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I'm DELIGHTED to welcome a special guest to the blog today with some SOLID advice on why editing before seeking feedback is so important, along with some tips on how exactly you can do this efficiently and effectively.  Jamie Evans is a freelance fiction editor who loves helping writers develop their craft and prepare their stories for that next step. Previously the in-house editor for a boutique literary agency, Jamie has worked with New York Times bestselling authors and offers a friendly approach to editing. In her spare time, Jamie enjoys writing, reading, taking hikes with her husband and their dog, and baking banana bread. The Importance of Self-Editing Your Novel: 3 Tips Once you’ve finished writing your manuscript, you may be excited to send it out to critique partners for a fresh look. You’re probably looking forward to getting the feedback you’ve wanted since you started the first chapter, or getting questions answered about plot, character development, and more. But there’s an important step before all of this takes place that you can’t skip. Regardless of the stage at which you currently find yourself—writing your first novel, publishing your third book, or anywhere in between and beyond—you need to self-edit. What is self-editing? Self-editing is what it sounds like: it’s the process of editing and polishing your words. You can clean up your sentences, spot typos, and make sure the story flows the way you want it to. Self-editing does not replace the need for an outside reader, but it’s an essential step to take before sending your piece to that outside reader. This is your golden chance to go back and revise or expand. By giving your reader or editor a cleaner and more organized version of your book, they’ll have more time to focus on bigger elements and spend less time navigating their way through smaller (but distracting) errors. When you send in a more polished product, it’ll not only reflect well on you, but also help make your story better. So, how can you successfully self-edit your novel? In this post, I offer three important tips: 1. Take a break. Taking a break may seem counterintuitive. After all, you’ve been looking forward to querying this manuscript since Day One, or self-publishing it by the holidays. However, taking a break from your manuscript is the number one step to ensuring you come back to it with a fresh perspective. Here’s how you can structure your break:
Aside from coming back to your manuscript feeling refreshed, you’ll be amazed at what you spot with a fresh look. Be sure to take the needed time away so you can return to your story ready to work! 2. Read your novel on a different device. After you’ve done your first read-through following your break, wait a few more days and then find another device you can use to read your manuscript. This could be a Kindle, iPad, or other tablet. Or, if you’re so inclined, print it out—though this won’t be as environmentally friendly! You’ll be amazed at what you spot. Just switching up the way in which you read your manuscript will help you find errors or awkward wording, and can even help you approach your storyline from an entirely new direction. Take a break from Word or Scrivener (both of which are wonderful tools, to say the least), and use a new lens to read your words. From there, you’ll be on your way to polishing your work as best you can. 3. Read your story aloud to yourself. This last step may seem a bit odd, but going through your piece and reading it aloud to yourself can make a huge difference in the quality of the story. (Make sure you have a few extra hours and some water handy!) By reading your work aloud to yourself, you can:
Though this step takes a more technical approach to your writing, it’s a great way to clean up the text itself and spot errors you may not have otherwise found. After all, if your work doesn’t sound the way you want it to, that’s an indication that it won’t sound right to your readers, either. In Conclusion... Don’t send your very first draft to a critique partner or professional editor. While having a new, fresh set of eyes on your finished manuscript is essential, giving your reader a more polished piece will help make the most of their time (and yours). Good luck!
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My beautiful friend Samantha is having a sale of her beautiful books and you should all go buy them and read her beautiful words. That is all. SC Alban was born and raised in Northern California. She graduated from university, where she majored in English literature. Her adult contemporary fantasy books, The Strega Series, will be published through Foster Embry Publishing. She is currently working as an assistant editor for the boutique publisher, Lakewater Press, out of Queensland, Australia. During her time there, she’s had her hands in various projects from slush pile reader, to assisting acquisitions, to producing book trailers, to working with the social media coordinator, to working directly with the editing & development department under the guidance of the editorial director. She also works on staff for Theme Parkology, writing documentaries for the company. She currently resides in the gorgeous Pacific Northwest with her family, two cats, and three (terribly) lazy guard dogs, and considers herself pretty darn lucky to live in such an amazing place.  Email: authorsamanthaalban@gmail.com Website: www.scalban.wordpress.com Twitter: www.twitter.com/muchasfloras Facebook: www.facebook.com/s.c.alban  Title: A LIFE WITHOUT LIVING (BOOK ONE IN THE STREGA SERIES) Author: SC Alban Genre: Paranormal Thriller Subgenre: Urban Fantasy Publisher: Foster Embry Publishing; 2nd edition (2019) Release Date: May 21, 2019 Format: paperback Paperback Retail Price: $16.99 Pages: 350 ISBN-10: 173370731X ISBN-13: 978-1733707312 Format: ebook EBOOK Price: $4.99 Pages: 337 ASIN: B07QPPGLW1 Publisher Contact information: FosterEmbrycoo@gmail.com How long would you wait for true love? In her past life, he was her true love. In this life, he is her salvation. Kate Martins appears to have it all; a good career, a beautiful home, and an amazing husband. What more could anyone ask for? But when Kate’s recurring nightmares begin to cross over into her waking hours, she discovers her perfect life is not at all what it seems. It isn’t until she meets a mysterious stranger that Kate begins to question who truly she is and where she comes from. For the past four centuries, Giovanni Rossi has faced the dark powers of the Strega Negri in search of the one woman who can lift his curse of immortality. The problem? His enemy always seems to be one step ahead. Desperate to be free, Gio races against the clock to find his true love. Will he find what he is looking for in Kate, or fail once more and be doomed to another lifetime of loss?  PRAISE FOR A LIFE WITHOUT LIVING . . .
“A Life Without Living by SC Alban is a breathtaking story of a love that defies time, a love tested by unusual circumstances.” —Divine Zape for Readers’ Favorite “A Life Without Living by SC Alban is a fast paced, supernatural roller coaster that starts out running and doesn't stop until the end.” Sherri Fulmer Moorer for Readers’ Favorite “This is series material at its finest. I loved, loved, loved this. It is such a fresh look at an old theme!” —Lisa McCombs for Readers’ Favorite “If you enjoy Fantasy and romance you will surly enjoy this story.” —Marie’s Book Boutique Blog |
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January 2021
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