Tag: proofreading

Are You Publishing to Connect with Readers or Just to Publish?

These are two different things. I was reminded of this when I stepped into a lively discussion recently in a Facebook group. There was an author recommending to other authors that they should bypass the editing process and simply have a family member proofread their soon to be self-published book. This doesn’t work for me.

When I published my first book I had one primary purpose—I wanted readers to read my book. And yes, there were other parts of the dream too. I wanted my friends and family to hold my book in their hands and see what I’d done, and I wanted to hit the bestseller lists and have the royalty payments arrive so quickly that I couldn’t spend the money fast enough. That part of the dream is contingent on my main objective being realized first though. Before anything else happened, I had to connect with readers, and to do that I needed to produce a professional product. If I’d just wanted to hold a book in my hands, and show off my writing to those around me, it would have been much simpler. I didn’t, though. I believe that I’m a pretty good writer and I want to earn my living writing and to do that I need to find readers. So, I got some help. Continue reading “Are You Publishing to Connect with Readers or Just to Publish?”

Tools of the Trade

Guest post
by Dick Waters

This is something I found very handy, and some writers might not know about it.

I write my novels in my office, which is mostly during the daytime. With many other distractions, it may have been days since I last wrote manuscript content. So, I have to refer to my spreadsheet outline to get an overview of what I wrote the last time. Inevitably, that is not enough and I have to read the last few chapters to get a better sense of chapter content etc. Continue reading “Tools of the Trade”

Does This Story Make Me Look Fat?

We are the worst judges of our own work.

The author of a work is biased in so many ways it boggles the mind. Whether one is burdened with chronic overconfidence or chronic self-doubt, any self-assessment will be skewed.

Because it is impossible for the author to see the story with fresh eyes, the opportunities for distortion are abundant. The end product is the final version of multiple versions. It becomes easy to mentally merge the multiple versions of what we wrote into a single, coherent version that is only what we think we are reading and not actually what we wrote. Continue reading “Does This Story Make Me Look Fat?”

How to Use Track Changes in Microsoft Word

Microsoft Word LogoDo you use “Track Changes” in Microsoft Word? Okay, the system can look intimidating at first with all the comment boxes and stuff. But once you get going, it’s a lot easier and a lot more fun than, say, doing your own taxes or changing your oil. And it’s a very handy way to work with editors, proofreaders, and collaborators.

Whether you’re marking up a document or reviewing one that has been marked up, go to the “Review” tab at the top ribbon of the page. I’m using Word for Mac 2011, but I’m fairly certain the PC versions use the same structure.

In that tab, there should be some method of turning “Track Changes” on and off. In my version, it looks like this: Continue reading “How to Use Track Changes in Microsoft Word”