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What authors need to know about ISBNs

Mon, 06 Apr 2026 16:49:41 GMT

ISBNs are something I’ve wanted to talk about for a while. It’s one of those aspects of publishing that seems to cause a lot of confusion. It’s really important to me that the authors I work with have all the knowledge they need to be able to publish confidently.

I’m not going to go into chapter and verse here about ISBNs – if you want to look into the history of them, a quick google search will bring up loads of sites that cover this – rather, I’m going to give you the information you need to make an informed decision about how you get yours.

There are two crucial things an author needs to know about ISBNs:

there is only one company that supplies them
they are non-transferable

This is essential knowledge and should be at the forefront of your mind if you’re thinking about publishing yourself.

There is only one company that supplies ISBNs

So, let’s look at the first point a bit more closely. If you go online, there are a number of companies offering ISBNs for sale, so what on earth am I talking about? I hear you ask. In the UK, Nielsen is the ONLY supplier of ISBNs. Those companies you’re seeing offering them for sale have bought them from… Nielsen.

You see, the more ISBNs you buy, the bigger the discount you get. One ISBN will set you back £93 but ten ISBNs are £174 – so that’s around £17 per ISBN. One hundred ISBNs will cost you £387, which works out at £3.87 each. I know, it makes no sense.

The selling on of ISBNs has, therefore, become a bit of a business in itself. There are numerous companies out there who offer ISBNs for sale for a lower rate than a single one will cost you directly from Nielsen. If the company has bulk bought 100 ISBNs, I think it’s fair to say that they won’t be selling them to you for under £3.87. Basically, these suppliers are brokers.

Something I’ve seen recently on social media, is companies offering a subscription service to authors that includes one or more ISBNs. Now, I’m not an expert on how this works and the other benefits you may get being part of what they call a partnership.

I’m not trying to diss those companies that sell on their ISBNs. Often, they do the legwork of registering your book on Nielsen’s database, which is great if you really can’t be bothered with or don’t have the time for this admin.

However, all of this brings us on to that second thing you need to know.

ISBNs are non-transferable

This is probably the most important thing you need to consider when you’re thinking about publishing your book. An ISBN cannot be moved from one person/publisher to another because once an ISBN is assigned, it belongs to them for life.

What does this mean in real-life? I’ll use my imprint, Pilcrow Books, as an example. I purchased ten ISBNs from Nielsen and they are now registered to Pilcrow Books. The number in the middle of the ISBNs – 0682720 – I’m using for Thirteen Deadly Intentions is the publisher prefix, and is the same on my other eight. This means, Pilcrow Books is the publisher of any books that are published using any of those ISBNs. If I sold or gave you one of them, I would be your publisher and you wouldn’t be able to change the name or transfer it to your name/imprint name. Therefore, it wouldn’t actually belong to you and never could. That’s why the authors who use my self-publishing support package are guided through the process of purchasing their own ISBNs.

So, when you buy your ISBNs from one of these companies, you will be publishing under their imprint. Many companies that offer self-publishing give you the option to publish under their imprint. A more accurate term for this is hybrid publishing.

This can have potentially have huge implications. If the company whose imprint you published under stops trading for any reason and you need to republish your book, you’ll have to buy new ISBNs. This is where the hybrid publishing model becomes tricky, I think, and you need to consider this carefully if you take that route. You have effectively paid for an ISBN (that, let’s face it, doesn’t belong to you) and if anything happens to that company, you’ll have to pay for another one. I don’t offer this service because of this reason – while I don’t plan on ending my business any time soon, I can’t predict what the future has in store for me.

Again, if your traditional publisher goes bust, you’ll have to buy new ISBNs if you choose to republish yourself. The difference being, though, that you hadn’t spent any money on the original ISBNs.

While I certainly have my own opinions about hybrid publishing, it’s up to you to decide if this route feels like the best fit for you. What I do want is for you to go into publishing with your eyes wide open, especially when there’s a cost involved. Knowledge is power, after all.

Oh crap, my Facebook page has disappeared

Sun, 08 Mar 2026 16:44:57 GMT

At the weekend, I tried to log into my personal Facebook account and was met with a blank timeline. Eventually a message popped up telling me my account had been suspended. Great! Of course, this being Meta, who undoubtedly rely on some sort of AI bot algorithm thingy (a bit like KDP – you can read about the nightmare I had with them here ), I wasn’t given any clear reason as to why this had happened. To appea l this, press here , I was reassured to see. So I clicked, ready to give them what for, only to find I wasn’t able to put my case forward (not that I knew what I’d done wrong). The appeal process was literally clicking that button. Weird!

Twenty-four ish hours later, I'd been given access to my Facebook account again. Hurrah , I hear you cry. But hold on. While my personal profile had been restored, my Abbie Editorial and Pilcrow Books accounts remained unpublished. According to an email I eventually received from Meta, their technology had detected fraud and deception on my business pages. I read their long list of what they consider, rightfully, to be dodgy practices, and none of them related to me.

So, I’m now hoping and praying they'll reinstate them sooner rather than later. What I find really galling is that I see companies and individuals who are actually being deceptive touting their wares on Facebook all the time. From the people who have set themselves up as editors and claim to have completed the training that qualifies them for the job when they haven’t, those who persuade people to allow them to use their PayPal account resulting in financial loss for the unsuspecting victim, to those huge companies that charge authors a large fee to publish their book AND take a cut of their royalties (yes, vanity presses, I'm talking about you).

Anyway, there is a purpose to this post beyond me whinging and sharing my grievances: we should all remember how important having our own space on the internet is.

Within seconds, I had lost my reviews, followers, and the hard work I’ve put into marketing my business. You see, the problem with social media is that we have absolutely no control over it, and we're at the mercy of their bots. Annoyingly, I knew this was the case, but had been blasé (partly due to my busy schedule and a bit of a shitshow in my personal life) and neglected my website and newsletter.

I agree that it’s an absolute pain in the arse to have to constantly maintain a website, and trying to think of stuff to share in a newsletter is a nightmare, but it’s ridiculously important. Meta can’t suddenly decide to shut down my website or my newsletter because it belongs to me. And that’s what you need to consider if you’re thinking about whether or not you need either. Ultimately, they will be yours. And for that reason alone, I will always argue that you do need at least one platform that isn't social media.

I’m not a marketing expert, but after six years of working with both independent authors and publishing houses I do know how difficult selling books is. It’s way harder than the actual writing. Social media is an important part of any marketing strategy – and it’s free, so why wouldn’t you take advantage of it? I'm definitely not against it. But with everything in life, you should never put all your eggs in one basket.

This has been a huge lesson for me. And I’m not embarrassed to admit that it’s something I knew but hadn’t taken notice of. I took my eye off the ball and it came back to bite me on the arse. I should have known better. What hurts the most is that this the second Pilcrow Books platform I’ve had issues with on Meta platforms, and I’m not even benefitting financially from this venture.

So, if you’re currently wondering whether or not to set up a website or newsletter, or you’ve been neglecting the ones you have because ‘I don’t really need them’, take it from me, you do. Nurture your website and newsletter. They are yours and no one can take them away from you.

Why Reading Saved My Life

Fri, 25 Jul 2025 08:00:00 GMT

I know this is a bit of a sweeping statement, and it’s probably a little overdramatic, but bear with me, because reading really did change my life.

Where it started

I’ll take you back three years or so, when I was having a quite severe anxiety flare up. Post lockdown and my kids were having problems readjusting back to school life, I was having a hard time with the lack of structure and my brain going into overdrive. My anxiety hit an all-time high and my brain had shut down.

I had been a self-employed seamstress for six years, and my business was plodding along nicely. All of a sudden, I was shutting down, I couldn’t concentrate on my job, I was making mistakes and I couldn’t think straight. So, I stopped taking on clients and mothballed the business.

Anxiety takes over

My brain was so focussed on the stress of what was going on, that I was no longer living any kind of life. I didn’t leave the house in case the children needed me and I was constantly waiting for the phone to ring. My brain was all consumed by the anxiety. I knew I had to do something. My thoughts needed to be diverted from thinking about what might or might not happen. So I picked up a book.

Usually I was that person who only read a novel when I was on holiday, sitting by the pool with a cocktail or two. I often struggled to get into a book and wouldn’t even consider reading ‘the classics’. But I often enjoyed a romance. Starting to read was very much a leap of faith. I was still in the mindset that I should be doing something more constructive with my time.

Barriers to reading

There was always a barrier to reading for me, as if it wasn’t important enough to dedicate the time to. There was always something more important, like laundry and housework. I often struggled with complicated sentences. I had to read every single word on the page slowly, so I could follow the storyline. Reading felt like a guilty pleasure.

I don’t remember why I chose the book I started with, maybe I’d seen it on social media. But I’m glad I did because it had me hooked straight away. The characters were relatable, and the story was quirky.

Brain reset

Once I started reading, I was swept away into different worlds, somewhere that didn’t have my problems and my fears, and it was such a refreshing change. So I continued, and was bought a Kindle for my birthday, which opened up a library full of reading potential.

After a while I started to feel more like myself, my brain started opening up and I actually began to feel things again, real emotions that my brain had locked away. I was able to form full sentences and actually engage with people better. After nine months I had read 130 novels and my whole outlook on life began to open up. The anxiety was not as fierce now my brain had been distracted.

Reading as adults

As adults we aren’t really encouraged to read. There is often a thought that reading is for intellectual prowess and not for pleasure. We are encouraged to read business and self-help books, but never just for pleasure. When we do read, we are conditioned to think that we must read a variety of different genres, but yet keep to our own reading age. This is an absolute fallacy.

Starting to read can be daunting but there are no set rules. You don’t have to read the most popular books, or the ones that are 1000 pages and you need a trolley to transport. You don’t need to read within your age range. If you are in your 70s and want to read young adult literature, that’s okay. If you want to read graphic novels, rather than wordy books, that’s fine too.

To really make reading beneficial you need to enjoy it, be able to be immersed in the story, to live those characters’ lives, to resonate with the emotions of the story. And that means reading what you enjoy.

Benefits of reading

Reading for pleasure has so many benefits. It opens up your brain, and helps with communication and vocabulary. Reading, as well as other brain exercises, can help slow the onset of dementia. And I know all too well, it can reduce stress and anxiety.

The more I read, the more my brain opened up. I started to rethink about past experiences, which included my love of writing, and also getting myself out and doing more.

The writing journey begins

At this point I didn’t feel I was anywhere near focussed enough to write an actual book. Instead, I decided to start planning. New notebook in hand, fancy pens ready, I set out planning a romance novel, in the same vein that I had been reading. As I put pen to paper, the characters were young women, getting involved with more experienced, worldly wise men. But something seemed off. I didn’t resonate with these characters, so how could I write about them?

Instead of planning these characters, I just knuckled down and wrote. Inspiration came from situations and experiences that either myself, or my friends, had lived through. They played out, movie style, in my head, and I put them on paper. Stories about women nearer my age, living lives I could relate to.

Eventually, joining all those situations together, I realised I had written the majority of my first novel. I mean that’s the simple version. I haven’t mentioned the major imposter syndrome, teaching myself how to self-publish a book and the meltdowns at not having an ending. Maybe that’s a tale for another time.

I absolutely love being an author, having those characters that are inside my head become real to those reading is a privilege. And although I don’t get chance to read as much as I used to, I still use reading to help with my anxiety.

What advice would I give to someone wanting to become an author?

I often get asked what advice I would give to others starting out, and the advice is always the same. Just write it! Sounds simple, but authors sit on ideas for years, procrastinating. They think their work needs to be perfectly formed from the word go – or chapter one – but it doesn’t. The best bit of advice I was given was, you can’t edit what’s not there.

Get those ideas on paper, get them out of your head and on to the page. Then believe in yourself. Believe that the story you wrote and loved will be someone’s new favourite book. I believed and I’m currently writing my fifth book.

How to Write Your Novel

Fri, 18 Jul 2025 08:00:01 GMT

Here's how you write your novel.

This system is not the only one, but it will work.

You need an idea

You may already have one, which is why you wish to write the story, in which case, jump to the next point. If you don't, where do you find one? A news article might inspire you. As I write, there are stories about using DNA to bring back wolves. Of course, this theme has been exploited by the author of Jurassic Park , Michael Crichton. Still, your angle might be a domestic take: a local dealer producing pure breeds of dogs from former times. Or it might be by simple observation. I was once in a Caffé Nero and sitting high at a table in the window; there were those sitting below, outside, at small round tables, and one person was looking through government papers. I wondered what might happen if these were confidential and revealing… That became an essential part of my book Bram, A Spy Story . Buy a paper copy of one of the Sunday papers and leaf through, cutting out possibilities. Take a walk with your notebook and observe what goes on around you.

Write every day

Start with a goal of 500 words per day, minimum. If you wish to write that novel, you must agree that you can no longer wait until you want to write any more than you might exercise when you feel like exercising. It is the brushing your teeth protocol. As a child, you did not want to brush your teeth; a hard-working parent made it a habit. You need to make writing a habit. Of course, set up your comfortable writing nest and turn up, but be willing to write on a bus, train, and in your cramped EasyJet seat. Write when you have a cold, a headache, and are in a bad mood; you will be surprised what material you produce. To introduce a new behaviour, it is best proven by executing it daily.

Start and finish

Very soon after you have written the first chapter, write the concluding chapter. It will remove pressure to know it is done: you now have the start and end of your arc. Come back to them regularly and improve them. You seek to produce a first chapter that will not let the reader go until they have read the final word. And a closing chapter that will leave them with a profound sense of satisfaction.

Be clear about the genre

Whether it’s a thriller, romance, etc., genres have conventions, and readers have expectations. Thus, in the crime genre, there are expectations that multiple characters could be guilty, with clues pointing in misleading directions. In the romance genre, there 'ought to be' many obstacles that challenge the couple's relationship. Of course, you can break the rules, and a few first-time novelists do, but stick to what works unless you have a breakthrough idea.

Generate quantity

Write, write, write. Hit your target. Every third day, concentrate on editing and turning your quantity into quality. If you cut large chunks or chapters, keep them in a separate file; they may become useful later. I once had two novels on the go, neither to my satisfaction. I was inspired by Paul McCartney talking on the radio explaining the sequence in Abbey Road and how he had lots of bits… well, you know the rest. He stuck them all together and created the delightful B-side sequence. I used that concept to create one of my novels.

Practise your skills

If it is your first novel, like any new skill, it takes time to get good at it. Hence, write daily. No excuses. Once you have written 25,000 words, read a couple of books on novel writing techniques. Many will not add more elements than this article, but all will add valuable details, such as what is expected in each genre, how to improve your dialogue, and the critical stages of a novel. Your word count is vital, but that must be balanced with quality.

Finish before submission

Remember, completing your novel before considering finding a publisher is essential. Most agents aren't interested in just 'an idea' from first-time novelists. But hey, rules are made to be broken, right? Maybe you can break that rule if you have a genuinely stunning idea. Just be sure you can sustain it beyond a couple of sample chapters.

How to Write a Bestseller

Honestly, I wish I knew. However, consider these potential strategies as you write and occasionally pause for a coffee.

The Breakthrough Style

Day of the Jacka l is a splendid example. Frederick Forsyth brought a journalistic, procedural tone to his fiction, which consequently felt fresh and gripping. Other examples of style-driven breakthroughs are Trainspotting by Irvine Welsh, with its raw Scottish dialect, and fragmented narrative; The Road by Cormac McCarthy, with its sparse punctuation, minimalist language, and rhythm; and House of Leaves by Mark Z. Danielewski, with its experimental layout, typographic weirdness, and matching content.

Zeitgeist Grabs

Gone Girl helped launch a wave of books with ‘Girl’ in the title ( The Girl on the Train , The Girl with the Lower Back Tattoo , The Girl Before , etc). It tapped into a moment of psychological thrillers with unreliable female narrators. Other zeitgeist moments are Twilight , which led to the paranormal romance boom and suddenly vampires, werewolves, and angsty love triangles were everywhere; The Da Vinci Code , which launched a thousand historical conspiracy thrillers with their tropes of esoteric symbols, secret societies, and puzzles which needed decoding; and The Hunger Games and the dystopian YA wave: Divergent , Maze Runner , Matched , etc.

