Every now and then I'll post a Q & A culled from a recent interaction I've had with an author. Here's a great one to kick things off:

Question: When one has a good relationship with an editor (i.e. trusts his or her judgment) and is willing to undergo substantive edits, how necessary are beta readers?  If they're still relevant, when would you use them?  Do authors who work with traditional publishers use them?

As an editor, education and awareness are ongoing endeavors for me. Grammar rules, spelling, and style preferences get updated; plot trends are constantly in flux; industry operations are changing rapidly these days; publishers, agents, editors, and organizations are interacting with "the public" like never before, offering up-to-the-minute insight; and I try to stay abreast of it all as best I can.

Here are some of my favorite clicks from last week:

• "This Pronoun Will Make You Irresistible to Women": I bet you didn't know "whom" held so much power, even when used incorrectly! (Slate)
• "From Pathetic to Professional: 8 Ways to Beat the First Draft Blues": Not only is this a super great article by Ruth Harris covering the same issues I routinely discuss with my authors, she also includes links to resources for improving dialogue, making reverse outlines, and more. (Anne R. Allen's Blog)

Blogging superstar, writing instructor, and author Morgen Bailey recently interviewed me for her blog's 700th guest interview feature. If you ever wanted to know more about me and how I came to be an editor, check it out!

Be sure to also check out the plethora of resources at her various websites, including opportunities for interviews, writing prompts, marketing resources, and the list goes on.

As an editor, education and awareness are ongoing endeavors for me. Grammar rules, spelling, and style preferences get updated; plot trends are constantly in flux; industry operations are changing rapidly these days; publishers, agents, editors, and organizations are interacting with "the public" like never before, offering up-to-the-minute insight; and I try to stay abreast of it all as best I can.

Here are some of my favorite clicks from last week:

• "The Report": This is by far the hottest author topic to hit the internet this week. An author with mad coding skills put together a program that can crawl Amazon and compile charts that compare statistics like price, ratings, number of reviews, etc. against the big 5 publishers vs. indie publishers vs. self-publishing authors. That coder teamed up with Hugh Howey, and together, their data will blow your mind. (Author Earnings)
• "Me, Hugh Howey, and Legacy John on AuthorEarnings.com": Renowned self-publishing bestseller JA Conrath jumped in with his own commentary on the aforementioned article. (JA Konrath)
• "Bechdel Test": Authors, does your book 1. Have at least two women in it, 2. who talk to each other, 3. about something besides a man? Only about half of 2013's blockbuster films pass the test! (Lots of sources cover the Bechdel Test, but this link leads to Wikipedia)
• "Swat that Fly!": Authors, do you let a fly on the wall tell your story, or are your characters consistently narrating in third person? Great info on showing vs. telling from Wild Rose Press editor Stacy D. Holmes. (Behind the Garden Gate)
• "Verification Tools: A definitive guide to verifying digital content for emergency coverage": Although this resource is targeted at media writers, I think it's a brilliant collection of resources for verifying things that get posted by any-ole-body on the internet.  (Verification Handbook)
• "Amazon vs. Book Publishers, By the Numbers": Love 'em or hate 'em, Amazon influences publishing in a big way. (Forbes)

Did you find any of these links helpful? Have you stumbled across some goldmines of your own this past week? I'd love to see your comments!

I'm pretty rubbish at this blogging thing, aren't I? No updates for three months, yikes! 

Since I'm not doing a great job at setting aside time to write brilliant content of my own, today marks the first of what I intend to be an every-weekend feature where I pass along the links to particularly insightful writing-, editing-, and publishing-related articles and blog posts I've discovered throughout the previous week. Some will be geared toward authors, some at editors, many for both. 

As an editor, education and awareness are ongoing endeavors for me. Grammar rules, spelling, and style preferences get updated; plot trends are constantly in flux; industry operations are changing rapidly these days; publishers, agents, editors, and organizations are interacting with "the public" like never before, offering up-to-the-minute insight; and I try to stay abreast of it all as best I can.

Here are some of my favorite clicks from last week: