Levels of Edit

The world goes on while we write: The term “buckets of rain” became real to me in 1972, when Tropical Storm Agnes stalled over Pennsylvania for days. So I checked – total rainfall that caused massive flooding back then was less than Houston got in the first twenty-four hours. Cousins – glad you’re safe.

On to levels of edit. I’m going to repeat one piece up here:

Don’t submit rough drafts for critique or editing!

If you’re working with a critique group, it’s rude. If you’re paying for an editor, it’s a waste of money. Always read, revise, and correct to the best of your ability first.

At least use your word processor’s spelling and grammar checks. These are flawed – you need to look at each suggestion before accepting corrections – but there’s no excuse for asking people to read something that looks like you threw letters and words into a blender, then poured them onto the page. Grammarly has a free app that gives feedback on grammar and Natural Readers has a free download that will read your documents aloud. It’s mechanical and makes pronunciation errors, but if you have a problem with commas, you’ll hear if you’re missing pauses or have too many.

Sheri McGuinn I write. http://www.sherimcguinn.com http://www.amazon.com/author/sherimcguinn

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Writers Revise

Last week I wrote about not getting ripped off when you self-publish. My favorite resource for this is the free annotated list of companies you get when you sign up for Carla King’s mailing list for Tools & Services at authorfriendly.com. This is a marketing strategy for her 4th edition of Self-Publishing Boot Camp and for her services, but she has NOT buried me in promotional emails and she DOES send updates. This is an excellent tool for any self-publisher, but if you’re new the knowledge is essential.

www.sherimcguinn.com www.amazon.com/author/sherimcguinn

#toolsforselfpublishers #selfediting #tellingmystory #authorfriendly #revising #CarlaKing #Howtolearntowrite #Iwanttowrite #rewriting #Selfpublishingbootcamp #editing #firstdrafts #storytelling #critique #Writing #Howtostartwriting

Critique Groups – Key Elements

I was extremely lucky in my first critique group. Running Away was losing agent interest in the first pages. I read it to the group and they unanimously proclaimed I’d started in the wrong place. They were absolutely right!

The best critique group is going to include people with diverse perspectives, backgrounds, and skills. They’re going to be supportive of each other, even when they’re giving negative feedback. Every person will leave the meeting energized.

Aside from that, there are a lot of different ways critique groups may work. Here are a few variations.

Sheri McGuinn I write. www.sherimcguinn.com www.amazon.com/author/sherimcguinn

#readaheadvsreadaloud #sherimcguinn #runningaway #critiquegroups #Iwrite #critiquegroupstyles #critique #Writing