Cultural Taboo / Shock Factor

Lolita , American Psycho , and Fifty Shades of Grey are all books that got people talking and/or clutching their pearls.

But for Now. . .

95K words is the norm.

Go write.

KDP: We Couldn't Verify Your Identity

Mon, 14 Jul 2025 12:23:15 GMT

Publishing a book yourself is difficult. Publishing a book when you’re at the mercy of a huge organisation can make self-publishing even more difficult, especially when that company uses automated systems.

In case you’re wondering what I’m on about, I’ve recently had the “joy” of trying to get through KDP’s identity verification system. This year I plan to publish a charity anthology and all royalties will go to Invest in ME. Submissions have been selected, copyediting and proofreading is ongoing, albeit behind schedule, ISBNs have been purchased, the book has a title, and a cover is in the works. The authors are incredibly talented and absolutely lovely (and patient). I honestly thought the set-up of the KDP account and eventual uploading of the book would be one of the straightforward aspects of this project. After all, I've walked authors through this.

Bloody hell, was I wrong!

Initially, all went smoothly. I set up the account, filled in my tax details, blah, blah, blah. One of the more mundane but essential jobs ticked off the list. Or so I thought.

I received an email from KDP asking me to log in and verify my identity. They say on their website that they are now asking people to do this ‘To better protect those who publish with us and buy books from Amazon . . . This is to ensure an account is genuine when using our services’. This is, of course, completely understandable and I’m more than happy to comply.

The first stumbling block was the type of ID they require. For the UK they accept a passport, driver’s licence, national ID (I’m still not actually sure what that is), and residency permit according to their help page. As a UK citizen from birth, I don’t have a residency permit or a national ID (what is that??) and as a non-driver (seriously, I’d be a liability on the roads), I don’t have a driver’s licence. I have an out-of-date passport that I haven’t renewed because it’s expensive and I’m not planning on going abroad. Anyway, I logged on to my account and clicked the dropdown box of accepted ID for the UK and was pleased to see voter ID as one of the options.

As you only have a couple of weeks to verify your identity before they terminate your account, I got in touch with KDP through their contact form and advised I would get a voter ID certificate but that it may take longer than my deadline. They agreed to extend it for me, which was helpful. As they hadn't said there would be an issue with this form of ID, I filled in the form and sent my photo off via the government website (remember that piece of information) and waited. My problem had been solved.

I was wrong again.

My voter ID certificate arrived before the deadline and I started the process of KDP’s identity verification. I initially tried it via my phone, as KDP advise, using its camera to capture an image. This didn’t work as once uploaded, the image was completely distorted and unreadable. Not an issue, as I have a printer and scanner. I scanned my document, logged into KDP on the computer and used the upload option. There, in the little box, was my ID, clear and easy to read.

And that’s when three weeks of being stuck in a KDP hellscape began.

For some reason, it jumped back to my dashboard and said my ID couldn’t be verified. No reason why, nothing. I contacted KDP via their contact form and, I have to say, received a response quickly. I was advised to try a different browser, clear my cookies and caches, and directed to help pages telling me basically the same thing and one on how to take a photo (duh!).

I did all of this. It still didn’t work. I contacted KDP again to advise them and try to find a solution. I received the same standard response.

What followed was a never-ending cycle of me doing the above, it not working, me contacting KDP via their contact form, and them telling me the same thing over and over again. And then over again some more. At various points during these numerous interactions, I told them what type of ID I was using and the country I’m in. They did at least extend my deadline again when I told them I would publish elsewhere.

By week three, I admit to being in a total state over it. I’ve been so worried about letting the authors and the charity down, and KDP have basically acted as though I am lying and the fault is with me and not their system. At one point I considered ending the entire project I was so downhearted and stressed out. (Bear in mind I have ME myself and a job on top of all this.)

The anthology authors have been wonderful. One even went on her KDP chat function to try to see if she could get an actual person rather than a robot to help and not just copy and paste a script (thank you, Gemma). Of course, they couldn’t do anything. And, of course, I never have the option of initiating a live chat whenever I log on KDP.

After telling them numerous times that I was using a UK voter ID certificate, one of the “support” team eventually said that a voter ID certificate isn’t considered a valid form of identity because it’s not issued by the government. Er, it’s an option on the UK dropdown box (and not other countries, I checked), and I had to go through the UK government website to have it issued by my local authority. I told them this. And they ignored me.

Looking on Reddit, I discovered this has been an issue for many authors. Others have reported that their passport and driver’s licence were repeatedly rejected and they were stuck in the same doom loop as me. It turns out I’m one of the lucky ones as I don’t have any books on KDP at the moment. Some of these authors have published several books and KDP have terminated their accounts because they can’t get through their flawed system. Please be aware that this is being rolled out across the board and, I as I understand it, everyone will have to go through this.

At this point in time, I’ve received an email from Amazon tech support services (not KDP customer “support”) advising that my experience has been passed on and someone will be in touch with me. I believe this is a result of me contacting two random email addresses I came across on Reddit, but I can’t be sure of that.

I have logged in today (14 July 2025) and it appears my account has been terminated. Shockingly, it states if you have books published with them, you won’t receive any outstanding royalties.

Anyway, the saga continues and I’ll update you when I have more news.

When working with an editor, it's okay to...

Sun, 25 May 2025 14:21:08 GMT

…ask them to explain their reason behind a suggestion. To reduce the amount of Track Changes you’ll have to deal with, editors don’t always explain why they have marked something up. It is okay to ask if you want to know why that particular change has been recommended. There is no such thing as a stupid question.

…disagree with them. Editors have you and your manuscript’s best interests at heart but also need to consider your future readers. That doesn’t mean, though, there aren’t times when we get it wrong or miss a particular nuance. Contrary to popular belief, it is okay to disagree with your editor (unless it’s a major grammatical error). Using Track Changes to edit your document means you retain full control over your words and your manuscript. I only ever make changes with TCs turned off when it has been agreed with the author and is for simple things such as replacing double spaces with singles.

…count on your manuscript being stored securely and not shared with anyone outside of your editorial team. I’ve heard terrible stories of authors basically having their story stolen or the premise shared on social media. The author—editor relationship has to be one based on trust and mutual respect.

…expect them to treat you with kindness. The editorial process always involves a degree of learning (on both sides, I think). Within every manuscript there are strengths and weaknesses – and I literally mean every manuscript. The comments you receive on your manuscript should never make you feel bad about your writing or knock your self-confidence. And while we’re on the subject, it’s never a good look to call someone out for a typo publicly on social media. Shit happens and no one's perfect, especially when typing at speed on a phone’s tiny keyboard. Add to that, you don't know if the person has dyslexia. Send them a DM instead.

It takes courage to send your manuscript to an editor for the first time. Don’t rush into choosing your editorial team. Some things are worth taking your time over.

Five common issues seen in writers' fiction manuscripts

Mon, 14 Apr 2025 17:24:13 GMT

Head-hopping

Head-hopping refers to a switch in point of view within a scene or paragraph and, yes, it’s problematic even when writing in third person.

Example:

James was really pleased with Thorin. He was so calm around that other dog, he thought. Thorin was sitting patiently at his owner’s feet. Is James going to give me a treat for being good? he wondered as he wagged his tail.

As you can see, we jump from James’s thoughts and perspective to Thorin’s. Why is this an issue? It throws the reader off and discombobulates them, bringing them out of the text. We want to keep the reader gripped, not send them away because they’re confused. It can prevent the reader from connecting fully with your characters and cause narrative distance.

To resolve this, keep each chapter or scene from one character’s point of view. If you really need to switch perspective within a chapter, make it clear with an ornamental or paragraph break.

Inauthentic dialogue

Ensuring your character's dialogue sounds authentic is incredibly important. Stilted, formal, and unnatural dialogue can impact on a character's relatability and that, of course, impacts on the reader's experience.

Common issues I see are the overuse of names and a lack of contractions. If you listen to a conversation, you'll notice how we rarely refer to each other by name. We don't need to because we know we're addressing each other. Names tend to be used when we are trying to get someone's attention. We also tend to talk in an informal way and will shorten our sentences. We use contractions such as 'won't', 'didn't', etc., rather than 'would not' and 'did not'.

Switches in tense

Again, this is something I see on a regular basis. When you’re in the throes of writing and concerned with getting the story down, it can be easy to jump from present to past tense and vice versa. If you’ve had a break from writing, take your time to reorient yourself before you start putting words on the screen.

This is what tense switches look like:

She walks across the room and gets a treat for Thorin. ‘Who’s been a good boy?’ she said.

It should be:

She walks across the room and gets a treat for Thorin. ‘Who’s been a good boy?’ she says.

Write in the tense that feels the most comfortable to you. It’s probably more difficult to write in present tense than past, but this isn’t the case for everyone.

Showing every action

There can be a tendency to show every single action a character does and I sometimes think this comes from a misunderstanding of the expression 'show don't tell'. It is okay to leave some things 'off-page' and readers will pick up on the fact that certain actions have happened without them being told about them. Of course, I'm referring to the mundane everyday stuff, not the action.

An example of this would be a character travelling to get to a destination. Rather than charting the entire journey from A to B, it is acceptable to have your character arriving at the destination without the reader being privy to them getting there (unless something interesting and integral to the plot happened). Cutting out stage directions will help with the pacing of your novel and keep readers interested. I often use the following quote from Elmore Leonard when completing a manuscript critique or developmental edit: 'When you write, try to leave out all the parts readers skip.'

Point-of-view character overload

There is a temptation to ha ve loads of p oint-of-view characters to create interest, I guess. It does the opposite, though, and prevents the reader from getting close to any character. Remember that narrative distance we talked about earlier as a result of head-hopping? This causes the same thing. It also leads to choppier, convoluted, and messy plots. You don’t need a million points of view and readers will thank you for keeping it simple. That doesn’t mean you can’t have more than one, just don’t go crazy.

Five ways to reduce your word count (and your editing costs)

Sun, 16 Mar 2025 17:40:23 GMT

Remove unnecessary words

When you’re self-editing carefully think about the individual words you have used within each sentence and assess if you really need them. I have a shit list pinned up on my corkboard and it includes, among others, the following: ‘that’, ‘just’, ‘now’, ‘back’. Why are these on the list? Because a lot of the time, they aren’t necessary.

Let’s take the word ‘now’. Consider this sentence:

The dog reacted to her command and she now smiled.

Yes, the narrative is in past tense, but we know the character is smiling because the dog has reacted to what she said and both actions (the dog’s response and the character’s smile) are taking place at the same time. So, we don’t need the ‘now’. If we remove it, it reads like this:

The dog reacted to her command and she smiled.

You have reduced the word count and the sentence is punchier simply by removing one word.

Other examples include:

She nodded her head. We only nod with our heads so She nodded will suffice.

He waved with his hands . Again, the reader will know he is using his hands unless you state he is waving an object.

Reduce filter words

I have talked about filter words before (find that article here ). They are the words that filter the action through the character and include: ‘realised’, ‘felt’, ‘knew’, ‘hear’, ‘saw’, ‘noticed’, etc.

Compare

She could hear the dog across the road barking and felt her corgi’s lead tighten as he reacted. Realising she was going to be pulled over, she reined him in.

The dog across the road barked and her corgi’s lead tightened as he reacted. She reined him in to prevent being pulled over.

The word count has reduced from thirty to twenty-three and the writing is more dynamic.

Consider the order of your words

Is there a shorter way of saying the same thing? Could She walked into the waiting room of the surgery be changed to She walked into the waiting room ? If the reader has already been told the character is in the surgery, absolutely. If not, changing the sentence to She walked into the surgery waiting room will also reduce the number of words used.

Keep an eye out for repeated and unnecessary action beats

We all have crutch words – even editors! These often take the form of action beats (what the characters do while they are talking). Smiling, nodding, looking at the other character, shrugging, and chuckling are all examples. They tend to be used far too often and become repetitive. An easy way to assess if you’re using a particular word too much is to use the Find function in Word:

Highlight the word.
Click on Home at the top of your document.
Click Find.

You’ll be presented with a list on the left-hand side that shows you every instance of that word.

Ask yourself if that adverb actually adds anything

‘Don’t you dare!’ he shouted angrily.

Look at this piece of dialogue. We are effectively being told three times that the speaker is shouting: the use of ‘shouted’, the added ‘angrily’, and the exclamation mark. In this case, he shouted is sufficient and the adverb isn’t necessary. As you self-edit, think to yourself, does this adverb convey information to the reader they won’t have already picked up?

Making simple changes such as I’ve suggested not only improves your writing, making it more active and vital, it also helps to reduce your word count. If you’re self-publishing, this will also help to reduce the cost of editing and proofreading as many editors, including me, charge per 1000 words.

Five tips for authors self-publishing for the first time

Fri, 07 Feb 2025 16:11:22 GMT

It’s never too early to start marketing your book

Work on establishing your author brand before you’ve finished your work in progress. Selling a book is more difficult than writing and producing it. The book market is saturated (and full of celeb “authors”), so you need to plan a sales strategy from the get-go. Use social media and also set up a newsletter. Building a community of loyal readers is so important and will pay off in the long run.

This advice is also useful for authors going down the traditional route as publishers (yes, even the Big 5) rely more on authors doing their own publicity.

Don’t leave searching for an editor until the last minute

I make my living as a freelance editor and the money I earn pays the bills, keeps a roof over our heads, and ensures Thorin the corgi always has a full tummy. For that reason, I plan and book up my diary months ahead so we don’t end up on the street! If you’re going to publish a book, you also need to plan in advance. If you want your copyedit to start in March, it’s no good getting in touch with me in March as I’ll probably not be available. Start the search for your editor early to avoid disappointment as the majority of reputable editors will have full diaries.

Don’t underestimate the power of a good cover

Readers do judge a book by its cover. It’s the first thing they see so your book has to make a great initial impression. It will literally be competing with millions of other books, so this is an area it’s worth investing in. Without meaning to be rude or disrespectful, you can often tell a book has been self-published by its cover and, as wrong as it is, it will put people off. At the end of the day, you need to turn browsers into buyers, it’s as simple as that. If your graphic design skills are crap (like mine), please don’t try to knock up a cover yourself.

Save up

Publishing a book is an expensive endeavour if you want to do it in such a way that your book stands up against its traditionally published counterparts. Editing, cover design, formatting, the purchase of ISBNS, etc. all adds up, so put money aside while you’re writing.

Have realistic expectations

Don’t go into self-publishing thinking you are going to make loads of money from your first book. The reality is, you may not make any money initially. Or even from your second book. This also relates back to the first point and you have to go into self-publishing thinking of it as a business. All businesses take time to get off the ground and self-publishing is no different.

I may have put you off and that is not my intention at all, however, I pride myself on being realistic and honest with authors setting out on their self-publishing journey. These are all things I would urge you to consider before you take the hard but wonderful leap.

What are filter words in fiction writing?

Fri, 07 Feb 2025 15:21:23 GMT

What is a filter word?

It’s a word in a piece of text that filters the scene through the character.

What’s the problem?

Filter words can create narrative distance and impact the reader’s ability to become fully immersed in the text. Rather than experiencing the character’s world and emotions, the reader is told about it (you have probably heard the phrase ‘show don’t tell’), which lessens the impact.

This creates a problem as the story becomes something that is done to the reader rather than it being something they are involved in.

Filter words include:

Realised
Felt
Knew
Saw
Heard
Noticed
Watched
Thought
Looked
Seemed
Tasted
Smelled
Believed

Removing filter words tightens up the text and makes it more dynamic. Going through your manuscript and getting rid of them will also lower your word count and make your copyedit cheaper!

Compare

She could hear the dog across the road barking and felt her corgi’s lead tighten as he reacted. Realising she was going to be pulled over, she reined him in.

