is keeping up with it. Especially when it’s your own. So, can you guess what one of my New Year’s Resolutions is? You guessed it: to blog more frequently.
A few updates:
I am now the Secretary of the Central Pennsylvania Association for Female Executives, CPAFE. My term expires on December 31st. I’m very happy to be on the Executive Board of this great group of professional women.
I continue to be the IVAA Summit PR Committee Co-Chair, looking forward to visiting Charlotte in April 2008. We have some great speakers and events lined up. I was just in Charlotte over Christmas vacation (my brother lives there), so it’ll be nice to visit again so soon.
As we move into 2008, the Hidden Helpers will continue to provide ghostwriting and book editing. I’ve taken a special enjoyment lately in writing web copy, so if your website copy needs freshening up, call me!
Speaking of freshening up websites, my website designer (husband Ed Hidden), promises me my new website will be up and running soon.
Happy 2008!
Lauren
When writing your book, stop writing these phrases, “I feel; I believe; In my opinion; To me; etc.”
It just sounds too wishy-washy. You need to instill confidence in your reader. If you’re writing a book on your non-fiction topic, you are the expert. So, when you’re self-editing your book, get rid of these phrases. If you don’t catch yourself doing it, then do a “find” command for these phrases in your Word document.
You are the expert. Before you can write a good book, you have to believe it. Then you have to write so your readers believe it too.
Where to begin?
From last Thursday through yesterday, I attended the Infinity Publishing’s Express Yourself conference in Valley Forge, PA. I spoke at Writer’s Day on Thursday on how to self-edit and how to hire and use a professional editor. I had a PowerPoint and Klickerz interactive presentation planned, but as luck would have it, the projector was giving us fits and I had to change midstream. Mental note: Always have a plan B and don’t be too dependant on technology! I think it went okay though.
On Friday, I participated in an editing panel along with Beth Mansbridge, Melanie Rigney, LinDee Rochelle, Caryn Search and Emily Lawless. What was interesting was that we had a variety of different specialties amongst us, sometimes had different definitions of the varieties of editing, and all had different pricing structures.
And of course, we had some great presentations from presenters I will profile over the next week or so. I also have some pictures but with my new camera and picture software, I’m having issues trying to get them from the photo software to regular picture files and then online. So stay tuned until I talk to my photo tech support (Ed).
It’s always great to reconnect with colleagues and friends. And my thanks goes out to Infinity Publishing for allowing me to be a part of this great event.
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!
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
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.
It’s funny how you can find some great resources. I could spend every day just learning, learning, learning. If only I could figure out a way to get paid for it! I was going through some of John Kremer’s e-zines on his site and he listed some great free ebooks. One of them was from the guy who wears a nametag 24/7, “Hello my name is Scott”. I read the one about writing, marketing, and selling books, and then I emailed him for a copy of his one about creating, delivering, and marketing speeches. He promptly responded, and at the end, wrote:
“Hidden Helper”
Nice.
Thanks Scott! I will definitely be checking out his other books and more resources on his site. I guess I’ve just proven the theory that if you let people have some info for free, then they’ll come back and pay you for more!
P.S. Visit this page to read Chapter one of Entrepreneurial Freedom: How to Start and Grow a Profitable Virtual Assistance Practice–for free!!