomph 
• Don't place part of story's plot inside a dream
• How to construct a scene in a story  
• Remain wary of using fast-forward in story  
• Avoid violating chronology when plotting story  
• Basic guidelines for devising cliffhangers 
• Build rising action scenes around conflict 
• BONUS: “All great literature is one of two stories; a man goes on a journey or a stranger comes to town.” 

Professional Book Editor: Having your novel, short story or nonfiction manuscript 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.

Five Great Quotes: Advice to Aspiring Authors

“You can, you should, and if you’re brave enough to start, you will.” - Stephen King

“If you want to be a writer-stop talking about it and sit down and write!” - Jackie Collins

“I would advise anyone who aspires to a writing career that before developing his talent he would be wise to develop a thick hide.” - Harper Lee

“Try to develop actual work habits. Try to reserve an hour, say - or more - a day to write.” - John Updike

“Jump, and you will find out how to unfold your wings as you fall.” - Ray Bradbury

Professional Book Editor: Having your novel, short story or nonfiction manuscript 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.

6 Motivations to Get You Writing Again

• It’s okay to do less  
• Add to your collection  
• Lessen social isolation  
• Your personal interest 
• Identify and rewrite 
• Get out and socialize  
• BONUS: “Read a thousand books, and your words will flow like a river.” - Lisa See 

Professional Book Editor: Having your novel, short story or nonfiction manuscript 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.

8 Tips on Creating an Author’s Platform

• What exactly is an ‘author platform’? 
• What is a ‘platform’ when promoting a book?  
• Use consistent name across your author platform 
• How to promote your book via Facebook 
• Use YouTube to promote your book  
• Use Instagram to promote your books  
• Utilize Pinterest to generate book sales  
• When to promote your book using Tumblr 

Professional Book Editor: Having your novel, short story or nonfiction manuscript 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.

5 Useful Tips on Self-Publishing

• Do you need a manuscript editor? 
• Avoid 'publishing packages' if self-publishing 
• Frontlist, backlist mean little in self-publishing 
• How to withdraw a book from sale at Amazon 
• Do you need extra services a P.O.D. house offers? 

Professional Book Editor: Having your novel, short story or nonfiction manuscript 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.

14 Commonly Confused Words/Spellings

• Angel vs. angle
• Complement vs. compliment
• Copyright v. copywrite  
• Borrow vs. lend vs. loan 
• Gage vs. gauge
• Okay vs. O.K. vs. OK 

Professional Book Editor: Having your novel, short story or nonfiction manuscript 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.