The dog across the road barked and her corgi’s lead tightened as he reacted. She reined him in to prevent being pulled over.

Immediately the narrative voice becomes more active and less passive. You feel (ironic, eh?) more involved in the action simply by removing hear , felt , and realising . And the word count has reduced from thirty to twenty-three.

Of course, in fiction writing nothing is ever black and white and there will be times when filter words are useful to draw the reader back from tension and add texture to the narrative. But as a general rule, the majority of these words can be cut from your manuscript.

Wanted! Short Stories for a Charity Anthology

Wed, 30 Oct 2024 17:01:10 GMT

I celebrate five years of Abbie Editorial in January, and I have loads of plans that I think you’re going to love whether you’re a new or returning author to my services.

If you follow me on X, you will know that one of those plans is the publication of a charity anthology. I’ve been thinking about this for ages and 2025 seems like the perfect time to do it.

So, I’m asking authors to donate words in the form of short stories for a book I plan to publish in June. All profits will go to Invest in ME. This charity is very close to my heart as I have lived with the condition for over twelve years. It isn't something I talk about because I worry about people's perceptions of me. Research into ME is scarce and there are hardly any services for those suffering with the condition (my clinic has recently closed down), so if I can help raise funds for one of the charities carrying out research, that would be ace. To have authors along with me for the ride will be bloody brilliant.

Want to take part? Here are the details:

Genre: crime

Theme: stories to be set in summer. If you want a challenge, I’d love some locked room mysteries

Word count: 2,000 to 7,500 words

Stories should be submitted via Word document, 12pt font, and 1.5 line spacing

Email to: aecharitybooks@gmail.com

Closing date for submissions: 1 February 2025

Please only submit original stories that haven’t been previously published. No AI generated stories, please.

Those chosen will be edited and proofread by myself and my mate and ace proofreader, Lorna Hinde.

I have asked for some locked room mysteries because many people with ME are effectively imprisoned in their homes due to their illness. I realise, though, that these can be challenging to write, so stories about crime, mystery and murder set in the summer months are also great.

I really hope you will consider submitting. Of course, I have the fear that no one will, so I'll be keeping my fingers (and toes) crossed.

How my book formatting service works

Wed, 09 Oct 2024 15:58:26 GMT

Book formatting is a relatively new service that I’m offering, so I thought I would tell you a little more about how it works and what you can expect at the end of it.

Initial discussion

The first thing we will do is have a discussion about your book. This can take place via email, Zoom or a good old-fashioned telephone call, I really don’t mind. We will discuss the genre, preferred size, and formats required (print, KDP, Kobo, etc). We will also talk about any special elements (text/messenger service messages, newpaper articles, etc), ornamental breaks, chapter headings and drop caps. This allows me to make up the pages of your book to fit with genre and add those elements you want to make your book yours.

If it is the second (third or fourth) book in a series, I will match as closely as I can the previous books so they are all consistent.

The checklist

I will send you a checklist of what I need from you. These include:

E-book cover – I need this to add to your e-book.

ISBN

Any publishing logo you want included in the front matter (optional)

Dedication (optional)

Also by information (optional)

Acknowledgements (optional)

About the author including photo and social media/website links (optional)

Author’s note (optional)

And, of course, the final version of your manuscript as a Word document

Typesetting begins

Once all of the required information has been given and papers handed over to me, I begin the process of typesetting your book.

Author check through

Once it is complete, I will send you the print PDF or e-book file for you to go through (this is the most exciting part, I think). After you have checked it, you tell me of any changes that need to be made.

Amendments

I make any amendments and return the e-book and print files along with a paperback jacket template for you to send to your cover designer. I can support you through the process of uploading your book to KDP if you need it.

Voila! At the end of this straightforward process, you have a beautiful book you can be proud of.

I offer a 25% discount on formatting if it is booked with an editorial service. Why? If I work on your book as an editor or proofreader, I am already familiar with it and this helps to speed up the formatting process.

Formatting errors that show your book is self-published

Mon, 07 Oct 2024 19:51:38 GMT

Self-publishing still gets a lot of stick and, I think, there continues to be the idea that they are of inferior quality to those traditionally published. This is unfair and I know a lot of independent authors take great care over their books and treating the process in much the same way a publishing house would, especially when it comes to the editorial process.

Unfortunately, I often see signs in the layout of a book that immediately marks it out as being self-published. The contents of the book may be brilliant, but formatting errors can immediately put readers off and give rise to the assumption that it will be of low quality. One of the ways I help authors is through the creation of their e-book and print books, and I thought I would share five common formatting errors that immediately scream “self-published”.

The title, copyright and dedication are listed in the contents

Fiction books don’t really need a contents page, however, many e-books have them and as the chapters have hyperlinks, they can be useful. I regularly see the front matter listed in the contents. What is the front matter? It’s the information that comes before the body of the book. Given the contents are part of this, the title page, copyright and dedication don’t need to be included.

Chapter one starts on page five

It is the main body of the book – the content – where the page numbering begins and page one is always on the right-hand side. The front matter should not be included in the numbering and chapter one should start on page one.

First paragraphs are indented

The first paragraph of chapters – and the first paragraphs following a chapter break – should be full out. That means they should not be indented.

Inappropriate use of drop caps

Drop caps are those fancy flourishes when the first letter of a first paragraph is larger than the rest of the text. They can be nice touch to a book’s look (although I know a lot of authors find them old-fashioned and I think whether you use them depends on the genre), but I have seen examples when a chapter’s subheading has been accidentally interpreted as the start of the first chapter and therefore have been assigned a drop cap.

Page bottoms are unbalanced

Bottom balancing involves ensuring the final lines on each page are level with its opposite counterpart. This makes the book easier to read (a short page can be misleading and look like the end of a chapter), looks more professional, and is aesthetically pleasing.

I have talked about readers looking at samples and the importance of creating a good first impression before (albeit briefly) and this is another example of when first impressions count. Taking time over the formatting and creation of your book is worth it.

What is (and isn't) a dialogue tag?

Sun, 25 Aug 2024 12:45:55 GMT

Writing fiction comes with a unique set of rules that writers of non-fiction don’t have to worry about: dialogue.

The punctuation of dialogue is probably the thing that trips writers up the most (I talk about this here ), and the biggest cause of those issues is recognising what a dialogue tag actually is. I thought it might be worth posting some guidance on this.

How do you punctuate a dialogue tag?

A dialogue tag attributes speech to a character. This enables the reader to follow who is speaking. By far the most common dialogue tag is ‘said’. Seems pretty obvious, doesn’t it?

Tags are preceded by a comma, question or exclamation mark. And followed by any of these if they are used before the speech.

So:

‘This is an example,’ Thorin said.

Thorin said, ‘This is an example.’

‘This is an example!’ shouted Thorin.

‘Is this an example? asked Thorin.

They cannot be preceded or followed (when used before the dialogue) by a full stop:

‘This is an example of how not to do it.’ Said Thorin.

Thorin said. ‘This is an example of how not to do it.’

What is a dialogue tag?

Confusion often arises when writers try to determine what constitutes a dialogue tag, and this is where I see a lot of mistakes with punctuation.

Basically, a dialogue tag has to indicate that words are coming out of the character’s mouth. ‘Said’ is obvious, but you can also use the way words are being articulated. Some of these include:

whispered

shouted

bellowed

answered

replied

called

declared

muttered

mumbled

What they have in common is that they indicate the words left the character’s mouth or are a response to another character through the use of speech.

‘This is an example!’ Thorin shouted.

Thorin replied, ‘This is an example.’

What isn’t a dialogue tag?

Now, nothing is ever straight forward (especially when it comes to grammar and punctuation). Shrugging, for example, is a physical action that doesn’t involve a sound, so that’s easy to work out. It becomes confusing when the action the character does involves making a noise, such as laughing.

The following are NOT dialogue tags:

laughed/chuckled/giggled

nodded

sighed

grinned/smiled

Because the above aren’t dialogue tags, they need to be punctuated differently – with a full stop, question or exclamation mark. We don’t use a comma.

Correct:

‘This is an example.’ Thorin nodded.

‘This is an example!’ Thorin laughed.

Thorin laughed. ‘This is an example.’

Incorrect:

‘This is an example,’ laughed Thorin.

Thorin laughed, ‘This is an example.’

One way of working out if the auditory action your character is using is a dialogue tag is to try doing the action while speaking (probably best not to try this if you’re writing in a busy coffee shop). Try laughing out words. It’s not something we tend to do. If we have a fit of the giggles, we are likely to be unable to speak!

To be or not to be... self-published

Mon, 19 Aug 2024 16:18:39 GMT

I saw something on Twitter/X recently that posed a question about indie authors. It asked, “Are they self-published authors or are they published by an indie publisher?” An interesting point, I mused, as I am now in both categories. But today I want to natter about self-publishing.

I think most people enter the publishing industry without knowing too much about it. They have a rough expectation about how it works and what is supposed to happen. I’m not sure where that comes from or what it’s based on. Now, the more I know about it, the more I realise how clueless I was when I’d finished my first book and was thinking about publishing it. However, I like to think I understood the basics enough to make an informed choice. So how do we choose which publishing route to take and is it even a choice for some?

Recently I was in the ‘local authors’ tent at a literature festival in my town, selling my books, and it was fascinating to see how many people wanted to talk about writing. They wanted a genuine discussion about what they were going to do, and what they were writing. One gentleman told me he had the rough outline of a book in his head, and he had written the first chapter. He told me he was going to send that one chapter to an agent and he would get a book deal. He was completely certain of the order of it and that it was going to happen. This conversation left me in a quandary. Did I burst his bubble and tell him that for ninety-nine per cent of writers querying is the worst slog in the world, and even getting an agent (if you want one) doesn’t automatically secure you a publishing deal? Or did I wish him luck and hope that he strikes it lucky first time and with just the one chapter? I ended up wishing him luck, but did recommend some podcasts, reading material and people to follow on social media.

I’ve met other writers who have gone with a vanity publisher and are wondering why their books aren’t bestsellers or why there is zero interest or sales. They believe that because they have left it up to someone else to market and promote their book, it is being done. One lady told me the eye watering amount she had spent getting her book published through a vanity press and then the extra money for a launch, and the book had hardly sold any copies. Everyone seems to have a story or journey of some description. But it’s important to remember that there isn’t a right or a wrong way to get your work out there. It is largely about your choice, how much effort you want to put into it and whether you want some longevity from your craft. Or whether you are a one-book writer and just want to ‘get it out there’.

I decided to self-publish my debut novel Sea State . Not because I didn’t have any offers. I did. But when I read the contracts and queried various elements, I couldn’t necessarily see what they would do for me that I couldn’t do myself. Now, I don’t work in publishing, but I run my own consultancy (that is so far removed from publishing it’s ridiculous) so I am no stranger to stuff being a hard slog and needing to know your market. I listened to a raft of podcasts and interviews from some of the self-publishing big hitters, researched what I could and concluded with the thought, why am I signing all this away, when I can actually do it myself?

There were a few driving factors behind my decision. It was all on my timescale, I had freedom over editing choices and it was my decision where to make cuts (under guidance!). Having overall control was the key thing I liked. I had a clear idea of how I wanted my books to look, which was incredibly important to me. I also knew Sea State was going to be the first in a series. I remembered some wise words from LJ Ross, who said in a podcast that she wished she’d held back from publishing her first book until she had a second lined up. Mindful of this, I delayed publishing Sea State until the second in the series, Sea Change , was in good shape, which helped keep up momentum and readers’ interest.

Lots of self-published/indie authors do things differently to me. There isn’t a right or wrong way. Everyone takes the path that suits them. What I would say is that I take offence to those who make the general assumption that self-published books are of poor quality, and badly written and produced. Many self-published authors strive to put out high quality work, and this is always hampered by those that type ‘The End’ and then upload it immediately to KDP without even a hint of a spell check.

I am also tired of the perception amongst some people (other writers included!) that self-published authors aren’t worthy of a deal, so aren’t worth being interviewed or included on a panel with traditional authors. This is the same for some reviewers and bloggers; some simply won’t entertain looking at your book because you’re not with a ‘big name’ publisher, irrespective of your storytelling capabilities. However, we may well have been offered a raft of deals, but chosen to turn them down for reasons best known to us.

Self-publishing is about making a series of choices. Some authors don’t use editors, proofreaders or cover designers and do it all themselves. I know that personally, I couldn’t do that. I’d miss things, not see plot holes, miss grammatical errors, have no idea where weird commas are needed, or that all-important rogue apostrophe, and the list goes on. I know my limitations: I can put together a good advert, but I can’t do a book cover that looks really professional. I like to think that my books are improved significantly by people who are more objective than me, who are experts in their field and can help me shape and package my work into something better. There is no right or wrong, it’s just what works for you and the choices you want to make.

For me, quality is crucial, and I have learnt many lessons from my first book and those that followed, and now I’m writing the sixth book in the series as well as a new Scottish mountain series. I’m better at a whole myriad of things, because along the way I have learnt the rules that work for me. I try to maintain my standards, and I work hard to get a book out there that looks like it would be at home nestling among the others in Waterstones or other bookshops.

Covers are a deal breaker for me, and I have turned down deals on the strength of the cover artist alone. Covers are an insight to the soul of the book and, in my opinion, should be treated as such. When people ask me how I know if a cover is right, I always say mock it up and take it into Waterstones or your local bookshop and put it down with the others in your genre. You will know instantly if it’s any good. If it looks like you’ve knocked it up on the back of an envelope, go back and try again. I strictly maintain that the value of a book cover shouldn’t be underestimated as there are readers out there that love books just as much for the art, as well as the storytelling content.

Because of the way I choose to do things I hugely value the work of alpha readers, beta readers, editors, proofreaders and cover designers. I respect their jobs and knowledge, and these folk are my engine room in getting a book out there. These folk are my ‘dream team’. It sometimes feels like a solitary undertaking to write it, but a book is the product of teamwork when you stand back and look objectively and hold the finished article in your hand.

A few people don’t seem to realise that when you self-publish you are the publisher, and this means you have to do everything a publisher does. For me, one of the hardest things to keep going is promotion. But this isn’t just exclusive to self-publishing. Many publishers now want the author to promote as much, if not more, than them. So there’s no escaping the cycle of promotion. It is a hard slog if you don’t have the benefit of the massive database the publishers have, and you largely have to grow organically as people get to know you and your storytelling.

Promotion becomes about ‘getting it out there’. Getting the amazing book bloggers and reviewers (who are absolutely fantastic people) to read your book, hoping they’ll like it (or even better, love it) and shout about it. It also takes time to build up a cohort of lovely readers that have fallen in love with your writing, your characters and your storytelling. You have to engage and nurture these people. Constant promotion is needed across different platforms via blog tours, teaser campaigns and things like Facebook and Amazon ads, which can be a financial minefield. This is where a resilient mindset is needed. It is a constant cycle that has to happen if you want to keep up the momentum, otherwise you are a tiny pebble on a beach full of them. It’s a hard slog and filled with wrong turns and rabbit holes that you end up going down that might not pay off, particularly if you have a tiny budget. But, whether self-published or not, it is fairly normal that it has to happen.

These days lots of authors are choosing to do both: self-publish and be traditionally published. That suggests attitudes are changing for the better and it is becoming more widely acceptable. For some, self-publishing is a brave, scary and solitary choice to make. Ultimately it’s got to suit you, your lifestyle, your budget and your commitments. So my advice? If you’re thinking about it, then do your research, talk to other self-published folk, learn from what they do. Soak up any advice they have. Then, pick what will work for you. Work at getting a good team around you that you trust. My last piece of advice: stock up on resilience and get ready for the ride, you genuinely can’t take your foot off the gas pedal for a second.

J. M. Simpson is the author of the Castleby series. To find out more about her visit her website and check out her books .

Five common issues in first chapters

Wed, 17 Jul 2024 14:53:01 GMT

Nailing your first chapter is essential if you want to turn browsers into buyers. Consider how you purchase a book. You will initially be drawn in by the cover and/or the blurb or have been recommended it by a friend, but the chances are you will read the sample (or the first few pages if you’re in a bookstore).

