Don't Be a Man

Today, I received pre-edits from one of my editors. I didn't even know what pre-edits were, and truth be told, it freaked me out. Yes, I could have emailed my editor with the things I didn't understand, but I wanted to figure them out myself. (Okay, I admit it; I didn't want to look stupid.)

Double space manuscript--already done.

Italics for interior thought--Like this

Black text only --Why would anyone use another color?

I checked those off right away. (Made me think I was actually doing something other than avoiding the needed changes.)

I knew I was in trouble when I came upon these:

No singular character ellipses-- Uhh…

No spaces between periods in ellipses--"That makes no sense--without spaces they would be a solid line. Right? " (I actually said this out loud, causing my teenage daughter to look at me weird--well, weirder than usual.)

I slammed on the brakes and started designing a website. Though I never created one, it seemed easier than pre-edits. Then, I remembered my deadline. So, I decided to skip the ellipses issue and move on.

Good or preferred vs. Common usage: refer to CMOS section 5.202

My heart began to ellipse … (do those ellipses have spaces? I'll never look at them the same.)

After regaining sanity, I decided to Google CMOS.

Chicago Manual of Style. Oh. I knew that. I panicked for no apparent reason.   (The M in J.M. Powers now stands for melodramatic.)

Feeling a bit sheepish, I emailed my editor. She graciously explained everything I didn't understand. My sigh of relief was probably audible over cyber space, because she shot me another email while I scanned the list of things to do. She said to break each task down, and resist the urge to look at the next thing on the list. Oh.  Following her lead, I finished everything in one night.

 There are many turns in the road to publication. Today, I learned something new. If I quit acting like a man and ask for directions, it will make this trip a whole lot easier. Oops, I think I just bumped into an ellipse. (Oh, and they do have spaces--just don't put extra ones in there.)

Author note: For those men who do ask--sorry J
Summer

WooHoo!

I have some awesome news I couldn't wait to share with my Wenches and our amazing followers :)

After a gruelling search, I found a publisher for my story Escaping Normal. 

Total-E-Bound Publishing are taking on board my story which is set to release in November.  If you get time, check out their website, they have some amazing authors on board. 

But for now, here is a small tagline for my story that I hope will entice your interest for November ;)

Escaping Normal is about chasing dreams, finding nightmares and combining both to create the ultimate escape from normal.

Pxx

SumShine Saturday~~Too many cooks won't spoil the pudding

Is there such a thing as too many minds working toward a goal? After setting up this blog site with my wenches, I found the answer to be no. Each wench, strong willed and full of opinions, made an effort to consider each other's input to make it a site to be proud of. 

We need to take the same attitude with our writing.

Consider joining a writers group. There are plenty of online writing communities if crowded gatherings are not your cup of wench ale. Critiques from other writers are, for the most part, honest. They can identify things you missed.  Sometimes a writer is too close to their work to see the flaws. Did I make that sound simple? Well, its not. You must prepare yourself. The first step—develop skin thicker than the film on yesterday's pudding.

 No one wants to hear his or her writing is … well, not perfect. After reading a critique, don't respond right away. Take a breath, put it aside and look at it the next day.  Does the feedback you initially perceived as negative now seem helpful?  Be objective.  I told you it isn't easy. In order to improve, you must take a risk, let others read your work, and graciously accept feedback. Take the critiques seriously! I'm not suggesting simply taking their word at face value. You need to validate input with your own research. When you incorporate what you learn into your writing, compare it to your first draft. You will see how valuable considering others input is.

Now, where is that pudding?