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:
- "On the Basics: Editors and Education—A Lifelong, Ongoing Process": Particularly relevant for my blog post today, yes? (An American Editor)
- "Thug Notes": SparkNotes for a new generation. "Thug" Sparky Sweets gives hilarious yet incredibly insightful analysis of classic literature, along with some pretty fun artistic visuals. Why didn't I know about this sooner? Love it! (YouTube channel)
- "Editing the First-Time Novelist": Is that manuscript really a final draft, ready for an editor? (The Editor's Weekly, official blog of the Editors' Association of Canada)
- "Harlequin Editors Know Conflict": 3 tips on the necessity of internal and external conflict (SOLD! So You Think You Can Write)
- ""Social" vs. "Sociable": Another Zombie Rule Bites the Dust": It is okay to use these words synonymously . (Copyediting)
- "An A to Z of Clichés Authors Should Avoid Like the Plague": This is a resource well-worth bookmarking for a constant refresher course on the need for authors to be original (Authonomy)
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!