Now consider how many books are published every day. The publishing world has become more open and accessible to would-be authors, which is brilliant, but that means more competition. According to Words Rated (2022), around 440,000 fiction books are published annually. According to my (terrible) maths, that’s 1,236 per day! So you can see how important the first chapter is in capturing your potential reader’s attention.

If you’re hoping to gain an agent or a publishing contract, the first chapter is equally as important. Agents and commissioning editors are inundated with manuscripts, so they will rely on those beginning pages to decide whether they want to read more.

Chapter one is often the chapter authors struggle with the most. It’s the point at which you are settling into a new piece of work and finding your feet. It’s incredibly common, so don’t beat yourself up if your editor says it needs work.

Here are the five common issues seen in first chapters:

Not conveying ‘the hook’

Try to put yourself in your readers’ shoes. Why would they want to continue reading your book? Have you introduced your main character and has the potential conflict been established? This doesn’t mean you need a first chapter full of explosions and dead bodies, it can be more subtle than that, but there needs to be something happening to the character that the reader wants to see resolved. The inciting incident doesn’t have to be in your face, but should raise questions the reader wants answers to. This is the crux of what you are trying to achieve in the first chapter and it tends to be neutralised by the following four points.

Info-dumping

It’s tempting to throw as much information into the first chapter as possible in an attempt to bring the reader up to speed. However, this tends to have the opposite effect and slows it down. Information can be drip-fed and woven through the text as the story progresses. Backstories won’t hold the reader’s immediate attention – and that’s what you’re trying to grab at this point. Part of the joy of reading is discovering these things gradually as the characters develop.

Cramming in every single character

Like info-dumping, introducing every character immediately causes drag. Bring them in when the scene calls for it. Think of the plot as a tapestry that you gradually add to, not one large immediate blob.

Too much description/world building

Spending too much time on descriptions and/or world building can result in the reader being bogged down in details. This deflects from that all-important hook and the impetus to read your story. You have 60,000+ words to play with, so there is plenty of scope to include this at various points. A bored reader isn’t going to buy your book.

Clichés

Try to avoid clichés such as your protagonist suddenly waking up. The story doesn’t have to begin at the start of a new day. It does need an inciting incident, though. It’s about the start of a compelling situation that impacts on the everyday.

Are you concerned about the structure of your book? I offer two services that can help: manuscript critique and structural edit .

Editing the second time around

Wed, 10 Jul 2024 14:12:16 GMT

by Tom Alan

A little background: I wrote The Last Ap p between 2018 and 2020. Then, during the Covid lockdown, between March and July 2020, I wrote Hitting the Jackpot . I sent them both out on submission together. Back came The Last App with a posse of rejections, but Jackpot hit the jackpot.

So, the first book I wrote was a ‘No’, but the second was a ‘Yes’. Was there a lesson I could learn from that? It turned out there was – more than one, in fact.

On acceptance, I was told that Jackpot didn’t need ‘any major structural changes’, but the editing process still taught me a lot. One of the biggest jobs my editor gave me was to find and eliminate the plethora of words that added nothing to the story except volume. We’re talking about words like ‘just’, ‘well’, ‘so’ and ‘anyway’. Jackpot was littered with them – but not for much longer…

Having purged the text of superfluous words, my next job was to eliminate the occasions when words were repeated in close proximity to each other: ‘...snaps her hands behind her back and leans backwards...’ or ‘...then an even nicer touch, the saleswoman wanders past and touches his arm...’ These instances, I learned, were potential sources of distraction for readers, so a complete no-no. They were soon toast.

I then had to sort out a few ‘issues’ with the names I’d chosen for some of my characters. I had both Tom and Tony working in a bank, a ready-made source of confusion and/or distraction as they looked very similar. I also had a couple of ‘sound-alike’ names, Paula and Laura, not a good idea if the book ever made it as an audiobook, so Laura and Tony were swiftly retired.

As Jackpot went to print, I took another look at The Last App and applied everything I’d learned from the editing process so far: out went the examples of ‘just’ and ‘well’ and all the others; out went the words repeated in close proximity; out went any ‘look-alike’ and ‘sound-alike’ names; and out went The Last App , back on submission but with rippling muscles and a fresh spray of cologne.

That was the moment when Betsy Reavley at Bloodhound Books told me a little home truth: The Last App needed more than a fresh shirt and a change of underwear: it needed some structural changes... And so I was assigned Abbie Rutherford as editor, tasked to wrestle The Last App into some sort of publishable shape.

There were two main problems with The Last App , I learned. The first was that the style of writing was uneven: one minute it was laugh-out-loud funny, the next it was dark and threatening – I was going to have to make a choice. I went dark.

Three of my four published books are comedies, so I guess I have a natural tendency to drift to humour. But The Last App was clearly more suited to a different, darker tone. An example will help here. There is a scene in The Last App where Mick takes part in a TV game-show publicising the app which calculates your likely date of death. I initially wrote this as an I’m a Celebrity type of show, with the contestants having to choose healthy food and eat it on live TV, and ride exercise bikes in the studio in a race to win a £10,000 prize. The compere was a clown-like personality. It was pure slapstick, I thought it was really good, but it didn’t fit with other parts which were heavy with psychological family drama. So, I rewrote the game show chapter and turned the programme into a University Challenge -style quiz, much more cerebral, much less comedy.

Abbie then pointed another ‘issue’ with my writing – apparently, well, evidently, I was a head-hopper. Within individual chapter, or sections, even single paragraphs, I swapped the point of view (POV) from which the story was being told from one character to another, and even back to the narrator. How I managed to write my second book ( Jackpot ) without head-hopping, I don’t know, but Abbie had clearly found a major problem with the first ( The Last App ). I had more than a hundred instances of head-hopping to sort out.

It was at this point that Abbie’s editing expertise really saved me a lot of time. Not only did she point out the places where I was head-hopping, she also showed me some useful techniques to eliminate it (like changing the ‘thoughts’ to dialogue), and most importantly, she suggested which POV would be the best one to use in each chapter or section, and why. Having this ‘second view’ was invaluable, especially at this, quite late, stage of the process, where I knew my story back to front and inside out, but was no longer able to see it with a fresh pair of eyes – Abbie provided that fresh pair of eyes.

Another area where Abbie suggested a structural change was with my prologue. I like a good prologue. I used one in Jackpot and I had one in The Last App . Abbie suggested ditching my initial two-page prologue, which was almost an academic discussion on how new technology had often failed to live up to its promises, and replacing it with the first paragraph of chapter one as a stand-alone prologue. After a lot of thought, I decided to go with Abbie’s suggestion. My new prologue was much more in the style of the book to come: it was shorter, snappier, and no longer a type of textbook treatise that might have put some readers off.

There were many other ‘minor’ issues to deal with, often signalled by Abbie simply commenting, ‘Does this drive the story forward?’ or ‘Is this really necessary?’ Nice ways of saying it doesn’t and it isn’t, but leaving the decision to me. Important observations which, I feel, come from the ‘fresh eye’ that I think an editor brings to the manuscript when the author is no longer capable of seeing it.

So, editing, second time around? Once again, I feel I learned so much and my book has been improved immeasurably by the process. Being a (near) debut author (it’s only my second novel), I see all the observations and suggestions made by an editor as opportunities to improve my work. It’s certainly an eye-opening process: just when you sit back and think ‘it’s done’ is exactly the time that you need a fresh pair of eyes to say, ‘Well, maybe not...’

Visit Tom at his website or head over to his Amazon page .

Trust and what you can expect from me

Tue, 02 Jul 2024 13:19:39 GMT

Recently, I’ve been thinking a lot about trust and the position I hold as a freelance editor. For self-publishing authors, editorial services are the biggest expense (discounting any money that may be spent on marketing), and I can imagine how daunting it is to hire someone for the first time. This is undoubtedly more nerve-wracking given publishing and the industry surrounding it is unregulated. Now, I know I’m an extremely small fish in a large pool, but I thought it would be worth setting out my values and what you can expect if you hire me.

Confidentiality

I can understand authors being wary about sharing their manuscripts with people they don’t know. Not only is someone seeing your work, but the thought that your ideas may be taken and used by somebody else is terrifying. I feel sure (I hope) that the vast majority of editors uphold confidentiality, but in every facet of life there is always that one bad element. You can be assured that if you send your manuscript to me, it will remain only with me and won’t be shared with anyone else (unless I am sending it to other professionals you have hired as part of your editorial team, obviously). Your writing project won’t be discussed with other people and neither will the work we do together.

I may, however, share your social media posts to help shout about your book to support sales and publicity leading up to and following publication. I am proud of the books I work on and the authors I work with.

Self-awareness

I won’t take on work I don’t think I can do. I tend to be critical about my abilities (partly due to raging imposter syndrome) and always worry about doing a good job. Self-development is extremely important to me and the time and money I have invested in training is testament to that. If I don’t think I have the skill set you need, I will tell you and I won’t work with you (as much as I may want to).

Integrity

I will not guarantee to make your manuscript error-free because it’s a promise that can’t be kept. That just leads to unrealistic expectations and disappointment. I will, however, help you get your work into good shape.

While I berate myself for things I miss, I understand that I’m human and therefore have limitations. Equally, I’m not afraid to hold my hands up if I do make a mistake and apologise.

Honesty

I will not sell you a service if I don’t think you need it. Yes, I’m running a business and have to make money in order to survive, but I won’t take on a project purely for financial reasons if I don’t think it will be beneficial to you. Every project is different and it depends on the publishing route you want to take.

Neither will I claim that one service will fix everything, or be a replacement for other services purely to gain work.

I will always provide you with a realistic timescale, be clear about what I think you would benefit from, and be upfront about cost. My prices are clearly outlined on my website.

And if I don’t know something, I will say. It’s normal for humans to have gaps in their knowledge. Our brains can’t possibly retain everything, and I think we sometimes forget that.

I would hope that my clients agree they have experienced the above while working with me. If any of you haven’t or think there are areas in which I can improve, please let me know as there is always something to learn and develop. My ultimate aim is to be your partner in fictional crime!

Traditional vs. Self-publishing

Fri, 28 Jun 2024 12:51:53 GMT

by Sue Kittow

Trying to find a publisher for my Cornish literary-themed walks books was harder than I thought. I’d been writing walks for Cornwall Today magazine for several years and received a lot of emails from people who’d enjoyed them, so I was confident that I knew what I was doing. But being published in a monthly magazine was one thing. Finding a publisher who wanted to turn them into a book was another.

Admittedly, the feedback I got from the travel publishers I submitted to was encouraging. They all liked the idea but had either full books for the next few years, or didn’t have the money. Finally, when I’d given up hope, I had an email from a small publishing company in Wales saying yes.

I was overjoyed, to say the least, and the first book went down well, so they commissioned another, which turned into the Walks in the Footsteps series of literary-themed walks books. I wrote five of them, and loved exploring different parts of Cornwall, but they required a lot of work researching and actually doing the walks, taking and editing photos to accompany them, researching the fact box for each walk and OS references, etc., as well as the maps.

Royalties were not exactly huge, and I found that although I sent off images for the covers, they were usually doctored to make them worse rather than better, so I ended up with covers that I really wasn’t happy with. And although I didn’t have to pay for printing, it was up to me to do all the marketing.

I was writing book six when lockdown interrupted life and I was quite glad as I’d realised by this time that I needed to do something different, and really wanted to get back to writing fiction.

Fast-forward a few years and I’ve acquired a freelance editor who firmly believes in my work, and as an author herself, understands the process only too well. She was convinced I’d get an agent and a publisher for my first novel, but after a series of rejections, I met another journalist friend who’d self-published her novel just before Covid and made a profit. Both our mothers had just died, so we were able to compare notes in more ways than ones and she kindly offered to share her contacts with me.

I knew I’d inherit some money from my mum, and also knew she’d be delighted that I’d use it for my first published novel. Also, I didn’t know where to start in the self-publishing process, but was aware that I could easily be ripped off, so having Nicola’s contacts was wonderful. My editor then recommended a cover designer who was not only brilliant but did my website as well, and it all fell into place. I decided to write fiction under my mum’s maiden name, Rosewarne, as a tribute to her and also to distinguish my fiction books from my non-fiction.

Learning what goes into publishing a book was a huge roller coaster of a journey. Writing the thing was a small part, really. There were structural edits, copyedits, proofreading, typesetting and proof copies to be done. Then the cover, which involved sending a synopsis, much discussion on images, storyboards sent back and forth, and endless tweaks of the design. But I loved being part of it all, and learning what goes into making a book.

Marketing is hard work, but then it also is for my walks books, so it’s nothing new to me, though having paid for the whole process provides more impetus to try and sell the books. But the great thing about self-publishing is that a) you’re in control of the whole project and b) from submitting the manuscript to actually having a copy in your hand (or as an ebook) can be as little as six weeks. As an older writer with lots of ideas, I’d rather get on with publishing my books, than have to wait 1–2 years if I were taken on by a traditional publisher.

The downside is that you have to pay for it all, of course, and if sales are slow, it can take a while to recoup your money, if at all. Also, if you’re lucky enough to have a publisher who does marketing for you, that’s a massive bonus.

So if you’re not having any luck with traditional publishers/agents, I would definitely use a good, recommended editor to look over your work. See what they say, and if you can afford it, find reputable people to help you; ALLI are very helpful, as are many Facebook groups.

If you can’t afford it, you could try crowdfunding, or keep trying with agents. Nowadays there are so many different ways of getting there in the end – and good luck!

About Sue

I wrote many walks for Cornwall Today , twenty of which made their way into my first book, Discover Cornwall , which was published by Sigma Press in July 2012. Walks in the Footsteps of Cornish Writers followed in July 2015, Walks in the Footsteps of Poldark in July 2016, Walks in the Footsteps of Daphne du Maurier in April 2018 and Walks in the Footsteps of Rosamunde Pilcher in 2019. Walks in the Footsteps of Cornish Artists was put on hold due to lockdown restrictions.

I wrote my first novel aged 12, then in 1995 I took part in the World One Day Novel Cup and was the first to finish. This led to several published short stories and writing my next novel. Since then I have written several novels, been longlisted for the Cinnamon Press novel competition and shortlisted for the Luke Bitmead Award in December 2011. I received Highly Commended in the New Talent Section at the Festival of Romance Awards in November 2012 for my previous novel, Four Left Feet .

My debut novel, The Rescue was published in 2022; a quirky tale of second chances, written by woman’s best friend, terrier Moll. Following the success of this, the sequel, Lainy’s Tale was published November 2022; a tale of the healing power of music, a love story, and how past tragedies can leave their scars.

My third novel, Hunger, will be published in 2025.

All books are available from my website www.suekittow.com

Facebook https://www.facebook.com/suekittow2016/

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Twitter/X - @floweringpot

Why it's hard for writers to be original

Sat, 08 Jun 2024 14:50:40 GMT

by Jon Richter

I’ve been a published writer since 2017, and above everything else one of my key goals when writing is to be original. My aim is to always come up with original twists on existing ideas, to mash up multiple genres in innovative ways, to experiment with story structure, and so on. But, while these aspects of my writing are often complimented, they might be one of the biggest reasons why I’m far from being a commercially successful household name…

One of the worst reviews I ever received was a two-star review for my weird thriller Never Rest , a story about a detective who travels to a mist-shrouded and rabbit-infested island to search for a missing writer. The reviewer, who awarded me just two stars, said that it was ‘the weirdest book they’d ever read’. I couldn’t reconcile their statement with the review score – in my mind that phrase reads like the highest compliment I could possibly be paid! But the sentiment does help to explain why writers, and certainly their publishers, are often afraid of venturing outside of common tropes and comfort zones.

