Bookish Ramblings

So, I just finished the final edits on She Wants It All by Jessica Calla. And I have to say, it's amazing!! One of the cool things about being a senior editor is that I get to see the book after they've been through content and line. I get to see the *almost* finished product and just touch it up a teeny bit. And whenever I get Jess' books, I'm floored by just how good they are. She has a really natural NA voice, and I find myself sucked into her stories each and every time.

She Laughs In Pink

(Chase--the sexy bad boy)

She Runs Away

(Ben--muscles)

She Wants It All

(Dave--the rockstar with the heart of gold)

She Wants It All releases 5/15/17

Now, I loved Chase in She Laughs in Pink. In fact, not even Ben (who is great) in She Runs Away could knock Chase off the swoon pedestal. But then came Dave in She Wants It All. And for me, he tops them all. He takes the crown and wears it proudly. 

I think I like Dave so much because he reminds me of my own husband, Deek. Like my man, Dave wants to be a rockstar. You might remember my very own Deek had dreams of being a rock god back in his college years too. 

Here he is with his childhood bestie and bandmate, Chris.

And he still hasn't *totally* given it up! ;) 

But I think Dave mostly reminds me of Deek because of how very much he loves Maggie. He falls for her hard, and he'd move heaven and earth for her. Deek treats me like that. I feel like I'm living in a real life fairytale, especially coming from the life I came from (read about my old life here and here). Deek treats me like I'm the only woman in the world and his life mission is to make me feel loved and happy. I had no idea such wonderful men existed! 

He's beyond swoony

So, when you go to read She Wants It All and you wonder if men that amazing really do exist, I can confirm they do! I am married to a man who is the kindest, funniest, most talented, most loving person I've ever encountered. Dream guys are real, so don't settle for the scumbags. ;) 

Dream guys *are* real!

In other news, you may remember that I'm a senior editor at Tenacious Books as well as BookFish Books. Well, Tenacious has been working with the supremely talented Anita B. Carroll at Race-Point to create a logo, and they just released it. 

Do these rock or what? There's a reason #AnitaIsAmazing is a Twitter hashtag! ;) The woman rules! Now I'm going to shamelessly self-promote for a minute. If you're looking to self-publish and want to hire Anita to do your cover, she's teamed up with me and Anya Kagan to offer a great service called The Rhewbix Cube. Check it out! You won't find a better deal on quality covers and edits. 

In other bookish news, I'm sitting on the cover for Meet Me Under The Stars by KD Proctor (BookFish Books), and I'm about to burst with excitement to share it. It's another Anita special, so you know it will knock your socks off. KD said she screamed in excitement when she saw the final version, and she yelled so loudly her officemates rushed in to see what was wrong. LOL! PS. I'm just going to let it slip that I loved this book. KD submitted a totally different version to BFB initially, and I liked that version a lot. But this new one...holy wow! SO GOOD! 

KD Proctor

Meet Me Under The Stars releases 7/12/17

And I'm working with Chrissy Lessey on the Tenacious Books side on her Crystal Coast Series. She and Anita are working through cover mock-ups, and Chrissy and I are working on transforming her story from omnipotent narrator to third person limited. There is something about Chrissy's writing--a purity--that's refreshing and endearing. I adore the story already, but I'm stoked beyond measure to see where Chrissy can take it! 

The whole Crystal Coast Series returns this summer!

At this moment, I'm in the rare position of being in between projects, so you know what that means?? Writing time!! So, I'm going to hop off the blog and work on the nameless Molly and Ryder story. I don't know if I told you, but I had trouble getting the book out. No matter what I tried, the words didn't work (I've written and rewritten this one a few times already). So, I decided to turn the sequel into the first story, and the words are pouring out like a river. I guess the sequel was always meant to be the real story, but I just didn't realize it. I seriously can't wait for you guys to meet Molly, Ryder, Jason, Tash, and Mac. I hope you'll love them as much as I do!

This was the promo I made for the original story,

 so I guess I'll need to update it. LOL!

Ok, off to write. Until next time, write hard, play hard! 

Life of an Editor

Howdy, y'all! I hope you enjoyed my previous two posts about why you need a quality cover artist and editor. I hope to post a few more blogs on those topics in the coming months. But for now, I thought you might be interested in a little behind-the-scenes look at the life of an editor.

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Ok, so as you know, I work for both BookFish Books and Tenacious Books Publishing, and I run a freelance business. What does all that look like? 

Well, it's a bit hectic, to say the least...

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I am a trained line and copy editor, but I've had the pleasure of working with some truly great content editors (Heather Van Fleet, Katie Carroll, and Anya Kagan, to name a few). From them, I've learned A LOT about content editing. So, since one BookFish content editor is on maternity leave and the other is away on a family emergency, I stepped out of my line/copy editing role and took on content editing for Meet Me Under The Stars. Note: This isn't the first time I've had to step in on content, and I find I quite enjoy it. 

So, I've been working with the KD Proctor to whip this amazing story into the best shape of its life. And let me say, KD is a true pleasure to work with. She's funny and prompt, and she puts her whole heart into her story. Can't beat that!

KD Proctor

While I worked on Meet Me Under The Stars, Tenacious Books Publishing signed Chrissy Lessey and her The Crystal Coast Series. These books are set to release in the summer, so I had to jump on those edits quickly. I'd do set of edits for KD, send them to her, do a set of edits for Chrissy, and send them to her, just in time to get KD's edits back again.

