Updated March 2020.
Do you have a question for the Motivational Editor? Drop it in the comments below or email me at deb [at] DebraLButterfield.com. Once a quarter I’ll be dedicating a post to answering your questions.
Ask the Editor
Ask the Editor: I’ve written a book, how do I get it published?
I question I get at least once or twice a month by email is “I’ve written book, how do I get it published?” or similar variations.
It’s a question I covered on my Facebook page live “Ask the Editor.” For those of you who don’t follow my FB page, I thought I’d offer it here.
If you have a question you’d like to have answered via live FB video, leave it in the comments.
Ask the Editor Day 4 – Will I Ever Be Done Editing?
Today’s our last day for Ask the Editor. I’ve enjoyed this and seems you have too. So I’ve decided to continue Ask the Editor on my Facebook author page via live FB video. Visit today and like my page so you can be sure not to miss those live events.
Now for today’s questions.
I feel that editing is a process I could literally be in forever with my book. How do you reach the point where you know that the editing process is complete?
I imagine many writers feel like this. But let me bring some distinction to the question. A synonym of edit is revise. So as writers, we edit/revise our own work. And this is where we can get stuck wondering if we’ll ever get past the process. For myself, I can look at my words in an already published form, be it digital or print, and think, I should have written it this way.
When revising your manuscript, you come that point of “it’s done” when you have [Read more…] about Ask the Editor Day 4 – Will I Ever Be Done Editing?
Ask the Editor – Historical Accuracy & POV
Today continues our Ask the Editor series.
I write historical romance. How important is it that all details be historically accurate versus making it understandable to modern day readers? For instance, most people nowadays think of dinner as an evening meal. Not so in the 1800s when it was the midday meal.
The degree of historical accuracy can vary from publisher to publisher. I know this only because of the books I read from various houses. I’m not privy to their rules.
But I advise my clients to be accurate. That doesn’t mean you can’t make the verbiage more understandable or smoother. Contractions weren’t widely used until the early 1900s, but I find it very tedious to read a book that doesn’t use them. In all things, it’s finding a balance. Let your dedication to accuracy lead you. If you want to be faithful to the language of the day, then be so (and I say kudos to you). You can put other clues into your story to help people know it’s the noon meal.
Where I insist on historical accuracy is [Read more…] about Ask the Editor – Historical Accuracy & POV
Ask the Editor–How do I know I have a good editor?
Today is part 2 of Ask the Editor and is a continuation of yesterday’s questions.
What clues can help authors in knowing they have a good editor?
What a great question. Many writers may wonder about this without ever really voicing the question even to themselves. Scams are everywhere in all arenas.
My take on this would be that the editor… [Read more…] about Ask the Editor–How do I know I have a good editor?