My debut novel (also set on Salvation Island; that pair of books are the only time I’ve written anything that wasn’t entirely standalone, and we’ll get onto the challenges of genre-hopping later…) was a murder mystery thriller about a dead professional wrestler, originally titled Whatever Happened to Vic Valiant? During the editing process, the publisher insisted the title was changed to Deadly Burial ; not a name I’m particularly keen on, but in fairness to the publisher the ‘Burial’ part is actually a clever wrestling pun (to be ‘buried’ as a pro wrestler is to be scripted to be beaten and humiliated), and more importantly they were trying to make sure potential readers understood the book’s genre. It became one of hundreds, thousands, of generic-sounding crime novels, complete with a silhouetted male detective on the cover facing away from the camera as though contemplating a crime. (It didn’t sell very well regardless of the name change, sadly!)

We see these sorts of repetitive titling decisions all the time – how many crime thrillers can you think of that contain the word ‘girl’ after the success of Gone Girl ? – and in many cases, this will be a publishing decision, not an authorial one. The desire to pigeonhole novels into clear genre staples goes further than just their names: the blurbs of more avant-garde stories are amended to make them sound more typical story summaries, and indeed story changes are often suggested during editing phases to make books more ‘typical’. In the wake of the wild success of Game Of Thrones you’ve probably rolled your eyes more than once at similarly-titled apparent rip-offs called things like Clash Of Kings or Game Of Crowns or whatever, but behind these copy-pasted names are novels much more original than you might think.

None of the above is intended as a criticism of any publishers I’ve worked with, who have all been fantastic and supportive, and whose edits have often been very helpful; but I do sometimes wonder whether (as an example of something that happened to one of my books) an enforced change to add in a troubled backstory for a detective that I had originally envisaged as very different from the usual haunted, alcoholic divorcee was really an improvement. I once wrote a novel where the big reveal happened in the uppermost floor of a building, intended as a playful inversion of the usual ‘horrors in the basement’ trope, and was swiftly advised to relocate the shocking denouement to below ground.

Indeed, even the process of landing a publishing contract forces a writer to nail their colours to a genre mast; often publishers ask submitting authors to name multiple similar books in their genre to help with (a) marketing (if you love Johnny Chainsaw, you’ll love this new debut…) and (b) to enable the publisher to see evidence that this sort of story can sell. It requires writers to not only master their craft but also have a clear understanding of their target market, and makes complete, cold, hard business sense – but it feels so far removed from the process of creative innovation that can be jarring and somewhat disillusioning for a writer who just wants to tell an entertaining, original story.

This brings me to the perils of writing in more than one genre. The writing world is strongly geared towards specialising, and publishers and readers alike often ask ‘what genre do you write?’ In my case the answer is crime, horror, science fiction, cyberpunk, fantasy and a bit of what can probably only be described as ‘weird’; my efforts to wrap all of this under the blanket term ‘dark fiction’ have probably only hindered rather than helped my sales (crime enthusiasts don’t google ‘dark fiction’, they google ‘crime novels’). It’s surprised me how unusual it seems to be to read in multiple genres – I assumed that, like me, everyone who liked ‘nasty stuff’ would be flitting between murder mysteries, paranormal horror, dark fantasies and so on, but I’ve actually found I’m selling to wildly different audiences each time I venture onto a new shelf in the bookshop. Many publishers, quite understandably, will publish only certain genres, meaning that an established relationship with a publisher is useless is you decide to make a switch. For some of these reasons, many writers take the step of publishing fiction written in a different genre under a completely different name: even Iain Banks, my favourite writer, felt compelled to add a middle ‘M’ initial when writing his masterful science fiction novels. This can be challenging, of course, in a world where brand recognition is so critical, and writing under more than one name would require a writer to build up social media followings, etc., almost from scratch each time.

If you’ve read this far, you’re probably thinking ‘so what?’ or, at worst, you’re thinking ‘sounds like a writer moaning about his lack of success – if you want to shift more copies, Jon, pick a lane and stay in it!’ Well, despite the pitfalls I’ve outlined above, my advice to any writers contemplating tackling something they are worried might be too unusual or difficult to sell, or is perhaps in a completely different genre from their previous work, is actually… go for it!! I don’t think creativity should ever be reined in because of, or cynically geared towards, projected sales. We’re artists after all, and artists innovate, and new zeitgeists are only created when people break through the boundaries of current trends and conventions.

I’d also suggest digging in your heels when told to make homogenising changes to your work – no-one wants to be branded a diva and editors’ suggestions are often very sensible and helpful, but I’ve found as I’ve grown more confident across my writing career that editors are more than prepared to compromise or concede on certain points if you can clearly and politely articulate your concerns or reasons for disagreeing.

I’ve also learned, happily, that although the audiences for different genres broadly comprise very different demographic groups, readers are prepared to make a leap if they like your stuff! It is one of my absolute favourite compliments to receive when a reader says something along the lines of ‘I wouldn’t normally read science fiction but I loved Jon’s crime thrillers so thought I’d give this one a try, and I loved it!’ After all, who says a science fiction setting can’t feature a deliciously gruesome murder mystery…?

So rather than stick slavishly to genre tropes, I’d encourage writers always to experiment, to push the boundaries, to try to write something that rewrites the rules rather than obeying them – maybe there are even entirely new genres still out there to be discovered!

If this article has been of interest and you are intrigued enough to have a look at some of my weird output, I’d be honoured and delighted if you’d visit www.jon-richter.com , or just search for me on Amazon. My genre-mangling books include the following:

Chains , a murder mystery thriller where every one of thirty-plus chapters is told from a completely different character’s perspective.

The Warden , a psychological techno-thriller that was, I think, the world’s first novel set during a COVID pandemic.

Scarred , my latest novel and first in the fantasy genre. Expect an epic quest story that resembles a ‘bizarre, acid-soaked’ Wizard of Oz, complete with dragons, knights, swords, sorcery… and of course, a twist that turns all of those conventions upside down.

Thank you for reading, and I wish you all the best in your own writing careers!

Creating authentic characters

Mon, 27 May 2024 10:36:46 GMT

by Tom Sibson

There is no shortage of content on the internet to teach you how to create and develop characters and while some of it can be extremely useful, I found a lot that was contradictory, confusing and generic. I’ve been asked several times how I created and developed my characters so this article is in response to them and to an invitation from Abbie to write about my experiences for which I’m extremely grateful for this lovely opportunity. These are tips that worked for me and if this works for other aspiring authors too then I’m delighted I could help.

For a crime series, it’s a marathon not a sprint

At least one resource on the internet went on the basis that every novel should be an epic Bildungsroman with such revolutionary sweeping character arcs that in a crime or thriller novel, which is probably already packed with a lot of fast-paced action, I worried could lead to an exhausting overload for the reader.

One of the best pieces of advice I received from another crime author is that a crime series is a marathon, not a sprint – meaning you can and should allow plenty of time to develop your characters and their arcs, which may take place over ten books, with just a small segment of that arc in each one. This means you don’t need to rush to give every detail about your characters in the first novel; as the series progresses you can keep gently peeling away at their layers and as readers learns more about them, they become hooked on their development and want to know what happens to them next.

Character bios – the value of ‘less is more’

Authors will already be familiar with the two contrasting ways of creating a storyline; ‘plotting’ where things are planned out in detail before commencing versus ‘pantsing’ where the author goes where the story leads them. Apparently Stephen King, Margaret Atwood, Mark Twain and – according to one internet source – even William Shakespeare were all pantsers.

So if pantsing is a perfectly viable way of creating a storyline, I found it very surprising that almost every article on the internet about how to create characters teaches you to plot every tiny atomic detail about a characters thoughts, hopes, fears, dreams and colour of socks before you start writing. You can even download ‘helpful’ character bio templates for you to fill in before you begin your novel – one of them ran to 20 pages!

The pressure for the author to know every bit of trivial minutiae about their characters isn’t helped by writers on social media fishing for engagement by asking questions about your main character(s). One recent post on Twitter/X asked – seriously – ‘Does your main character like to carry a water bottle all the time?’ I’d like to say without fear of embarrassment that up until then, I’d never given that idea a nanosecond’s worth of thought.

If you are intending to write a series, I don’t believe it’s necessary – contrary to many downloadable bios (and I’m a bit tongue in cheek here) – to know completely in advance that your DCI was born in Acacia Terrace, is a Scorpio, is superstitious about clowns, likes pineapple on their pizza, was bullied at primary school by a girl called Maureen and their favourite Rolling Stones song is ‘Honky Tonk Women’. These are things which can – like pantsing a plot – emerge naturally as the story progresses and as opportunities arise.

One technique I learned when I worked in a previous role in project management was that actually ‘less is more’ – to summarise things in short bullet points or sentences to stay on track – so I applied this technique when I started to write the characters. Instead of the overbearing character bio templates, what worked for me was to start out with short, focussed summaries of the characters to which I could flesh out over time. For example, when I started, this is all I found necessary:

DI Garland : An experienced and determined detective who is a strong people-manager and is well liked and respected by his team. Out of work, he is a family man with no historical baggage.

DC Karen Parkinson : A young but clearly intelligent and ambitious woman. She is approachable and kind yet has a wonderfully sarcastic sense of humour.

Paul Dobson : A young journalist with a sharp and enquiring mind and lots of potential. Trying to juggle his job and his divorce leaves him feeling somewhat lost but trying to make the best of things.

Indeed, anything more would have been an unnecessary distraction at the early stage and this was enough to start out and keep me on track; as the first novel progresses we discover that DI Garland has certain aspects of his personality influenced by his father who was in the army, has a nostalgic love of Thunderbirds, has memories of the hunt for the Yorkshire Ripper which occurred during his childhood and supports York City football club. None of these things were pre-planned or indeed could be found on any downloadable template but came out organically and naturally as the novel developed.

Using situations to show, not tell

As the novel progresses you may find that opportunities serendipitously fall into your lap along the way to reveal aspects about your characters by the things they do and say. For example, rather than saying ‘The DI was a thoughtful person who cared about his team’, why not say ‘[the DI] emerged from his office. “I’m off to put the kettle on,” he announced to the team, “Anybody else fancy a coffee?”’ and likewise reveal aspects of character through speech – such as in Five Down when Paul Dobson is eating a distinctly bland canteen-quality meal with chips at York Police station:

‘Sorry we’re out of steak tartar, truffles and lobster thermidor today,’ Karen quipped. ‘The chef told me the usual delivery from Fortnum and Masons didn’t turn up this morning. Honestly, at this rate, they’re going to take away one of our Michelin stars!’

Similarly when writing about a particularly vile criminal, their character can be expressed through, for example, dismissive attitudes to suffering, ruthlessness in situations and random acts of malice. Note that several crime writers have brought to my attention that some crime readers will tolerate the most extreme acts of violence and torture against human adults but draw the line at anything involving children and animals, particularly dogs which can be so triggering in readers that a useful website has been set up at doesthedogdie.com .

Draw on real-life characters for inspiration and role models

Many great characters have been drawn from real-life inspirations – for example, possibly the most famous detective of them all, Sherlock Holmes was based on Dr. Joseph Bell who had been Arthur Conan Doyle’s professor at the University of Edinburgh Medical School and had impressed the author with his incredible logical and deduction skills.

I found that basing my characters on real people was an excellent tool as there is so much that can be “imported” into your character, for example, their general approach to life, how they would react in certain circumstances, how they talk, and any little quirks or mannerisms that they may have.

My DI Gene Garland is based on the decisive, tenacious NASA mission controller Gene Kranz who directed the moon landings (‘Garland’ is an English translation of the word ‘Kranz’ in German). If you wish to see a depiction of Gene Kranz in action, watch the film Apollo 13 where he is played excellently by the actor Ed Harris. My journalist, Paul Dobson, is an amalgam of a couple of friends combined with little fragments of the journalists involved in the real-life ‘Zodiac Killer’ case in America. DC Karen Parkinson is my sister.

Drawing on real people assisted me hugely in that in every situation I could simply ask myself ‘What would Gene Kranz/ my sister do?’ so, for example, I could simply imagine what a meeting between Gene Kranz and my sister would look like and then write it.

And whilst real-life people can be great references for describing physical appearance, there were some excellent words of advice I received from other crime authors, such as: (1) You don’t need to describe every aspect of your character’s physical appearance in detail – it’s generally better to let your readers ‘fill in some of the blanks’ in their own minds; (2) When you do need to give a physical description, come up with more inventive ways other than falling back on the old ‘seeing their reflection in a mirror’ device every time; (3) avoid cultural stereotypes – at best it could be seen as lazy and at worst could be seen as offensive; (4) if any character is notably pretty or handsome, handle it sensibly – you’re writing a crime novel not a bodice-ripper. With regards to the last couple of points in particular, an editor may offer a ‘sensitivity check’ as part of the service.

Over time, you will find that each character will naturally take on a life of their own, allowing them to develop in their own way and take on their own persona outside your image of the person they were originally based on.

The crime author community

As I mentioned at the start, this what worked for me. You’ll have noticed that many tips came from other crime writers who were more than happy to offer me invaluable advice. I’ve found that the crime author community is one of the happiest most generous bunch of people I have been involved in, where other crime authors are welcomed as friends, not rivals. So if there is a particular author you admire for their style of character development and wish to know how they did it, just turn up at a crime author event and ask. I practically guarantee they will be delighted to help you.

Check out Tom's website here .

The perfection myth

Sun, 21 Apr 2024 14:53:10 GMT

Why guaranteeing a flawless manuscript is unrealistic

If an editor or proofreader says they’ll make your book error-free, should you believe them? I’m going to put my neck on the line and say no. Unlike a lot of editing websites, I don’t guarantee to make your work flawless, impeccable, immaculate or any other synonym for perfect. Why? Because I’m realistic and know this is impossible. And I believe in honesty.

Why is it impossible?

Because we are all human. There isn’t a person on the planet who is perfect. The internet and social media have, I believe, given us a skewed perception of what it means to be human. We are bombarded on a daily basis with other people’s success, whether that is real or fabricated. We are shown what has gone well rather than the day-to-day challenges that make up the average 24 hours. There is added pressure with a reliance on reviews for visibility (where many people think they would be an ace proofreader because they were good at spelling at school), and typos and punctuation errors being displayed across X, Facebook and Instagram.

But shit happens and we all miss things. Our brains (and eyes) are only capable of so much. None of us are infallible. The standard is that copyeditors and proofreaders will catch 95% of errors. So, if the copyeditor makes 7,000 corrections, they are likely to have missed 350 errors. If there are 350 errors, the proofreader is expected to pick up 95% of them, which would leave 17. This is why the editorial process involves numerous passes (and the little buggers still slip through!).

Should we bypass humans and rely on AI?

Absolutely not. While tools such as Word spell check, Grammarly, ProWritingAid are useful aids, they are not a substitute for a qualified copyeditor and proofreader. They won’t spot errors with homophones, won’t find typos that are actual words, don’t have a copy of New Hart’s Rules, and can’t establish a style guide to ensure consistency.

So what is acceptable?

A small number of errors are always going to slip through, and we have to accept this and take it on the chin. It can’t be avoided. Self-publishing authors tend to cop flak due to a perception that their work isn’t subjected to a rigorous editorial process. But read any book published by one of the Big Five (with their huge budgets) and it’s likely you’ll come across a typo or punctuation error.

However, if you’re coming across mistakes on every page, or none of your dialogue is punctuated properly, it’s probably time to find another editor and/or proofreader. The odd typo/punctuation error isn’t going to bother the reader too much. Errors on every other page, though, will.

So be gentle on yourself and your editorial staff, and make sure your expectations are realistic. As Stephen Hawking said, ‘One of the basic rules of the universe is that nothing is perfect. Perfection simply doesn’t exist … Without imperfection, neither you nor I would exist.’

What are the different types of editing?

Sun, 17 Mar 2024 15:01:01 GMT

When self-publishing authors approach me for editing, they are often confused about the type they need. I’m always happy to advise, but thought I would put together a blog post explaining each. Having the information before you seek an editor can be helpful as you put your editorial team together.

Manuscript critique/evaluation

This is one of the first steps in the editorial process. The manuscript critique looks at the big picture, advising on plot, structure, characterisation, consistency, etc. Your editor will provide you with written feedback in the form of a report and advise on your next steps. Manuscript critiques don’t include comments or suggested changes within the document.

