Use Each Day~Make It Count

Susan Reichert    @SouthrnWritrMag

Editor-in-Chief Southern Writers

With everyone having to stay in their homes, our attitudes are the things most of us are having to monitor.

As I told my children (who are grown) we can decide each day to use our day and make it count or we can complain and gripe. Staying in a good frame of mind is important––physically, mentally, emotionally and spirtually, for all of us.

I pray God, through His grace, will bring all of us through this better than we were when it started.

For writers we have the opportunity while this is going on to write a new story, or finish one we
have been working on.

There are many things as a writer we can do during the days we are home. I am hoping I will be able to finish some projects I have put off for a long time. It gives me a sense of accomplishment each time I get one completed.

And I get to spend more time with my family which I am grateful for thanks to Zoom. Since we don't live close we use this to visit. It is very comforting.

So many things we take for granite––like being able to run up to the grocery store and grab a four pack of toilet paper, paper towels, milk and bread. Now we only go once a week, and seeing the shelves bare is mind boggling.

During this time let us pray for one another, keep good thoughts, and make each day count in our own way.

God Bless!

When Is It Time?

Chris Pepple    @ChrisPepple16

Award-winning author with six published books. She is also a freelance writer, manuscript consultant, and editor.

As a writer, I know that I’m not perfect. No one is. Unfortunately, very few of us can catch our own mistakes. After 20+ years as a writer and 10+ years as a freelance editor and manuscript consultant, you would think I wouldn’t need someone to look over my own manuscript. I do, though. I still make mistakes in grammar and even leave out words in a sentence at times. Computerized programs don’t always catch the types of mistakes I make. When I try to proofread my own work, I think I know what it says instead of seeing what I actually put down on paper. I always hope that others catch my mistakes before I go to press with an article, a poem, or a book.

Editing, a Key Ingredient for Publishing Success

By  Elizabeth M. Garrett

Months ago, I stood before a Christian writers group and read a devotional I’d written. I felt sure I had polished it to perfection. Before I had even begun to delve into the “meaty” part, I noticed an error. Ouch! I had included a scripture and had just read over a typo.

As authors, being familiar with what we’ve written can be a great detriment when producing a final product.

Have you ever written a manuscript, polished it, and felt it was ready for print, when you realize you gave a secondary character two different names? Or, maybe you spelled a proper noun three different ways. When you reviewed it, you knew what it was supposed to say, so you just read right over it.

Most writers I know feel a true calling to write and publish. While many have a real gift for the writing craft, they’re still not perfect. Although the product might have a compelling story line or provide helpful information, the writing quality plays a large role in whether or not a reader stays engaged until the end. A good editor can make the difference.

Published works often take weeks, months, maybe even years to develop into a final piece. Producing a book with quite a few errors or weak writing would be a shame after putting so much time and energy into something. I’ve also known writers to spend lots of money for editing, only to have it re-edited due to so many errors.

When searching for an editor, I encourage you to request a free sample edit and review credentials and references. Also, I suggest you interview people to see who would be a good fit.  Receiving constructive criticism of any kind isn’t easy, much less when it pertains to a project saturated in your blood, sweat, and tears.

Following are five things I recommend you look for in an editor:

1)      Someone who will suggest revisions, but will maintain your writing style.

2)      When suggesting a change, he or she will provide reasons.

3)      Someone who will challenge you in your writing and help you become a better writer.

4)      Someone whose goal is to strengthen and polish your work, not rewrite it.

5)      An encouraging person with candor, tact, and integrity.

In today’s crowded publishing marketplace, a quality product will go a long way in setting your manuscript apart. Having a good editor with whom you have a great working relationship can play a vital role in your publishing success.

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Elizabeth M. Garrett serves as editor and sole proprietor of Polish Point Editing, a web-based business founded in 2016. With thirty years of professional editing and public relations experience, she recently wrote and produced a webinar, “Masterclass in Public Relations for Authors” available through booksgosocial.com. Her creative works, both fiction and non-fiction, have been published in three collections, with another one on the way. Social Media Links: http://booksgosocialtraining.thinkific.com/courses/public-relations-for-authors?ref=4af275

http://polishpointediting.com

Can You Hear Me Now?

by Gary Fearon, Creative Director, Southern Writers Magazine


For weeks I had been looking forward to hearing a noted author and public speaker who gave a presentation near me this weekend.  From his books and the CDs I'd heard, I knew it was going to be an inspiring and entertaining talk.

My hopes remained high until I sat down and remembered how horrible the echo is in this particular venue.  It's a beautiful, ornate setting, appealing to the eye, but a portion of what they spent on decorating should have been invested in decent acoustic consultation.  Every word bounced around the hall and fought with itself, and I'd be surprised if the audience was able to discern more than half of what was said.  (The author, BTW, gave an excellent presentation, from the parts I could hear.)

Sitting through that muddled wash of indistinctness, my mind tended to wander, and I pondered how great words can all be in vain if something gets in the way.  Anything that distracts from the clarity of the message is a curse to communication.

In our writing, we can lose the reader in countless ways.  To name but a few:

• Long stretches of dialogue that doesn't occasionally inject who's saying what
• Too many details that aren't relevant to the story
• Too many accessory characters to keep up with
• Names of characters that are similar, inviting confusion
• Pet phrases or inside jokes that make the reader say, "Huh?"

There's also the whole issue of typos and improper punctuation.  It's amazing how the same sentence can take on different meanings without properly-placed punctuation. One of my favorite examples is:

• A woman without her man is nothing.
• A woman: without her, man is nothing.

Our proofreaders at the magazine (who are among my favorite people on the planet) are all about clarity.  A missing comma here, an awkwardly-worded phrase there, are the kind of things they lose sleep over, because these little grammatical gaffes take away from cogent communication.

They might even question my use of the word "cogent" if "clear" would say the same thing with less bluster. "Bluster" might even be suspect.

In the editing process, sometimes classical rules clash and debates result, but whenever they do, the judgment is always in favor of clarity; whatever conveys most accurately.

You know exactly what you meant to say, so you may not spot the impediments to communication that a good editor will notice.  Don't skip that important insurance policy.  And if you're ever asked to give a speech in a very big room, I encourage you to check out the acoustics before you say yes.