Question of the Week

How do you Self Edit?”

See ya next Wednesday for another Question of the Week!

Signing Off,

Dominique

 

Writing Tip of the Week

Be sure to read over your work more than one time. Some times our eyes get fixed on mistakes and make us think that its correct. Reading over your work several times can help.

**hint**

Each time you decide to read over your work, put it away for a few days maybe a week and then come back to it.

Be sure to tune in again next week for another Writing Tips of the Week

Signing Off,

Dominique

 

Literary Career Moves Presents: Should I Hire an Editor?

When in the process of having your book published, writers come to the question should they hire someone to edit or should they do it themselves. The bigger question is do I have money to afford this service.

Now a day’s having a manuscript edited will cost hundreds of dollars and this is before the book has been to print; before you have signed the contract.

For example. If you log on to http://www.iuniverse.com/ right now you will see what I mean. Once you get to their homepage authors will click on Packages. This page has a graph of the packages and what each package offers. They only offer editing services for three of their packages. The other packages will need to pay for the editorial packages which is $599 not including the cost of publishing your book. This is what I mean when I say, look around. If you look at their packages and click on their cheapest package which is $599, it does not include the package but you can purchase it as an add on. Which puts your total over $1000 or more if you decide to add on other packages.

Some publishing companies will add certain services into the contract to have your book published. Others will not. These add on services are hundreds of dollars as well and if you don’t read the fine print in your contract or browse through the website of a publishing company, you probably won’t find that out. Most self publishing companies, do not edit. There are a few but not many. If this is a feature that your publishing company must have, be sure you shop around.

Most Traditional Publishing Companies edit for you. But with most publishing companies, comes a long process before you are accepted as one of their writers.

The bottom line is

• First decide if you have the extra money to hire someone to edit your book
• Shop around, get quotes and see what other editors and proofreaders have to say.
• If you plan to have your publishing company edit your book, make sure they offer this service before you sign the contract.

Don’t be discouraged if the quotes you get are too high for your pockets. Some writers have written ten books and still go through this critical stage. If you have to edit your own book, go through it with a fine tooth comb and do the best you can!

Now taking clients! Check www.literarycareermoves.com

Signing Off,

Dominique

 

Question of the Week

“After writing a book, how long do you put the book away before going back to read it or self edit it?”

See ya next week for another Question of the Week!

Signing Off,

Dominique

 

A Part Time Author; Top Ten Countdown; Have you Checked the Title

With so many books in print, I’ve seen the same title a bunch of times. In some cases, the title is worded differently to make it stand out but, with so many books in print, you’re bound to see the same title on different books, just in a different way.

One thing you don’t want to do is create a title that someone else has already used.  When you come up with a title, Google it. See what comes up. You want your title to be unique, easy to find and memorable. Authors do not take the time to search around on their title. They give books a title and just like that, they’re claiming the name.

Wait! Don’t move too fast. Get a little background information on the title you are choosing. One thing you don’t want to do is get all the way to print and then the publisher says we can’t use this title. It’s already been taken.

How to not make this mistake:

Google your title first. If the title is taken, think of words that best describe your title. Get a thesaurus and look them up. How can you rearrange your title to make it work for your book?

Secondly, when you have decided on a title, don’t run off telling everyone. Keep it between you and maybe a close friend or two. People will steal book titles, especially if they know you haven’t published the book yet. You also have to be careful with the content you advertise because it if it’s not published yet, they will steal that, too.

Be careful! Keep things to yourself. Do your research. It’s just like having a trademarked name. You have to go through so much just to own the rights to a name. You or your publisher might own the right to the book and that work cannot be duplicated once it’s published, but having the same name as another author is a little different. In the end, you want to make sure your publication is as unique as possible. Don’t get all the way to the finish line only to have to turn around and recreate your title.

Trust me; I’ve been there, done that!

Have a question for me? I’m here to help! Let me know what literary struggles you have this month and I’ll help you get through them. Email me at dominiquewatson@literarycareermoves.com

View Literary Career Moves online: www.literarycareermoves.com  I am now taking clients!

“With so many resources surrounding us, why not use them to the fullest to be sure you are moving in the right direction? Never have regrets. Make mistakes, but don’t regret your decisions.”-Dominique

 

Hot Topic Monday; The Business Side of Writing

Happy Monday

A lot of authors and writers get into the business side of the literary world. After writing and publishing a book or two they decide to get into the business part of the literary field. Whether it’s publishing, editing or something else, something about that part of the literary field intrigues them.

So outside of writing the book, what intrigues you about the literary field?

Speak!

I wanna hear from you!

Signing Off,

Dominique

 

Question of the Week

“After you’ve written the last word in your story, how long does it take you to pick it back up to edit it?”

See ya next week for another Question of the Week!

Signing Off,

Dominique