Developmental/structural editing

Although it’s more in depth than a manuscript critique, the developmental/structural edit also focuses on the big picture elements. As well as the points noted above, this edit looks at themes, point of view, voice, pacing, flow, dialogue and consider genre. As well as an editorial report, the developmental/structural edit also includes comments via Track Changes within your manuscript.

However, manuscript critiques and developmental/structural edits don’t include any rewriting or changes. Suggestions will be made but not directly. It is up to you to decide how you implement those suggestions.

Manuscript critiques and developmental editing CANNOT replace line editing, copyediting and proofreading. That’s because at this level, the editor is not looking at word choice or grammar.

Line editing

As it says on the tin, line editing is the edit of each line. The goal is to ensure your message comes through clearly in each sentence. A line editor will examine your word choices and make suggestions without altering your voice. Your manuscript will be marked-up using Track Changes.

Copyediting

Copyediting is the process of correcting a piece of copy. It examines spelling and grammar; sentence flow and word order; reduces repetition and crutch words; ensures consistency of timeline, plot and characters, and consistency of word and punctuation choices; fact-checking where appropriate; and checks formatting and layout. All suggestions will appear throughout the manuscript via Track Changes. Your copyeditor will also put together a style sheet that will aid you and your proofreader.

Proofreading

The proofread is the final step in the editorial process. If the copyedit corrects the author, the proofreader corrects the copyeditor. Many authors are tempted to skip one of these levels of editing, but I would argue that both are absolutely essential. When two people are using Track Changes and altering a manuscript, I guarantee that errors will slip through. Also, with everything the copyeditor has to concentrate on, rogue typos are bound to slip through (good copyeditors and proofreaders catch around 95% of errors).

For a more detailed blog post on the differences between copyediting and proofreading click here .

I hope this helps you understand the editorial process. I offer manuscript critiques, developmental/structural editing, copyediting and proofreading. I am always happy to discuss the most appropriate way forward with prospective clients, so don’t hesitate to get in touch via the contact page if you want advice on how to proceed with your future novel.

How to write authentic dialogue

Sun, 25 Feb 2024 12:06:12 GMT

Quick tips to make your characters seem real

Make your characters’ dialogue sound authentic with these quick and easy tips.

Don’t overuse names

Think about the conversations you have, and you’ll notice that we rarely use the name of the person we are talking to. In a recent hour-long phone natter with my mum, I didn’t say her name or Mum once. We tend to use names to get attention, like when shouting upstairs to my husband to see if he wants a cuppa. Your readers will know who is talking to whom through the setting up of the scene, dialogue tabs and action beats. Bear in mind that the repetition of a character’s name can be very irritating.

Be less formal

We tend to use contractions when we speak – so, don’t, didn’t, wouldn’t, etc. Dialogue can come across as stilted and unauthentic if written formally. Of course, if your characters are well-spoken or tend to speak ‘properly’ maybe due to neurodivergence, that’s fine. It’s about making your characters seem real. Spend some time listening to the conversations that go on around you.

Inject individuality

This ties in with the previous point. A fourteen-year-old girl will not speak in the same manner as a ninety-year-old man, and a working-class woman from the North East will sound different to an upper-class man from London. Region, class and age all play a part in the way we speak and use dialogue. Language evolves over time, and each generation brings new words or new ways of using words. An example of this would be ‘sick’ that can mean ‘ill’ or ‘great’. And yes, I’m probably showing my age with that example!

Reflect where your character comes from but be mindful

As a northern lass, I absolutely love it when characters talk like me (of course, I don’t only read books that are set in the north). Setting is often an integral part of the plot and undoubtedly shapes your protagonists. I believe that regional dialects and colloquialisms add colour and genuineness to a story, but you also need to be careful. I’m from Hull and we have a unique and rich language that doesn’t translate well outside of the city – ‘tenfoot’, anyone? However, readers are likely to understand that well-known North-East expression ‘canny’. We’re not all Irvine Welsh, so we need to strike a balance.

I hope these tips help you with your writing. When you’re reading, pay attention to the dialogue; and in real-life listen closely to conversations.

Common concerns about hiring an editor

Sat, 20 Jan 2024 16:56:30 GMT

Or 'Help, I need an editor but I'm scared!'

Writing tends to be a solitary pursuit despite the active writing community across social media. While you may engage with other authors online, it is unlikely anyone outside of friends and family will have looked at your manuscript. And you know they will probably be kind and praise your work (unless you have a brutally honest Glaswegian husband like I do!), because they love you and don’t want to hurt you. If you are serious about being published, at some point you’re going to have to be brave and have an objective outsider read your manuscript. Of course, I am talking about an editor. Yes, this is a scary prospect, especially if it’s your first time, but editors aren’t ogres, I promise! Here are three common concerns authors have about hiring an editor.

Concern 1: ‘What if they rewrite my work and make it their own?’

The editor’s role is to enhance your work, not change it. One of the joys of editing, in my opinion, is the scope and range of different writing styles and helping the author improve it while preserving that unique voice. Believe me, we have absolutely no interest in completely reworking your manuscript. The reality is, if we completely tear it apart you aren’t going to want to work with us again, and we won’t be able to pay our bills. Think of editing as fine-tuning rather than modifying.

Concern 2: ‘What if I disagree with their suggestions?’

The clue to this one is in the wording and the use of ‘suggestion’. Your editor will work through your manuscript using Track Changes, so you will see every change they suggest. It is your choice if you stet – the Latin word for ‘let it stand’ – that change or not. After all, it is your work and you are in control. You may worry about disagreeing with your editor, but don’t. Editors don’t expect their authors to agree with them one hundred per cent and that is fine. You are not going to cause offence.

Concern 3: ‘What if they think I’m a rubbish writer?’

There isn’t a person on the planet who is perfect, not even your editor! I absolutely guarantee that your manuscript will have flaws and your editor’s job is to help you iron them out, not slag off your work. We all have room to learn, develop and improve on the activities we engage in. Believe me, I learn something new with every edit and proofread I complete. Your editor has the same goal as you: to make your manuscript even better. Yes, they will query things and point out how certain changes can improve an area of your text, but this should be done in a kind and non-critical way (and the majority of editors will behave in this way). Go into your edits with the mindset that this is an opportunity to hone your craft and you will find the process a positive one.

I hope this helps remove some of the fear you have about hiring an editor. Happy writing and editing!

How to deal with imposter syndrome

Tue, 02 Jan 2024 16:14:57 GMT

Do you have an inner critic that follows you around and tells you you’re not good enough?

Yes? I do too, and it drives me up the wall! Moving into a new year and thinking about what I want to achieve, I’ve been particularly conscious of that negative voice; considering how it affects me and what, if anything, I can do about it. It turns out this critic is actually imposter syndrome and it’s very common.

What is imposter syndrome?

Imposter syndrome isn’t a mental health condition and a more accurate term would be imposter phenomenon or imposter experience. It was first described in 1978 by psychologists Suzanne Imes and Pauline Rose Clance, who observed concerns about being outed as a fraud among the high-achieving women they counselled. However, it is now known that it affects both women and men. It seems to be common among us freelance editors, and while I haven’t discussed it with authors, I am pretty sure there will be high levels of imposter phenomenon within the writing community. The fact that writers and freelance editors tend to work in isolation doesn’t help. I also believe that the publishing industry as a whole is something many of us have grown up considering to be out of reach and impenetrable. There is a hangover effect from this, resulting in us thinking we don’t belong, no matter how welcoming and supportive the community now is.

For me, it manifests itself in a belief that I am not clever, competent or generally good enough, and that luck has been the main driver behind my career despite all of the hard work I put into it. I have a constant fear of that luck running out and being outed as an ‘imposter’, ultimately resulting in me losing everything (talk about catastrophic thinking!). If you want to explore where these anxieties stem from, a great book to read is The Imposter Cure by Dr Jessamy Hibberd.

I don’t know if it’s the same for others, but I find it really saps the enjoyment out of things. I really (really) love editing and proofreading, but those anxious feelings result in the pleasure I get from my work being suppressed. I can have a great week, but that sod of a voice reminding me of the ways I might have failed will always raise its head. The overriding worry about not being good enough has prevented me from trying to reach certain goals, but I am now determined to rebel and pay less attention to it.

Can imposter syndrome be positive?

I guess in some ways it may be better to have imposter syndrome than be over-confident bordering on arrogant. I regard professional development as important for my career and believe that we always have something to learn, but I think those qualities would still be present without the inner critic. It would also be nice not to have the constant nagging doubt and the anxiety that brings.

Things that have helped me calm my inner critic

Remembering that the majority of us feel like this at some point – yes, even the CEOs of successful multinational companies
Accepting that I am not perfect and never will be – every human being on the planet has made a mistake at some point in their life
Acknowledging that failure happens to us all on occasion, it is a normal part of being human and nothing to be ashamed of
Keeping a file of positive reviews and comments to look at when the self-doubt really starts to take over
Getting away from my desk, and out of my head, for a bit during the working day even if it’s only for ten minutes
Giving that voice a silly name and telling it to f**k off
Not comparing myself to others. As Roosevelt said, ‘Comparison is the thief of joy.’

I hope these help a little bit. I would love to know what strategies you use to deal with imposter syndrome if you suffer from it, and I hope you will join me in rebelling against the inner critic.

How do I find an editor?

Sun, 10 Dec 2023 12:59:03 GMT

If you’re new to the publishing world, finding an editor can be a daunting experience. Where do you look for an editor? How do you know they are reputable? Hopefully, this post will help answer those questions and give you the knowledge you need to find your partner in fictional crime.

Where to find your editor

Of course, you could simply carry out a search for ‘editor’ on Google; however, the results are going to be extensive and will need a lot of sifting through.

Word of mouth is a great way to find an editor. If you have friends who are published authors (either trad or indie), ask them who they have worked with and recommend. For those who are new to the world of publishing and don’t have contacts, there are places to look.

Reedsy is an online marketplace for freelance publishing professionals, where authors can search for editors and proofreaders. You submit a brief to those you think will be a good fit, enabling you to search for your perfect editorial partner in one place. All of the editors on Reedsy have been approved by their level of experience and expertise and, believe me, it is not easy to gain that approval and be accepted (here’s my profile ).

Another place to look is the Chartered Institute of Editing and Proofreading directory. As with Reedsy, you can be assured of the qualifications and experience of those listed because all the professionals listed are members of the CIEP.

How to determine if they are reliable

Editing is an unregulated industry, and anyone can set up a website and say they are an editor and/or proofreader. So how do you know the editor you’re thinking of hiring is reputable? Here is a list of things you can look for:

1. Are they suitably qualified?

What does this mean? Well, when I say suitably qualified, I mean they have industry recognised qualifications. In the UK this would mean they have completed courses with the Chartered Institute of Editing and Proofreading and/or the Publishing Training Centre (PTC). If you’ve found an editor or proofreader you are considering using, ask them what qualifications they have if it’s not stated on their website and ask to see their certificates. After all, if you were hiring someone for a job in a company this would be standard practice, and it should be in this situation too as it’s the same thing. At a minimum, they should have completed some of the CIEP's or PTC's specific proofreading and copyediting courses – other courses are aimed at building on skills already obtained; not to prepare professionals to do the job of a copyeditor or proofreader.

2. Are they a member of the Chartered Institute of Editing and Proofreading?

Don’t get me wrong, this isn’t mandatory and there are great editors who aren’t members; however, it tells you a lot about the editor’s experience and commitment.

An Entry-Level Member is someone who has just started out on their editorial career. They may have completed or be going through their courses to become qualified. This doesn’t mean you should rule out hiring them. Upgrading your CIEP membership takes time and they may be in the process of doing this and have the relevant qualifications and experience that you need. The CIEP states it expects its Entry-Level Members to upgrade.

An Intermediate Member has ‘laid the groundwork for providing services as a proofreader or copyeditor by undertaking high-quality training’ and has put that training into practice via work experience to ‘embed their skills’.

A Professional Member has completed ‘high-quality training … beyond the introductory level’, has had ‘editorial work experience that’s substantial in quality’, and has provided a satisfactory reference from a client or employer.

An Advanced Professional Member has completed the steps above but also ‘demonstrated a high level of skill and expertise, backed by long and broad editorial work experience and often enhanced with editorial specialisms’.

Membership is also an indication that the person takes their career seriously and believes in expanding their professional development. It also means they adhere to the CIEP’s code of practice. If the person you’re thinking of hiring is a CIEP member, they will be proudly displaying their membership badge on their website.

3. Have they been accepted on Reedsy?

Absolutely not a deal breaker, but ascertaining if the editor or proofreader you’re considering has been accepted by Reedsy is a good indicator that they are reliable and have the appropriate expertise. It’s not easy to be accepted onto the site and they only take those with a substantial amount of experience with publishers. How do you know if your editor has been approved? They will have a blue tick next to their name and a section that states they are available to hire. While you’re there, you can check out any reviews from clients who have hired them through the site.

4. Who has provided them with testimonials?

Now, I may potentially cause some offence here, and that is absolutely not my intention so please bear with me. If there aren’t any testimonials from publishing professionals, you may want to ask yourself why. Yes, it may be that they specialise in providing services to self-publishing clients. While I am not undermining the expertise of indie authors, it has to be acknowledged that the same level of experience and quality control isn’t in place within self-publishing as it is within a publishing house. Of course, there are loads of fantastic editors and proofreaders who only work with self-publishing clients, and this shouldn’t be taken in isolation but with the other three points.

The above points aren’t compulsory, and an editor doesn't have to have all four to be a good editor (I am not in the CIEP's directory because I haven't got round to completing the form yet), but they are useful to keep in mind when assessing the credentials of your potential editor.

Planning is essential

When self-publishing, it pays to think like a publishing house and that means planning ahead. In traditional publishing, it takes months to get a book ready for publication. It can be tempting to try to rush your novel out once you have finished writing it, but patience is the key. Experienced and highly regarded editors are often fully booked up months in advance. They won’t take on more projects than they can handle at a time as they want to provide the best service for you and your book. It is worth the wait to collaborate with the editor of your choice.

How do I use apostrophes?

Mon, 06 Nov 2023 09:00:00 GMT

The apostrophe, like the comma, is a punctuation mark that can cause problems for writers and authors, and can become a bit of an Achilles heel (more on that later).

It's a versatile little mark, and we use it to indicate possession, contraction and omission.

Possession

We place the apostrophe before the 's' to show that an object belongs to someone when that someone is singular.

Thorin's toys.

If the singular noun ends in an 's' we have two options. We can place a single apostrophe after the 's', or place it after with an additional 's'.

James' corgi.

James's corgi.

Both of these examples are correct and the key here is to be consistent (this is where your copyeditor's style sheet comes in. See my post on them here ).

If there is more than one subject we place the apostrophe after the 's'.

The corgis' toys had been put away.

However, this is the English language and just when you think you have figured out the rules, a situation comes along that changes everything.

In situations when the noun or pronoun is irregular and has a plural form (children, men, women) we again place the apostrophe before the 's'.

The children's toys.

The women's corgis.

The men's dogs.

In lists of owners, we only need one apostrophe if a singular item belongs to all subjects, and we attach it to the final name.

Abbie, James and Nadine's corgi .

But if they each have their own corgi:

Abbie's, James' and Nadine's corgis.

So you may be thinking I have made a mistake by omitting the apostrophe in Achilles heel. The New Oxford Dictionary for Writers and Editors doesn't give Achilles heel an apostrophe and, to be honest, it's only recently that I wondered why. When we consider that 'Achilles heel' is a noun and it is used to refer to a weakness in someone other than Achilles himself, it makes sense: Abbie's Achilles heel .

Another deviation from the norm is 'its'. When we use it in the possessive form, we do not give it an apostrophe.

The corgi played with its toys.

And that leads us on to the apostrophe's other use.