Chrissy Lessey

Now, don't forget, as senior editor, I also read the final draft of all books from BookFish before they go out, and I format them for eBook and print. While I've been busily working on Meet Me Under the Stars and The Crystal Coast Series, Jessica Calla has been working with her editors on She Wants It All (the third book in The Sheridan Hall series). In a few days, I'll be set to be the final pair of eyes on this story before it goes into production, which I'll also handle. BUT I've still got edits on The Hunted (Book 2 of The Crystal Coast Series), The Beacon (Book 3 of The Crystal Coast Series), the final read-through for Meet Me Under The Stars, and production for all three books in The Crystal Coast Series, Meet Me Under The Stars, and She Wants It All.

The gorgeous cover by the supremely talent Anita Carroll!

Is your head spinning? I know mine is! But that's a sneak peek of what it's like to work for two separate publishing companies and fit in all the various deadlines.

Despite all the work we have to do, Deek and I managed to sneak away to Colonial Williamsburg for a little R&R this past weekend. What a nice, relaxing time with my best friend! As my family always says: I love you to the moon and back! Thank you so much, my Deek, for whisking me away from all my responsibilities and filling my weekend with fun, laughter, and love. You amaze me every single day, and I fall a bit more in love with you with each passing moment! 

Since Deek's doing a whole blog on our trip, I'll just give you a little sneak peek at some photos he didn't use. ;) 

Coffee'd up and ready to go!

We tried "real" chocolate. Surprisingly VERY good!

Very cool electrolyte water bottle

One of the oldest college buildings in America (campus of William and Mary)

At the lectern in one of the oldest classrooms in America.

The College of William and Mary STILL holds class here. How cool is that?

You can't take us anywhere...

The prison where Blackbeard's men were held until their hangings!

This one is for you, Chrissy (The Crystal Coast Series)!

He's my partner, my best friend, my soul mate, my world! <3

Hubba hubba!! 

Well, since I've got massive deadlines to meet, I better scram! Catch you on the flip side, friends! 

Until next time, live out loud! 

The Importance of Quality Editing

Now, here I go writing a post about editing, so I'm sure there will be mistakes. Why? Because we ALL need an editor (even editors). We ALL see what we want to see in our writing rather than what's actually there.

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If you're going to self-publish your book, can you edit it yourself? You *can*, but you shouldn't. Because we all see what we want to see in our own writing, you won't be able to catch mistakes like plot holes, misspellings, or misplaced commas. You'll need an editor for that.

This day and age, almost anyone can hang an internet "shingle" up and claim to be an editor, so make sure you use your money wisely. Just because an editor is cheap doesn't mean they're good at what they do (in fact, it's usually the opposite). Find someone with solid credentials, who's plugged into the industry, and who understands what it takes to make a great book.

An editor should never, never, never hand you back a manuscript with just a few notes. If you get that, you've hired someone who doesn't know what they're doing and/or someone who rushed through your work without giving it the proper time and attention. Time and attention you paid for.

Editing *should* be a difficult process for you. You should feel pushed out of your comfort zone. You should feel stretched to the limit. You're growing and learning. If you just get a pat on the head from an editor, you've wasted your money.

*Please hire a quality editor in order to maintain the integrity of self-publishing.*

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What should your editors look for in your manuscript? Well, there are a few different types of editors. 

You want a developmental or content editor to focus on plot, characterization, voice, setting, etc. They'll make sure you don't have the dreaded "plot holes." 

For example, I just did content edits on a book where the sister "tossed" her dead sister's ashes onto a bed. That's a very insensitive thing to do, and this character is not insensitive. In fact, she and her sister were very close. So, it's not consistent with the characterization of this person throughout the book.

PS. You can ask an editor to do a sample edit for you. Quality editors are happy to work on a small section of your book to prove they know their stuff.

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You want a line and copy editor to check your grammar, punctuation, word choice, etc. This person will go over your manuscript with a fine-toothed comb and make sure you're clearly communicating the information in your story.

For example: I'm sure you've all seen this one (I have two shirts with this on it 'cause...word nerd).

Let's eat kids.

Let's eat, kids.

VERY different meanings! So, you'll want to employ a line/copy editor to make sure you're being most clear.

Note: I do not recommend hiring the same person to do content and line editing. You want fresh eyes for each stage. And I also recommend hiring a proofreader because no matter how many eyes are on your book, another pair will make your work as sharp as possible.

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So, you're interested in an editor with experience and knowledge of the industry. Where do you turn? Well, obviously, I have to plug myself because...it's my blog. LOL! I am available to do content or line/copy, though I'm more classically trained in line/copy. Other editors I'd recommend are:

Anya Kagan at Touchstone Editing

Ellie Sipila at Move To The Write

I have personal experience with both of these ladies and can vouch for them. They're truly TOP NOTCH!! 

Before you hire an editor, do attempt a self edit because you never want to turn your rough draft into anyone. Always, always, always look over your own work. But then release your baby into capable hands.

If you have questions about how to do a self-edit before you hire an editor, I've written a list of common writing mistakes. Remember, this list is to guide you in a round of self-edits BEFORE you turn your story over to a professional editors. It's not to replace professional editor. Because it's time to realize you *can't* do this one your own and still produce quality work (not even if you're already an editor). Because, we all see what we want to see...

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Until next time, write on!