Tag Archives: proofreading

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.

LISTEN:

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

LISTEN HERE:

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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