Contractions

A contraction is basically one word that we have made out of two separate words. Examples of contractions are

do not shortened to don't

you are shortened to you're

I am shortened to I'm

have not shortened to haven't

could have shortened to could've

they are shortened to they're

it is s hortened to it's

The apostrophe takes the place of the letter that has been removed to create one shorter word. In the final example, we can see why the possessive 'its' doesn't take an apostrophe as it completely changes its meaning.

Omissions

In fiction, authors often try to reflect their characters' dialects and an apostrophe can be used to indicate the omission of letters.

'I'm from 'Ull, where are you from?'

In the above example the H from Hull has been dropped (common within the Hull dialect) to make the character's dialogue more authentic. This is fine; however, many authors inadvertently use an opening quotation mark rather than an apostrophe. They are two different punctuation marks and look different. The apostrophe is the one that looks like a tiny number nine.

* * *

I hope you have found this post helpful. If you would like help getting your manuscript into shape, head over to my services page to see how I can assist you.

What is a vocative comma?

Sun, 29 Oct 2023 10:42:51 GMT

This particular comma is part of the vocative case. In fiction we use it to indicate a character is directly addressing someone.

As you can imagine, it is used a lot in fiction within dialogue. New writers often don't realise the vocative case and comma exist, and that's okay. After all, you don't hear it when you speak to someone.

So where do we place this comma and why?

The where

The comma is placed with the word directly before the name when that address comes at the end of the sentence:

'Do you know we have run out of treats , Thorin?'

We place the comma after the name when it appears at the start of the sentence:

'Thorin , do you know we have run out of dog treats?'

Commas are placed on either side of the name when it is used in the middle of a sentence:

'Do you know , Thorin , that we have run out of dog treats'?

The vocative comma is also used when addressing people with terms of endearment, nicknames, job titles, etc., so:

'Do you know we have run out of dog treats , my love'?

'Mate , do you know Thorin's run out of dog treats?'

'Do you think someone stole the dog treats , sergeant?'

The why

For such a small punctuation mark, the comma packs a punch and that's certainly the case with the vocative comma. If we remove it, it can completely change the meaning of your sentence.

'Do you know, Thorin?' Here, we are asking Thorin if he knows something.

'Do you know Thorin?' Whereas here we are asking somebody else if they know my corgi.

And 'Thorin do you know?' just doesn't make sense!

An easy way to remember whether or not you need to use the vocative comma is to channel your inner Robert De Niro and ask, 'You talkin' to me?'

How do I publish my book?

Sun, 20 Aug 2023 11:19:29 GMT

Love it or hate it, there is no doubt Amazon has given writers more options when it comes to being published. In the past, you had to be represented by a literary agent to have any chance of your manuscript being turned into a book. Today, publishing is open to everyone and no longer excludes writers who aren’t white and middle- or upper-class (although there's still a long way to go).

This leads to a dilemma for new and emerging authors. I’m often asked at the end of the editing process, 'How do I get my book published?'. It can be confusing and daunting if you’re not in the industry. In this post, I aim to outline the publishing options open to you, from seeking a literary agent to self-publishing, the pros and cons of each, and how to approach them.

1. Literary Agents

The more traditional route to being a published author is to find a literary agent who will represent you. This involves taking part in the process of querying. Basically, you send out your manuscripts to literary agencies… and then wait! However, it isn’t as simple as finding every agency within the country and emailing them your work. You need to do your research as agents typically have lists and preferred genres. You are going to waste your time (and be disappointed) if you send your horror novel to an agent who manages romance novels.

Many writers harbour dreams of being represented by a literary agent, and it still holds a certain prestige – although that is increasingly merely a perception; a hangover from what we still consider to be 'traditional' publishing. But like everything in life, having an agent comes with pros and cons.

Pros:

They provide a gateway into the Big 5 publishing houses who do not take unsolicited manuscripts.
They will prepare your manuscript and proposal for submission.
They will find the right publishing house for your book.
They can negotiate any potential publishing deal for you. Let’s face it, it’s nice to leave it in the hands of people who know what they are doing!
They will ensure your contract is fair (and will understand it!).

Cons:

There are some dodgy agents who won’t have your best interests at heart, and scams exist in the publishing world. Note that you will not be expected to provide an upfront fee to a reputable literary agent.
While they do act as the gatekeepers to the Big 5, this doesn’t necessarily mean that bagging an agent will result in a deal with Penguin. At the risk of sounding cynical, it’s probably best to assume you won’t get a contract with one of the Big 5 (but still go for it if you want to – shy bairns get nowt).
It doesn’t automatically guarantee a publishing deal. Your agent may not be able to sell your manuscript.
Literary agents aren’t free. You will have to pay a percentage of your royalties to your agent if you are successful.
The road to publishing is likely to take longer with an agent than if you approach independent publishers yourself or self-publish.

Still feel that being represented by an agent is the right option for you? Make sure you go about it in a way that will maximise your chances of success:

Take time getting your manuscript into good shape before sending it out.
Research. As stated earlier, you have to find the right agent for you and your manuscript. A great place to start is by looking at a copy of The Writers’ and Artists’ Yearbook . (This will also, hopefully, help prevent you from being scammed.)
Don’t use a generic cover letter and send it out to all agents on your preferred list. Personalise it to the agency you are approaching.
Read each agency’s submission guidelines and follow them!
Be patient and develop a thick skin. Believe me, you will need to be patient and get used to waiting… and waiting some more. It also helps not to take rejection personally. It’s pretty much a given that you will be rejected – this doesn’t mean your work is crap and you should give up; it’s probably the case that the agent doesn’t feel they can sell your manuscript at this time.
Don’t immediately accept the first offer if you’re lucky to receive one. Take your time to decide who you want to work with and who will be the best fit for you.

2. Independent Publishers

The reputation of indie presses has changed over recent years, and many are enjoying considerable success and launching the careers of debut authors. Again, research is necessary before you start querying. The independent publisher route is a great option for writers, but there are pros and cons.

Pros:

You don’t need to be represented by an agent to submit to them.
They are more likely to take a risk on an unknown/debut author.
The costs of publishing your book will be covered by the publisher.
As a general rule, royalty rates will be higher.
You won’t have to give a percentage of your royalties to an agent, thus the amount taken is lower than with one.
Generally, more say over things such as cover design.
If publishing with a digital-first press, your book is likely to be on the (virtual) shelves more quickly than with a traditional publisher.
Your book, once published, will be marketed.

Cons:

It’s unlikely your books will appear in Waterstones and the like.
No guarantee that your book will sell (but this is across the board).
The publisher will take a percentage of your royalties.
You will still have to engage in marketing yourself as an author and your book(s).

The advice I would give to finding an independent publisher is similar to that of finding an agent:

Take the time to get your manuscript into good shape before you submit. Don’t write one draft and then send it off.
Research. Again, you can use the Writers’ and Artists’ Yearbook as your initial guide. Look for presses who publish your genre, otherwise you are potentially wasting your time.
Look up the publishers you are thinking of submitting to. How well are recent releases selling? Do they have a good reputation?
Read each publishing house’s submission guidelines and follow them.
Personalise your submission to each individual publishing house.
Again, be patient and don’t take rejection personally.
Don’t immediately accept the first offer you receive and take advice on any contract offered (The Society of Authors offer this service, I believe).
If a ‘publishing house’ asks you to contribute to the cost of publishing your book, run for the hills! (See my blog post on vanity presses here .)

3. Self-publishing

Lots of authors are choosing to self-publish their books, and it is relatively easy to do thanks to Amazon and digital publishing. There are numerous reasons why a writer may choose this path, and it is often a deliberate decision rather than one they have been forced into. Like the independent publisher, the reputation of self-publishing has improved recently along with quality, and there are a number of incredibly successful self-published authors.

Pros:

You have complete control over your work – genre, cover, when and how it’s published, who you work with, pricing and marketing. Basically, you don’t have to compromise with anyone!
You can choose and work to your own timescale and deadline.
You retain all the rights to your work.
You don’t have to share the profits of any sales.

Cons:

Expense. You will have to bear the costs yourself and they will potentially include editing, proofreading, formatting, cover design, copywriting and marketing. If you want to produce a high-quality book (and you should, given the time you have spent writing it and for the sake of your reputation), it is going to cost you.
You will have to source your own professionals and, as with agents, there are some dodgy ones out there (a post on how to find a good editor and proofreader is coming).
If you think writing and editing are difficult, wait until you try selling it! There are hundreds of books published every day, and it’s probably fair to say that the market is saturated (yes, I’m being cynical again). To break through and get it noticed, you have to spend a lot of time on marketing and being active on social media.

Apart from start saving now, I would offer this advice to those wanting to self-publish:

It’s really tempting to rush the process, but please take your time. Get your manuscript into good shape, and don’t hire the first editor, proofreader, typesetter and cover designer you come across – it will be worth it in the end.
Conduct extensive research when choosing the professionals you’re going to work with. You are paying for this so you don’t want to be ripped off.
Start building up your social media presence before you publish your book. Getting your name out there and becoming ‘known’ will help when it comes to marketing your finished product.
Gain support from other authors on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram. The writing community is generally incredibly supportive. Self-publishing isn’t for the faint-hearted, so seek all the support and advice you can.
Treat it as a business from the start. Yes, it is a creative process, but you also want a return on your investment.

Making the right publishing decision for you involves research, and it’s best to take some time to consider your options. You could try options one and two, before thinking about self-publishing and see how you get on. During that time, get your social media presence established as that will stand you in good stead regardless of which route you eventually take.

What is a vanity publisher and how can I spot one?

183:821304885 (Abbie Rutherford) — Thu, 12 Jan 2023 20:34:16 GMT

For many authors, the publishing industry can be a bit of a mystery, and finding a publisher or agent can be a tricky and confusing process. Unfortunately, like most areas of life, the world of publishing is not immune to scams. This post looks at one of the most prevalent deceptions within the industry: the vanity press.

Hopefully this will help you understand the difference between vanity publishers and actual publishers, and prevent you from being taken in by this business model.

Where does the term ‘vanity publishing’ come from?

Wikipedia has the first mainstream use of the term ‘vanity press’ as occurring in 1941. It originally referred to authors who, having been rejected by publishing houses because their work wasn’t very good, paid for their books to be published. Collins defines a vanity press as ‘a publishing house which publishes only books for which the author pays all the costs of production’ ( collinsdictionary.com ). The use of the expression ‘vanity’ is derogatory in nature and implies that the author paying one of these presses has an inflated sense of their writing abilities.

I don’t think the term ‘vanity publishing’ is appropriate in the 21st century. Access to publishing has changed dramatically thanks to the internet and technology, and authors are able to publish independently without an agent or a publisher. This open-access approach basically makes the vanity press redundant; however, it still exists. Personally, I believe a more accurate name these days would be ‘predatory publishing’.

What is a vanity publisher?

Essentially, it’s a publisher that works on a different business model to a regular press.

In standard publishing, profit is generated through the sale of books. The author receives a cut (royalties) and the publisher also receives a percentage of all sales. However, the vanity press gains the majority of its revenue directly from you, the author, and by that, I mean not in the form of a percentage of your book’s sales.

At the end of the day, no matter how much we may romanticise the creative endeavour of producing literature, publishing is a business. Publishing houses invest in books they believe they can sell in high volume to make you and themselves money. They pay for your book to be edited, proofread, formatted, have a cover designed, and marketed. This is why it is so difficult to actually have a book published in the traditional way – they will only invest in stories or nonfiction they believe they can make money from. If they don’t sell any books, they will eventually go bust.

Vanity publishers have all their costs met up front – by you! The editing, proofreading, formatting, and cover design are all paid for by the author because they charge you to publish your book through them. They will claim to market your book; however, they won’t invest a great deal in this because they don’t need to sell it to make a profit. They have already done that by charging you. A quick look on Amazon of the books published by them shows very little sales are made. Their focus is not on selling to readers but selling to authors.

This ‘pay-to-play’ model is similar to the rogue modelling agencies that promise to help you establish a career but charge you to put a portfolio together.

You may be wondering what the issue with this is. After all, in order to self-publish your book you would need to pay for editing, proofreading, cover design, and formatting anyway, right? That is correct; however, with self-publishing you retain all the rights to your book, have full control over it, and retain all the royalties. The vanity publisher will make you pay for the production of your book and take royalties while owning the rights to your work.

How can you tell it’s a vanity publisher?

Most of us use Google to find information, and I imagine that authors looking for a publisher will turn to the search engine for research – this is where I would start.

Out of curiosity, I put ‘UK publishers’ in Google and the first four results were all vanity publishers. Google ‘publishers’ and the result is the same. Whatever variation you use, at least one will come up in the top three results, which is thoroughly depressing. If you are not particularly tech savvy when it comes to things relating to the internet and how listings work (I’m not), you're bound to believe that these companies are reputable because they appear at the top. However, they have paid for ads and whatever internet/SEO magic is available to ensure they are the first companies that come up when you search.

Take a quick look at the three ‘publishers’ who show up in that Google search and you will see less clarity. You have to dig out the fact that they will charge you for their services. They often tout this as ‘hybrid publishing', and state that they offer some traditional publishing contracts and some contracts where the author is asked to make a contribution to the costs. I couldn’t see their prices anywhere on their sites. They are set up, in my opinion, to give the impression they only publish traditionally. In reality, they are highly unlikely to offer you a contract in which they invest in your book. This lack of transparency is why I think it should be called ‘predatory publishing’.

Compare this to companies that offer self-publishing services and you will see they are up front that this is what they are doing. They are also upfront about their services, how much they cost, and that you retain the rights to your book.

Red flags to look out for

They have paid ad space on Google and will appear at the top of the search listings and have 'sponsored' above the URL.
Their websites are geared towards authors rather than readers – that’s because they are! You are the source of their income. Their internet listings state things like ‘authors wanted’, ‘we’re looking for writers’.
Somewhere hidden amongst their website they will refer to operating on a ‘hybrid model’; however, their prices won’t be displayed.
I hate to say it, but they will blow smoke up your arse. They know it’s your dream to be published and prey on that in order to make money.
There are a number of scathing reviews and forum posts about them and they feature on Writer Beware. Always do some research.

Basically, the message to take from this is that a genuine publishing house will never charge you to have your book published. In fact, you may be offered an advance. If an organisation claims to be a publishing house but expects you to pay them to get your manuscript ready for publication, run for the hills.

Five ways to develop your writing

183:821304885 (Abbie Rutherford) — Sun, 11 Dec 2022 12:39:33 GMT

1. Read, read, read

It is a common piece of advice that writers who want to develop their writing should read a lot and widely. I agree with this, and would encourage writers to read outside of the genre they write in. Reading closely can help you establish your style and voice. Read for the sheer joy of it, but also analyse the text. Think about the words the author has chosen and the techniques used – what effect do they have? Is it successful? What works and doesn’t work for you and why? Make notes as you read and underline (in pencil, you’re not a monster!). When you’re writing, have a go at replicating some of the techniques you liked – don’t copy, though .

2. Listen, too

Listen to books as well. Hearing the words spoken aloud gives you a different perspective on what has been written. Crutch words and repetition really stand out when you are listening to a book. If you write in first-person narrative, characterisation is incredibly important, so listen to books that use first person. The personality of your protagonist (or antagonist!) comes across more clearly through your ears than your eyes, I think, because the character is literally talking to you. Check out the audiobooks of The First Day of Spring by Nancy Tucker, Ben Aaronovitch’s Rivers of London , and Strange Sally Diamond by Liz Nugent for examples of fantastic first-person narrative.

3. Practise freewriting

Spend ten to twenty minutes each day just writing without any regard to grammar, punctuation or storytelling conventions. Use the time to empty your mind onto paper (or screen). Take inspiration from writing prompts if you want to – there are loads available online. Freewriting is said to help writer’s block and acts as a kind of warm-up exercise before you start on your latest work in progress.

