Posts from the “Editing” Category

Foolish consistency

Posted on January 11th, 2013

You guys, this week. This. Week. First, there is ever-present school drama, which is…um…really starting to be annoying. (I know, like it wasn’t before?) I finally went ahead and scheduled an appointment with the principal because I have had it to here. It’s Monday. I am just…done. Hobgoblins of little minds. Speaking of hobgoblins, you will never have a more entertaining email exchange than when you ask someone who believes in fairies for curriculum based measurements and methodology for normalizing age and temperament in making academic readiness assessments. (Short answer: We don’t like your cold, hard science.) We took her to her pediatrician for a reality check. Guess what: the kid who dances with swords does, in fact, have decent gross motor skills. Go…

Categories: Disasters, Editing, School

Panic attack! (Or: There are no book-selling fairies)

Posted on December 28th, 2012

Whoo! And here I was thinking I’d been doing so well, not having very many of those panic attacks this year. Damn you, 2012, for your five ER visits (three mine), four urgent care visits (two mine), two sets of stitches (it may be three, but only one of those was mine), two cardiac stress tests (one mine, but it was the nuclear version), one “wow, you have crazy weird granulomas in your lungs and we don’t know why so let’s go send you to an oncologist,” one mammogram (obviously mine), and nine prescription drugs monthly (mine). This post is dedicated to all the dumb fucks in the US who think we have the best heath care system in the world. We don’t. I’m…

Categories: Editing, Not crazy...yet, Sick Mom

Some notes on editing, or why I hate sighing, frowning, and muttering, but I love Scrivener

Posted on November 21st, 2012

I don’t talk about writing here much, because while craft posts are interesting, other people are much better teachers. But I was working on my manuscript today, and thought I’d share one of my strategies for getting rid of redundancies. I learned editing genre fiction that authors have a tendency to use the same words and phrases repeatedly. (Well, I already knew it, because I’m no different.) While writing a first draft, this is good because it helps you finish quickly. You don’t want to be bogged down in word choice; you just need to get the story out. When I am editing or rewriting myself, I go through and do multiple passes for words and phrases I know I use too much. I…

Categories: Advice, Editing, Writing

The world’s best/worst rejection letter

Posted on August 27th, 2012

One of our friends recently queried a publishing house and received this truly jaw-droppingly awful response. Der [Friend], I like your poems but I am afraid that we could not publish them successfully—we at no well known enough to market a poetry book. however, we are very interested in non-fiction: information about animals, how things work,** History, inventions, and biography. With best wishes [Redacted] **Our friend’s addition: “information about how things work.” Oh, you mean, like how proof-reading works? Talk about dodging a bullet. Yikes!

Categories: Editing, Writing, WTF

Things I am doing

Posted on August 6th, 2012

First edits on an author’s novel. Waiting on getting another author’s second edits back. Waiting on getting yet another author’s first edits back. Trying to get to the next two novels in the queue. Writing a novel of my own. Looking for an agent for another novel of my own. Freaking the hell out about whether Pea will get into kindergarten in the next four weeks. Guess which one has me the most concerned? I know it will sort itself out, but still? I’m freaking the hell out. M is back at work and Pea and I are back to our routine where I write/edit and she does worksheets next to me (she loves worksheets, this kid). But seriously, another year? I can’t imagine.…

Categories: Editing, General Parenting, Routines, Writing

Jury service, naval history, sushi, and Powell’s

Posted on July 12th, 2012

What, doesn’t that just trip off the tongue? I swear it’s all related in a stream-of-consciousness sort of way. Along with, I don’t know, 200 other people, I assembled (Jurors assemble!) in the — you guessed it — jury assembly room yesterday. Other than the fact there was a creepy clown mural on the wall and the aforementioned 200 other people, it was an OK time. I talked to a nice lady who works at Boeing. I read 1 and 1/4 novels to be edited. I didn’t bring my laptop so I didn’t have much choice but to work. I may have hit my head on the table a few times in the process. Yes, that’s an occupational hazard. There were only two jury…

Categories: Editing, Good day, Law, Portlandia

How to make your editor love you

Posted on July 6th, 2012

Recently I returned a draft to an author; I had marked the heck out of it. Red everywhere. It was crazy. I braced myself for the inevitable. What came next? “I really appreciate the time you’ve put into this.” That’s gracious. Thank you, author.

Categories: Editing

Editing Playlist

Posted on June 23rd, 2012

You can tell I’m procrastinating because I spent two hours — yes, two hours — making an editing playlist. (I also used power tools to install hooks in my office, but that’s not nearly as exciting.) Here it is, if you’d like a gander. And, um, don’t parse the average years of the song releases. I already feel old enough. (editing-playlist) My song criteria are basically: it’s funny, it’s ironic, I like it, Pea likes it, or it’s fun to sing along to.

Categories: Editing