Tag Archives: editing

Reluctant writers

A boat might help…

Marjorie Turner Hollman helps nonfiction 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. Let’s get in touch.

LISTEN:

I was a very reluctant writer. Formal writing requests were unwelcome, since I sensed that critical parent at my shoulder admonishing me. “That’s terrible grammar,” the voice in my imagination scolded. “That’s really stupid, no one will want to read this,” was another message lurking in my brain. Or that motivation-killing script? “You really do not have anything important to say.” Does any of this sound familiar?

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Being Curious

So much to discover…

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 get in touch.

LISTEN:

You’ve likely heard it before: Follow your passion. It’s often framed as, “Follow your passion and good things will follow,” with the not-too-subtle implication that your passion will result in prosperity. I have always felt skeptical about this, since I’ve witnessed many frustrated folks who “followed their passion” only to discover that what they loved offered no particular value to anyone else.

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Meltdowns and hissy fits

Looking for a light at the end of the tunnel

Want to get the scoop on self-publishing basics? Self-publishing 101

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.

LISTEN:

Have you ever made a decision, then wondered why you ever thought it was a good idea? These days I help professionals who want to share in writing their skills and life lessons learned, then turn that writing into a self-published book. There was a time, however, when I needed all the help I could get.

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A word about words

Mountain laurels in early summer

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.

LISTEN:

Have you noticed when an author has used lots of different words? Hmmm, maybe you didn’t notice. Most likely it simply sounded interesting, and the writing felt like it moved along at a good pace. Maybe you noticed that the author noticed everything in their path. Say they are walking along a city street. They notice this, then draw your attention to the cracks in the sidewalk. Then they say, “Hey, I just noticed that the traffic is slowing down.”

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You can edit your own writing. Sort of….

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.

LISTEN:

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.

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Crest fallen, or Learning how to write after teaching it for 40 years

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.

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Proofreading is Elementary?

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).

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How to write a book

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.

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