If you’re old enough, you may remember those old-fashioned radios that changed stations via a dial. If you didn’t have the dial turned exactly “so,” you heard static and interference. But even a slight adjustment made a world of difference–you could hear your favorite music coming through loud and clear.
I like to think of book editing in the same way…an editor’s job is not to change the station (over-edit so the original voice is gone), but to fine tune it. This is especially true with content editing. I’ve found that authors usually really know what they’re talking about, which is a blessing and a curse. It’s often difficult for them to step outside their expertise and step into the shoes of their readers. Some sections of their non-fiction book might be too technical, or not thoroughly explained. The reader hears a lot of “static” and either gives up reading your book, or finishes it, but feels unsatisfied.
Never be too proud to use an editor. I’ve co-authored two books, and even as a professional editor, my co-authors and I have utilized outside editors. There is no substitute for an impartial, skilled editor to fine tune your book so your message, just like the radio station on the old-fashioned radios, comes through crystal clear.
My friend and colleague, Jerry Simmons, posted an article I wrote on Interviewing an Editor: The Seven Questions You Need to Ask. Enjoy! And if you haven’t signed up for his Tips for Writers, you should!
Did you hear the story from Fox News that 1 in 4 adults read no books in 2006? The article cites some of the reasons as “competition from the Internet and other media, the unsteady economy and a well-established industry with limited opportunities for expansion.”
I guess some people would just rather watch reality TV than expand their mind!
Conversation between my husband (Ed) and his dad (Dave):
Dave: “When does school start?”
Ed: “In a couple weeks, I guess.”
Me: “Ed, it starts Monday!”
I’m just glad one of us has a career that enables us to know what’s going on with the family, lol.
Speaking of which, I’m off to the school to take the boys to meet their teachers. I’m sure I sound like a broken record (for those of you old enough to know what that is!) but I love being a virtual assistant. You just can’t beat the work/life balance it offers.
My husband sent me a short video clip on youtube of a comedian making fun of all the things presenters do incorrectly in their PowerPoint presentations. You’ll undoubtedly recognize some of them. It’s less than four minutes long and entertaining to watch.
I’ve only done one PowerPoint presentation. Since it was for the IVAA summit and my topic was about continuing education, I did it myself. My next one will be for Infinity Publishing’s Express Yourself Authors’ Conference late next month. I will be speaking at the Writers’ Day program. Hope you can join me.
If so, please contact one of my favorite clients, Maria Swan. She’s looking for interviewees for her next book. Also, feel free to share this with others. Thanks!
Once upon a time…so begins most fairy tales. Yet not all real-life tales end with the “happily ever after.� Some people spend their whole lives chasing that elusive fairy tale ending. Others take the quest to a different level; trying to find a substitute or in some way duplicate the person which, at some point in their life, they’ve identified as the perfect lover and/or soulmate. A few do track down the lost object of their desire, while others settle for a look-alike or feel-alike while they try to rekindle a never-forgotten romance. If you or someone you know has walked up and down memory lane in search of such a happy ending (regardless of the conclusion), I would like to hear from you. My name is Maria Grazia Swan and I’m an author collecting material for a non-fiction book. Send your stories to swan3@mindspring.com
Last week I was interviewed by Rodney Schussler of ABCNews.com. Today the article appeared, entitled, Virtually There: Small Businesses Look Far Away for Help.
Fellow VAs Candy Beauchamp Nina Feldman, and Sue Kramer, whom I’ve all met in-person, are also mentioned in the article. I’m wishing I didn’t make the comment about the $20 bill, but it’s all true! Of course, a 20-minute conversation with a reporter is whittled down to 2 or 3 sentences!
So tonight, I’m enjoying my 15 minutes of fame!
On one of the online writers’ communities I read, someone asked what exactly a writing coach was, because, to her, it sounded like a scam artist. Some others of you may be wondering the same thing. So with this thought, I wanted to bring you the difference between a writing coach and an editor.
A writing coach helps you improve your writing. This can be a general skill-development project, or related to a specific piece of writing you’re working on. For this example, let’s say you’ve decided you’d like to write and self-publish “How to Market Widgets for Fun and Profit”. You’ve never written a book before. If you “just” decide to hire an editor and you didn’t really know how to write a book, you might get a very high editing quote because so much of your book needs to be re-worked and “fixed”. If you hire a writing coach, you are paying as you go. So you may pay an hourly rate or a monthly rate for a set number of phone calls or an “unlimited phone and email support” monthly rate. You can bounce your ideas off your coach, plan out the book, get feedback from the chapters as you go, and improve your writing over the course of completing the book. If your book wasn’t fine-tune edited during the coaching process, then when you move to the editing stage, your editor is working with a book that is in good shape. It won’t take him or her as long to fix it, and your fees should be less.
If you’re already written your book, you need an editor. If you’re about to start or have already started your book, you may want to consider a writing coach. If you’re a repeat successful author, you probably just need an editor. They are different services that work to achieve the same goal–a well-written book. In a writing coaching relationship though, you learn “how” to write a book, which is a skill you’ll be able to use as often as you want!
The Hidden Helpers provide writing coaching services. Please contact us for more information.
Two weeks ago, I posted about my first week this summer without a babysitter and whether I thought it would be feasible to go sitter-less in the summers. Well, it is. So, starting this week, the kids are home with me. They are now old enough to understand that if I say I’ll be on the phone with a client or prospect, they are not allowed to interrupt me (barring any emergencies, of course!). Today I was upstairs answering emails when I heard them say, “Mom, Deer, Deer!” and I ran downstairs to look, and sure enough, there were three deer on the hill behind our house. It was so nice to be able to join work and parenting and nature into one single moment!
Katie Baird over at Loose Ends asks how you know whether or not to keep long-term, low-value clients. You know, the ones that you have kept on because they’ve been with you from the beginning, or they’re just nice and they only take up a little bit of your time, so you don’t feel justified in turning them loose, yet are they really benefiting your business in any way or are they dragging you down?.
Here’s my 2 cents: When you answer the phone or read an email from one of these occasional clients, do you smile or groan? If you still don’t mind doing the actual task required, can easily fit it into your schedule, and you get some other value from these relationships (perhaps they refer you business, have given you a great testimonial, allowed you to use them as a reference or you just plain enjoy servicing them) then I would keep them.
If you resent hearing from them, dislike the actual work you have to do for them, or find they’re keeping you from pursuing the work and clients you’d really like to have, then you could consider subbing out the work or just referring them to another VA.
My clients can remain “inactive� for a long time and I expect that. But then again, I’m working mostly with authors on a project basis and they may go a year (or five!) without needing me. I have “resigned� from clients over the years as my business has changed and they no longer fit into my preferred business model. I would do this even before I “could� financially. But I also think this opens up space (physical and mental) to pursue the clients/projects you really want.
Thanks Katie, for inviting me to join in your conversation. Comments are welcome. What do YOU do with long-term, low-value clients??