4. Rewrite old stories

I’m sure you all have some old stories lurking in a drawer or on your computer that haven’t seen the light of day for a while. Dig them out and rewrite them. Try changing the point of view and the tense. Hell, go completely crazy and change the genre – have a go at changing your romcom into a gothic vampire tale! You never know what might happen with this exercise, and you could turn a previously unpublishable piece into a bestseller. If you don’t have any lurkers, take a published short story and give it the same treatment.

5. Join a writing group

Writing groups can be an invaluable source of learning and can really help you develop your writing skills. A great writing group will help expand your knowledge on the craft, point you in the direction of competitions and opportunities, help keep you motivated, and let you talk about your plot and characters without the risk of glazed eyes! They are also a great place to receive feedback on your work. Sunderland has a great writing group called Holmeside Writers which is run by Iain Rowan, a published author – if you’re local, check it out – and a Google search will help you find a group in your area. Can’t find one? Be brave and set one up yourself. Alternatively, look on social media. There are loads of groups for writers on Facebook.

What is a style sheet?

183:821304885 (Abbie Rutherford) — Sun, 13 Nov 2022 10:12:53 GMT

The style sheet is the editor’s best friend and closest colleague during the copyediting process, but they are also equally important for authors and proofreaders. In today’s post, I explain what they are, what is on them, how they are used, and why they are important.

What is a style sheet?

All publishing houses – and other organisations that create copy such as newspapers, magazines and businesses – have what is known as a house style guide. Basically, this is a sheet that sets out the spelling and grammar preferences of that particular organisation. Typically, they include preferred spelling and grammar and act as a guide for writers, editors and proofreaders.

Quite often the house style sheet is not enough on its own; however, and the editor will create an individual style sheet specifically for your book whether you are published traditionally or self-published. New Hart’s Rules (the bible of UK publishing conventions, but don’t worry about reading it – I’ve read it so you don’t have to) states that the copy-editor needs to record particular editorial style decisions for every book (2014, p.37).

What is on a style sheet?

You can expect to see some or all of the following decisions on a style sheet:

preferred spellings
capitalisation
hyphenation
abbreviations
the use of bold and italics
punctuation preferences
treatment of numbers, times and dates
preferred quotation marks
open en dashes or closed em dashes.

For those traditionally published authors, many of these decisions will be incorporated on their publisher’s house style document. For independent authors, having a style sheet for each book is a must as these decisions are not likely to have been made at the point of writing. Your priority is the creative process and the storytelling, and so it should be. One of the editor’s roles is to compile the style sheet and assist in making those decisions so you don’t have to worry about it.

The style sheet for a non-fiction publication may also include:

the setting out of images
treatment of captions
treatment of footnotes
treatment of references.

How is a style sheet used?

Your copyeditor will probably have their own style sheet template that they complete as they are editing a manuscript. On this they will record every decision made regarding some or all of the above list. The style sheet should be given to the author and the proofreader. It is then used to ensure consistency within the text as it progresses through each part of the editorial process.

When I am editing fiction, I also include a section on my style sheet to record characters’ names and details (this helps to ensure your characters remain consistent throughout – we don’t want Bob to go from having brown hair to blond hair), and this provides a clue as to why style sheets are so important.

Why are style sheets so important?

These documents may appear to be a bit mundane – they don’t rank high in the sexy stakes and they will be the last thing you want to concern yourself with! – but they are absolutely invaluable. When I work as a proofreader, a style sheet is an absolute godsend, and the job is a lot more difficult and time-consuming without one.

They are useful because

they detail what work has been done and what decisions have been made
they ensure consistency and assist the copyeditor in this task as it is impossible to remember every single decision made as you edit
they help to ensure consistency throughout the manuscript and across series – they really are a must if you are writing a series
they cut down on the need for queries when it comes to the final proofread and are therefore cost effect as querying takes time
ensure independently published authors’ books are of the same standard as traditionally published books and follow industry-standard conventions without the author having to get bogged down in those details.

Completing a style guide is a standard part of the copyediting process as your manuscript is worked on. All of my clients – traditionally and independently published – receive a style guide for their individual work because they help me, the author and the proofreader.

How to use hyphens, en dashes and em dashes

183:821304885 (Abbie Rutherford) — Sun, 30 Oct 2022 16:14:47 GMT

English grammar can be a strange beast and sometimes it feels a little unfathomable. Where else would you find a series of lines of varying lengths that do different things? (There may be a similar thing in maths, but I confess that I am absolutely rubbish with numbers so it will have passed me by.)

Hyphens, en dashes and em dashes can cause quite a bit of confusion, not only around how to use them but also how to actually produce one. The qwerty keyboard is modelled on the typewriter, and in the days when we click-clacked away on our typing machines and relied on Tippex to correct our mistakes, two or three hyphens were used to indicate the en and em dashes. You can create these two dashes without having to resort to pressing the hyphen/minus key numerous times, though, and I shall tell you how. To be honest, I don’t actually recall being taught about the dashes at school or during my RSA typewriting classes – although that was a long (long) time ago.

Anyway, I digress. Let's crack on with what we're here to talk about.

The Hyphen

The hyphen is the one we are most familiar with. It sits at the top right-hand side of the qwerty keyboard, between the number zero and the plus and minus sign.

So how is it used?

Numbers

Compound numbers are hyphenated when spelled out:

twenty-one, ninety-nine.

When describing someone’s name takes the compound noun or compound adjective form:

A one-year-old won the dog show

He is a one-year-old corgi.

Don’t hyphenate an age that takes the predicative-adjective form:

He is one year old.

Compound adjectives

These are single adjectives that are made up of more than one word. We hyphenate them when the modify a noun:

He is a well-known corgi.

If the adjective comes after the noun; however, we don’t hyphenate it (I know, it always has to become confusing!):

The corgi is well known.

Prefixes and suffixes

Words that have a prefix or a suffix take a hyphen:

Ex-boyfriend

President-elect

T-shirt

Self-confident

To avoid confusion

A hyphen can alter the meaning of a word:

The corgi resigned as a cattle herder

The corgi re-signed as a cattle herder.

(This corgi is very clever and can sign his name!)

The En Dash

The en dash is longer than the hyphen. It takes its name from the fact it is the length of a letter N. Of course, it doesn’t have a specific button on the qwerty keyboard, but can be created on a PC via CTRL + minus and on a Mac via Option + Minus (being a PC user, I have googled that so apologies if it’s wrong).

You’ll be pleased to hear that although it’s longer, it doesn’t have as many uses as the hyphen.

Parenthetical phrases

In the UK, spaced en dashes are used to separate a parenthetical phrase from its core sentence:

Thorin the corgi signed – he was a very clever corgi – a new contract to herd cattle.

Span or range

It can be used to replaced ‘to’ or ‘through’ in a range of numbers or terms (do not add a space):

Thorin agreed to herd cattle June–September, on Wednesdays 10am–1pm.

However, it is only correct to use an en dash when you don’t use words such as ‘from’ or ‘between’:

Thorin agreed to herd cattle from June to September, on Wednesdays from 10am to 1pm.

Connection or conflict

The en dash is also used to signify a connection or a conflict between things:

Mother–daughter relationship

Thorin felt 50–50 about the new job

The Russia–Ukraine conflict

The England–Ireland flight was delayed.

The Em Dash

You have probably guessed that the em dash is the length of a letter ‘M’. Despite being the longest dash, it is used the least, especially in the UK. On the qwerty keyboard you can create one by pressing CRTl + ALT + Minus on PC and Option + Shift + Minus on a Mac.

Parenthetical phrases

In the US the preference is for closed em dashes rather than spaced en dashes to separate parenthetical phrases:

Thorin the corgi signed—he was a very clever corgi—a new contract to herd cattle.

Interruption in dialogue

The em dash is often used to indicate a character has been interrupted mid-speech (although some publishers prefer to use the en dash for this – check their house style guide):

‘What do you mean my pay has been—’

‘I’m not talking about that now,’ said the farmer.

So there you have it. No need to worry about the hyphen, en and em dash anymore.

I hope you have found this helpful.

Happy writing!

How to punctuate dialogue

183:821304885 (Abbie Rutherford) — Fri, 07 Oct 2022 14:55:11 GMT

How difficult can punctuating dialogue be? You simply follow the same set of grammar rules but with added quotation marks, right?

Well, not quite.

But still, rules such as not capitalising the initlal letter of the word following a comma (with the exception of proper nouns) still apply, don’t they?

No, which is why a lot of authors find setting out dialogue so confusing.

Thorin the corgi’s expression in the photo below pretty much sums up how most writers feel about the punctuation of dialogue.

So, I thought a brief guide may help.

I’m not going to go into the whys as I want to produce something that can be followed as you write. A simple reference tool. Of course, your editor and proofreader can assure that you get it right, but it’s always nice to know how to do something yourself too, I think.

Your editor may tell you to insert a dialogue tag or an action beat, but what exactly are they and how do they differ?

Both alert the reader to who is speaking, but in slightly different ways. As its name suggests, the ‘dialogue tag’ tags the character to their speech. Most commonly and simplistically this takes the form of ‘James said’, but can also be used to describe how the dialogue is spoken while still identifying the character – ‘he shouted’, ‘Jo whispered’, for example.

An action beat still serves to indicate who is speaking but includes an action (this can be a physical action, a thought or a description), and they can come at the start, in the middle or at the end of a piece of dialogue. Action beats are a useful way of expressing the emotion behind the dialogue without having to directly say it, and can make the prose more interesting, as follows:

James threw the cup against the wall. ‘I’m always the one who has to make cups of tea.’

We can see James is saying this in anger without having to use a dialogue tag such as ‘he said, angrily’.

Now we know what they are, let’s break this down further and look at how we punctuate them.

Dialogue tags

The tag comes after the dialogue: It always follows a comma not a full point, and the first letter of the tag should be lower case unless it’s a proper noun.

‘I’m going to make a cup of tea,’ he said.

The tag comes before the dialogue: It ends with a comma and the first word that follows takes a capital letter (this is where a lot of people get confused).

James said, ‘Do you want a cup of tea?’

The tag appears in the middle of a piece of dialogue and interjects two complete sentences: The tag follows a comma and ends with a full point.

‘I’m going to make a cup of tea,’ he said. ‘I’ll bring the biscuits in too.’

As you can see, the following sentence of dialogue starts with a capital.

The tag breaks up an incomplete sentence: The tag is ended with a comma and the following sentence is not capitalised (unless it starts with a name).

‘I’m going into the kitchen,’ he said, ‘to make a cup of tea.’

A question or exclamation mark is used to end the dialogue: We have to go against what comes naturally here, as neither mark act in the same manner as a full point when they punctuate dialogue that is followed by a tag. The tag dies not take a capital (unless it’s a proper noun), going against what we have all been taught.

‘Are you making a cup of tea?’ he asked.

‘I always have to make the tea!’ shouted James.

Action beats

T he action beat comes before the dialogue: End it with a full point and start the following piece of speech with a capital letter. Unlike the dialogue tag, the action beat is dealt with as a complete sentence.

James walked over to the kettle. ‘I’m going to make a cup of tea.’

Action beat used in the middle of dialogue: Again, treat it as a complete sentence and end it with a full point.

‘I’m going to make a cup of tea.’ James walked over to the kettle. ‘Do you want one?’

It is fairly easy to remember once you get your head around it, I promise. I really enjoy editing and proofreading dialogue, but then I am a bit strange!

* * *

Need help sorting out your dialogue? Check out my services page for down-to-earth, friendly editing and proofreading.

Copyediting and proofreading: what's the difference?

Mon, 26 Sep 2022 13:20:46 GMT

Copyediting

Basically, copyediting is the process of correcting a piece of writing (copy). It is often assumed that this means simply correcting grammar and spelling. This is accurate; however, it goes much further than this. The copyeditor seeks to ensure readability, clarity, and consistency.

This includes offering suggestions where there is repetition, ensuring the language used is consistent with setting and character, making suggestions for ‘clunky’ sentences, all while retaining the author’s voice and message.

To maintain consistency, the editor ensures the chosen style guide is adhered to (in the UK this tends to be New Hart’s Rules ).While publishing houses will have their own house style, this won’t be the case for an independent author. Your editor should produce a style sheet for you that sets out the decisions made regarding spellings, punctuation and formatting.

There is an element of fact-checking involved in copyediting. So, if your character takes two hours to travel from A to B, the editor will check this is realistic.

Sensitivity is also a factor within editing. Your editor will endeavour to ensure that your writing isn’t inadvertently going to offend or upset readers – something that can have a major impact on the reception of a book, which in turn can impact on reviews and sales.

The editor’s role within non-fiction work may also involve illustrations and references, and they will leave instructions for the typesetter regarding these additional matters.

Proofreading

When it comes to proofreading there is, again, an assumption that it simply involves looking for typos. Proofreading is a much more complex task than this. Yes, it involves checking spelling and grammar, but it also includes ensuring any formatting issues are addressed, that chapter numbers and page numbers are correct, and rogue spaces (you can tell the age of an author by whether or not they put a double space after each sentence – a throwback to being taught to type on a typewriter). In traditional publishing it also involves checking that page lengths are correct, that there are no bad word breaks, and that the manuscript is free of widows and orphans (something to be explained in another post).

Proofreading is, I think, a more subtle art than copyediting and involves a different set of skills. I really enjoy having a mix of both editing and proofreading work as it enables me to shift my mindset, if that makes sense?

The copyedit always comes before the proofread. This is the standard across publishing and reflects the different roles – it is a process of each catching what the person before them missed, and that’s not a criticism as we are all human (before you consider skipping human’s altogether bear in mind that technology can miss things too, as evidenced by my use of the apostrophe in humans – nope, the spellcheck didn’t pick it up).

Both copyediting and proofreading are essential if you want to publish professional-looking books that provide a pleasant experience beyond the story for your readers.

Brilliant editorial reference books

Sun, 14 Aug 2022 14:36:36 GMT

Books I couldn't live without

I couldn’t do my job as a copyeditor and proofreader without the help of some trusted resources. We may have a vast amount of training and experience, but it is impossible to know or remember everything. One of the things guaranteed in life is that we will always come across gaps in our knowledge, and I believe we are constantly learning. One way of ensuring you’re able to find answers to editing and proofreading questions is to have a collection of good reference books. Here I outline some of my favourites.

New Hart’s Rules

This is the definitive style guide for UK editors and proofreaders. It is a goldmine of information all wrapped up in one beautiful little hardback book. It covers everything from publishing terminology to how to deal with illustrations. No editor or proofreader is complete without a copy of this book on their work bookshelf.

New Oxford Dictionary for Writers and Editors

This is the book I use the most at work. It is an absolute gem and as well as providing a brief definition of each word and the correct spelling, it also provides all the important stuff about capitalisation, italicisation, en dash or hyphen, etc. If you want a rapid answer about the spelling of a word or whether it should be set in italics or roman this is the book to turn to. I use the NODWE to assist in the compilation of style sheets for independent authors.

New Oxford Spelling Dictionary

Basically, it does what it says on the tin and a little bit more. It is the guide you need when it comes to word division and provides primary and secondary breaks for each word (you don’t want ‘analyse’ to broken after the ‘L’!). Particularly useful for editors, proofreaders and typesetters who are working on traditionally typeset pages.

Butcher’s Copy-editing: The Cambridge Handbook for Editors, Copy-editors and Proofreaders

Another reference guide to all things involving copy and publishing, I use this one less than New Hart’s Rules but find it to be an additional useful resource. It has a great section on style sheets, and I would recommend this book to those starting out on their editing and proofreading career.

Penguin Guide to Punctuation

No explanation needed. Sometimes we all need a reminder, and this is a great little reference book.

Compact Oxford Thesaurus

We all come across crutch words (and we all have them) and repetitive uses of a word when editing and proofreading, and sometimes no matter how hard we try our brains struggle to come up with an alternative. This is why a thesaurus is an absolute must.

You can find copies of most of the above books at Abbie Editorial Bookshop UK , my affiliate store with Bookshop.org. Purchases from here help to support independent bookshops.

(Disclosure: if you buy books linked to my site, I may earn a commission from Bookshop.org, whose fees support independent bookshops.)