Book Editing | Self-Publishing Review

Say When: Publication Readiness

As a self-publishing author, you are Chairman of the Publishing Board and Chief Operating Officer, deciding for yourself, by yourself when to hit the publish button. But what informs your conclusion that today is The Day?

One of the biggest chores is to tidy up first. Author Deborah Niemann comments on the trials and tribulations of proofreading with lots of help:

One thing that will never cease to amaze me about writing a book is how many mistakes there are in the galley, even though the author has read and revised multiples times, and a professional editor has read and

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Lela Michael2020-02-21T06:11:30+02:00July 2nd, 2012|Categories: Member Blog|Tags: Book Editing|

eBook Authors: Errors and the Dreaded Stigma of Self-Publishing

Self-publishing and ebooks have carried a stigma from day one by naysayers and the traditional publishing world. They forecast the book publishing pipe filled with poor and unreadable digital content because of the self-publishing ebook author.

There has been an increase in errors and poor formatting introduced by the new digital books compared to their pbook counterparts to be sure. So what has gone wrong? And why are these mistakes happening?

Are the self-publishing newbie authors, with their lack of experience, to blame? Does the new digital creation process introduce a new level of errors? Should traditional publishers share in […]

James Moushon2020-02-21T03:47:11+02:00September 6th, 2011|Categories: Features|Tags: Author Branding, Book Editing|

I Take Thee … Making That Commitment to Your Book

“Congratulations on your book.”

People are impressed with anyone who has completed the task of writing a whole book. There are thousands, if not millions, of people who have sat down to a keyboard to start writing a book but never finished it.

The first hurdle that most encounter is what I call the Forty-Page Block. It’s not always page forty. Sometimes it’s page twenty-five or page one hundred and twenty-five. Whichever page number it is, at some point there’s a block that separates the authors from the wannabes.

At this hurdle, many writers will simply throw in the towel […]

Lauren Carr2020-02-21T06:46:19+02:00June 16th, 2011|Categories: Features|Tags: Book Editing, Writing|

The Writing Process

One of the things I love best about DVDs are the special features. I love learning how and why a movie was made as much as (and maybe more than) the the movie itself. The same goes for books. I love learning about the process that went on from conception to publication and all the steps and changes that happened along. So in that spirit, I thought I’d share my own writing process for those who are curious about where my stories come from.

First I don’t sit down and say to myself, “Self, you must come up with an […]

Jeff Thomason2011-03-03T15:26:28+02:00March 3rd, 2011|Categories: Features, Member Blog|Tags: Book Editing, Writing|

What do Bad Sports Teams, the U.S. Govt, and Self-Publishing Have in Common?

It’s not easy to make the transition from a misanthropic and socially anxious writer to a self-promoting suckup, and the biggest reason I published this first book on my own was because I’ve been losing my mind trying to get agents to even agree to peek at the manuscript for my novel, which is a whole other story.

Trying to get them to read and approve of a collection of drug-fueled, anti-establishment essays about how frustrating it is to spend my time rooting for losers like the U.S. government and my favorite sports teams was something I just couldn’t imagine.[…]

Sean Michael Hogan2020-02-21T06:46:27+02:00September 8th, 2010|Categories: Member Blog|Tags: Book Editing, Writing|

Important Questions to Ask Before You Self Publish (and sign on the dotted line)

So many self-publishing houses; so many empty promises…

In the past year since my own self-published book, The Victor, was released, I have met many authors who have gone the self-publishing route and have learned many important things that they should have given thought to but didn’t even know to ask and are now kind of “stuck” after having spent A LOT of money. There are good companies to self-publish with and some horrible ones, so “buyer beware”! There are quite a few important things you need to ask and consider before deciding on which company to go with […]

Marlayne Giron2011-10-08T18:08:40+02:00June 11th, 2010|Categories: Resources|Tags: Book Distribution, Book Editing, Copyright|

Thoughts on the Editing Process

Since I have been doing a lot of this lately, including Beta reads and formatting, I thought I would discuss the various stages of the editorial process. This is by no means specific to self-publishing; all authors go through an editorial process of some sort, and for some, the process is much deeper than it is for others, and for some it could be a whole lot deeper.

First Reader(s) is normally the person(s) you trust the most. The Person(s) who will give you honest feedback straight out of the gate, understanding that this craptacular mess of paper you […]

Cheryl Anne Gardner2020-02-21T06:46:32+02:00April 29th, 2010|Categories: Resources|Tags: Book Editing|

The Intersection of Your Vision Blvd. and Writer’s Block Rd.

We’ve all been there. One minute you’re smoothly cruising down Your Vision Blvd. in your 1966 Ford Mustang convertible—sunshine, blue skies, 70-degree wind blowing through your hair. All of your ideas are beautifully coordinated into coherent and meaningful sentences. Writer heaven.

Then, out of nowhere, gridlock. You’ve stopped moving. It’s bumper-to-bumper traffic and you find yourself perfectly perpendicular to Writer’s Block Rd. as the “Do Not Block the Intersection” street sign intensely glares at you. You impatiently tap your finger on the steering wheel as you hope that the light doesn’t turn red, leaving you caught in the middle of […]

Stefanie Flaxman2020-02-21T06:46:40+02:00February 25th, 2010|Categories: Resources|Tags: Book Editing|