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A Deep Dive Into the Types of Editing

July 23, 2023 by marianne h donley in category Ages 2 Perfection Online Class, Online Classes

A Deep Dive into the Types of Editing
Presented by: Sue Toth
Date: August 7 – 18, 2023 (two weeks)
Registration Closes: August 15, 2023
Pricing: A2P Member fee: $15
Non-A2P Member fee: $25

About the Workshop:

In this two-week course, participants will jump into the waters of editing. We’ll discuss various types of editing and which you need for your manuscript. Among the topics we’ll focus on are:

• Developmental editing
• Line editing
• Copy editing
• Proofreading
• Book coaching

In addition, we’ll look at how to find the best editor for you, what you should expect from an editor, and what your editor will expect from you.

About the Presenter:

I’ve been a lover of the English language for as long as I’ve been able to read. You know the kid who had a book and a flashlight under the covers long after she was supposed to be asleep? That was me. The one who carried a book everywhere and had her nose stuck in It whenever possible? Also me.

My entire career has been dedicated to either diving into my own editing or teaching others how to do it well. I have taught fiction editing at the University of San Diego and journalism and writing at the college level.

For the past 20 years, my specialty has been in collaborating as an editor with romance authors to turn their books into those swoon-worthy ones that readers can’t put down.

In the rare times I’m not reading, I enjoy being with my family, dancing to 80s rock and roll, and watching New York Mets or Jets games.

Click to Sign up

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And Then There Were Two by Kitty Bucholtz

July 22, 2023 by Kitty Bucholtz in category It's Worth It by Kitty Bucholtz, Writing tagged as Kitty Bucholtz, middle-grade fiction, self-publishing, writing

When I got married 33 years ago, I knew there would be a lot of combining things in our lives. John taught me to enjoy comic books and Dungeons & Dragons. I helped him discover a couple chick flicks he could watch multiple times.

What I didn’t expect to share was my identity as a writer.

At first, it was really difficult for me, a middle child, to share a place I’d carved out for me. (Middle children out there, I bet you understand.) But over time I not only got used to the fact that my animator husband had started writing middle grade superhero stories, I decided to help him get them published.

Insert long story here about sending the book out to agents. (Many of you know this story.) So John decided he’d follow me and self-publish.

And since I’m a book coach and help people not only finish their books, but self-publish their books…yup, I had another client! (This one pays with kisses and backrubs and…ah-hem…moving on!) So as we insert another long story here, I’m now officially a publisher since I publish two authors. Whoa!

Let me know if you’d like to know how that’s working and I’ll make a point of writing it all down and posting it here. Meanwhile, I’m doing the publisher thing and promoting a book! 😀

Life as a Teenage Superhero is free through the end of today, Saturday, July 22, 2023, on all Amazon stores that sell ebooks. (I never thought I’d have to add those last three words, but the new Amazon store in Sweden doesn’t sell ebooks yet!) If you enjoyed the Harry Potter books, you might love Life as a Teenage Superhero. And if you have kids or grandkids from about 8 years old and up, they may love it too! (Also available in Kindle Unlimited for the next 90 days.)

We’ve got John’s second book in the 11-book series, Get a Half-Life, up on pre-order on Amazon with new books in the series coming out every 2-4 months. One of the new things I’ll be doing this year is creating a second print edition that is specifically for dyslexic readers! It’s a busy and exciting time to be a writer — and a publisher!

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Janet Elizabeth Lynn and Will Zeilinger Featured Authors

July 21, 2023 by marianne h donley in category Apples & Oranges by Marianne H. Donley, Featured Author of the Month, Partners in Crime by Janet Elizabeth Lynn & Will Zeilinger tagged as 1950s Crime novels, Author Interviews, Chatting with Authors, Janet Elizabeth Lynn, The Skylar Drake Murder Mystery Series, Will Zeilinger

July Featured Authors

Janet Elizabeth Lynn was born in Queens and raised in Long Island, New York. She is the author of murder mysteries, cozy mysteries and with her husband Will Zeilinger, 1950s hard-boiled detective mysteries.

Will Zeilinger has lived and traveled the world and has been writing for over ten years. His novels range from mystery to romantic comedy and those 1950s hard-boiled detective mysteries with his wife Janet.

Partners in Crime

Together Janet and Will write the Skylar Drake Mystery Series. These hard-boiled tales are based in old Hollywood in 1955. They have an E-book How it Began: The Skylar Drake Mysteries available from Smashwords.

Their world travels have sparked several ideas for murder and crime stories. In their next adventure, they will team up using the penname E.J. Williams for a new mystery series set in the 1960s. Their first novel in the International Crime Files, Stone Pub is in the works.

Chatting With Authors

In addition to writing novels, Janet and Will have a YouTube Channel, Chatting with Authors featuring informal Zoom interviews with authors of various genres. We encourage readers to check out all their videos.

This creative couple lives in Southern California . . . and yes, they are still married, and they even blog together at The Married Authors.

The Skylar Drake Mystery Series

SLICK DEAL

GAME TOWN

STRANGE MARKINGS

SLIVERS OF GLASS

DESERT ICE

STONE PUB: An Exercise in Deception

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🍉 Sweet Summertime

July 15, 2023 by Renae Wrich in category Writing

Greetings, Orange Peeps!

My family is entering a rare period of the year where we don’t have any youth sports or activities. It only happens twice a year – In Christmas and late July.

My oldest daughter’s softball team just wrapped up their season by taking third place in their state tournament. Woo hoo! #ProudSoftballMom

My youngest daughter is finishing up her dance intensives this week with hopes to join a competitive dance line next year. Fingers crossed! #ProudDanceMom

Youth sports definitely has its not-so-glamorous moments that almost always resides with adults. Take your pick- Parents screaming at umpires over a call, or seasoned dance moms glaring at the incoming kids who are just hoping to make the team.

Despite this, I find that there are some pretty spectacular lessons that can be learned from kids in sports. For instance, my daughter’s softball team was one of the youngest teams in their class. After winning all of their games last year, they were bumped up as a ‘C’ team in the next class. The girls would get so deflated every time we would lose against a B team.

“We lost because they were a ‘B team’.”

But then one tournament, they beat a B team. From that moment on, they didn’t let the letter matter to them.

You should have seen this team battle through their state tournament. One game went into triple overtime and I had to pinch myself to remember that these little humans are only nine years old.

Similarly, the day before my daughter’s dance intensives, she decided she no longer wanted to go through with it. I was shocked! I said, “What are you talking about? You love dance!”

She explained to me that she was nervous. “I’ve never danced Jazz before, Mom!”

I reminded her to just have fun and show the instructors the things she knew from ballet and tap. And that’s exactly what she did. That little firecracker danced her heart out and her love for dance was practically seeping from her pores. I could not have been more proud.