Marjorie Turner Hollman helps authors self-publish their books. She is also a disability advocate, sharing information about Easy Walks (not too many roots or rocks, relatively level with firm footing, and something of interest along the way) in open space. Link to all Marjorie’s books.
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Or perhaps you simply need to post your work elsewhere…
Yes, you can edit your own writing. But should you? Well, sure. In fact, you really do need to edit your own writing. Raw writing is almost never the best you can produce. The very least you can do is take a good look after the flame of writing has died down a little.
GUEST POST: Neil Dailey lives in the suburbs of Boston, Massachusetts, where his family has deep roots. He enjoys caring for and cooking for his family. He also enjoys gardening and collecting ephemera. An eclectic range of books fill his home. Henry Van Dyke’s “Poems of Tennyson,” “The Picture of Dorian Gray,” Michael Connolly, Nikos Kazantzakis, Robert Wilson, Martin Limón, Anthony Everitt’s biography of Hadrian, J.T. Maxwell’s “Red Brick Road,” Faulkner, and Joseph O’Callahan’s “A History of Medieval Spain” all find space. His battered copy of “Candide,” alas, crumbled. He is also a lawyer, and practices criminal defense law full time.
Here’s a peek at the latest creation from my “art studio.” I’ve been trying my hand at oil on canvas again. The image is a place I knew as a child as “Desmond Farm.”
Fragments of stone wall and the granite outcroppings scarred the land. Each stone seemed to appear from nowhere without logic or purpose. Even so, the stones appeared with insistent determination. When I heard the old New England farmer’s joke, it made sense. “This is the best land to farm, if you want to harvest stones.” The rocks and stones jostled and interrupted an uneven landscape. In summer, the land bristled brown and gold with grasses and dry prickly weeds which waved and shimmered in the bright summer sun.
Marjorie Turner Hollman helps authors self-publish their books. She is also a disability advocate, sharing information about Easy Walks (not too many roots or rocks, relatively level with firm footing, and something of interest along the way) in open space. Link to all Marjorie’s books.
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Entrance to The Glen open space trail
“The Glen” walking path was known in the past to area residents (and golfers) as the Glen Ellen Country Club. After the land’s sale to Toll Brothers, the site was developed into a 55+ housing community. Six different review boards in Millis advocated strongly to retain some open space there. Ultimately one hundred or so acres of the former golf course adjacent to Bogastow Brook is now open the public as a maintained walking trail system.
Marjorie Turner Hollman helps authors self-publish their books. She is also a disability advocate, sharing information about Easy Walks (not too many roots or rocks, relatively level with firm footing, and something of interest along the way) in open space. Link to all Marjorie’s books.
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Group photo from a recent gathering
You’ve thought of joining a writing group. Maybe someone has told you to join a writing group. Perhaps you have heard about how cut throat writing groups (sometimes called critique groups), can be. You have avoided going to a writing group.
But… that book you read where the author talks about how helpful the members of her writing group have been. Those writing conferences that people rave about (and pay good money to attend.)
Marjorie Turner Hollman helps authors self-publish their books. She is also a disability advocate, sharing information about Easy Walks (not too many roots or rocks, relatively level with firm footing, and something of interest along the way) in open space. Link to all Marjorie’s books.
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Danforth Falls
On a mild day in late December we headed to Hudson, Massachusetts to explore the area of Danforth Falls, a natural, not man-made cascade. Natural waterfalls are not a common feature in eastern Masschusetts.
Guest post: Em Turner Chitty previously published this article on her Substack
I taught English language and writing for many years, edited (and graded) thousands of essays, raged at the inadequacy of the way we are taught to teach it, and now for the first time in my life am dipping my toes into the waters of actual writing every day for myself, maybe for a few others. And I’m finding it way more difficult, and myself feeling more vulnerable, than I ever expected the experience to be.
The Girl Scout–happy to be in school. Not so thrilled to check or rewrite her assignments
Marjorie Turner Hollman helps authors self-publish their books. She is also a disability advocate, sharing information about Easy Walks (not too many roots or rocks, relatively level with firm footing, and something of interest along the way) in open space. Link to all Marjorie’s books.
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Proof reading: You learned that in elementary school, right? You remember elementary school. Even up into high school, you knew that when a teacher told you to “Proofread your work,” it meant that you were supposed to read through what you had written, looking for spelling mistakes. In later grades, you also needed to decide if your sentences made sense, and if not, to rewrite them.
What you likely never heard during your years of formal schooling (perhaps even into college?) was that “proof-reading,” in the publishing world, means exactly what the words say. Proof-reading is actually reading (reviewing) a proof (test) copy of a manuscript that has been laid out, almost ready for publication as a book (or ebook or audio-book these days).
It’s a process–but it always starts with your first steps
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Breaking down the process
Please note: this is a blog post, not a book! What is included here is not comprehensive. It’s a start, not the final word. Thanks for stopping by and read on.
Where to start?
It’s a process with lots of steps.
Start small. A blog post? A letter to a friend? A letter to the editor? It all counts.
Write what you know
Non-fiction–Write a useful book. I learned the importance of this from the best: Write Useful Books, by Rob Fitzpatrick. Plan to write a book that teaches what you’ve learned, shares skills you have developed, or inspires others who are coping with life challenges related to what you have faced.
Fiction–You will still be writing what you know, with a huge dash of imagination thrown into the mix. Of course there’s more to it than that, but it’s where you start.
Marjorie Turner Hollman is an author, creator, observer, and disability advocate who loves the outdoors. Link to all Marjorie’s books.
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Amazing views along Cape Cod Canal
We have visited the Cape Cod Canal countless times. As colder weather sets in we can count on seeing multiple flocks of eiders swimming near the shore as we stroll along the paved walkway overlooking the waterway.
Marjorie Turner Hollman is an author, creator, observer, and disability advocate who loves the outdoors. Link to all Marjorie’s books.
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Percé Rock
It’s the rock that will grab you when you come around the bend in the road. Massive, kinda rectangular. My first view was near sunset. The light hit the massive stone structure just off shore and turned it a glowing gold-reddish hue. A small arch at the bottom, at sea level, added an intriguing detail to this iconic landmark, Percé Rock, just offshore from the boardwalk and bustling tourist town of Percé.
