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6 Ways Copyeditors Make Your Book Better - Guest Post

2013-04-17T10:00:37Z

We are very pleased to publish a post by Linda Jay Geldens, a very experienced book editor (and one of the Our Little Books virtual editorial staff) and member of the Bay Area Independent Publishers Association (BAIPA). She was asked by Joel Friedlander of thebookdesigner.com if she would give his readers some advice on one of the most important decisions a self-publisher makes: hiring a copyeditor, and we thought this information would be excellent for our readers as well. Here is her reply and thanks to Joel for permission to use the post.

Agreed. You’ve spent months (or possibly years) writing the manuscript that will one day be your book. You’ve distilled all those handwritten notes from pages or scraps of paper, those often-incoherent e-mails to yourself, and those ideas racing around in your brain, and typed every one of them into the computer, in some loosely organized format that vaguely resembles a book. Then one day… hooray… it occurs to you that… you’re done!

Now you can’t wait to get your little gem “OUT THERE” for all the world to marvel at. You are indeed a writer (which nobody can deny, which nobody can deny)!

Oh, yes, you’ve given a sneak peek at your masterpiece to a few people whose opinion you trust—relatives, longtime friends, business colleagues. And, sure, they may have spotted a few misspellings, or a weird sentence construction here or there, but what the hey—everybody makes mistakes.

They’re just tickled that you’ve had the audacity, capacity and tenacity to write a book; a few glitches only show that you’re human. After all, who’s perfect? It’s time to send your “baby” on its way to possible fame, and reap the glories of being a published author!

Are You Serious?

Oh, but wait… if you really want to be taken seriously as a writer, stop and listen to that little nagging voice in your head that keeps saying, “Shouldn’t you be running the manuscript past an experienced professional copyeditor before you send it out?”

Yes, you’ve read that in order to make your book as good as it can possibly be, you must take that vital step of investing in the services of an editorial pro. And just think—in the twinkling of a well-trained eye, a topnotch editor could burnish your precious prose so it sparkles in the sunlight.

But if you submit (interesting, the ramifications of that word “submission” when it refers to sending in a manuscript, isn’t it?) your pages to the hyper-scrutiny of a nitpicky copyeditor, won’t your authentic voice be changed or deleted or mangled beyond recognition?

The answer is… no, not if you properly vet the copyeditor to make sure you can work together well, and if the copyeditor stipulates that one of his or her goals is to make your manuscript publisher-ready… but not change your unique voice.

A good copyeditor will offer to edit a few pages of your work as a sample, to see if you two are, literally and figuratively, “on the same page.” You can usually judge from his or her edits whether you would be able to work together happily or not. For example, if you question some of the edits and the editor responds in a haughty or rigid “only my way is right” tone, run as fast as you can toward another editor.

If your manuscript is about the life and times of the artist Edward Gorey, and the editor you’re considering has never heard of Edward Gorey and, furthermore, has no interest in learning anything about Edward Gorey, bid farewell and turn quickly on your heels.

6 Ways Copyeditors Make Your Book Better

A good copyeditor brings so much to the party. He or she can:

go over grammar, punctuation, spelling, and sentence structure with a fine-tooth comb;
check for consistency of verb tense, tone, and mood;
find instances where sentences or paragraphs could be moved to make more logical sense;
ask questions about clarity of idea, or accuracy of fact;
call attention to parts of the text that could be tightened, expanded, livened up or deleted;
make suggestions — synonyms for overused words, deletions of redundant words or phrases

With a good copyeditor on your team, misplaced modifiers, dangling participles, its/it’s, to/too and other hair-raising/hare-raising errors will melt away. Skilled editors say that mistakes “leap off the page” at them. And potential readers of your book will not be distracted by sloppy copy.

You can find professional book manuscript copyeditors through organizations such as BAIPA and the Bay Area Editors’ Forum (BAEF), through online editorial sites, through ads in magazines that are targeted toward writers, and through looking up “copyeditor” on search engines.

A good copyeditor can make your book’s message shipshape—and that’s not just editorial spin!

Linda Jay Geldens is a longtime publishing professional who has edited over 60 book manuscripts in the past three years. She specializes in the genres of: business, novels, memoirs, spirituality, sci fi, academic topics and children’s. Linda is also a promotional copywriter. Contact her at LindaJay@aol.com, visit her site at www.LindaJayGeldens.com, or connect on Twitter at @LindaJayGeldens.

7 Keys to More Clients - Guest Post by Amethyst Mahoney

2012-12-17T22:49:17Z

Our Little Books is pleased to present Dr. Amethyst Mahony from her Divine Wisdom Academy. Amethyst combines spiritual with sage direction for the small business owner! Enjoy!

7 Keys to More Clients - Unlock the Secret to Your Success

Are you struggling to attract the right clients to your business?

How to find clients is easily the number one question I get asked again and again.

I used to have the same problem. It seemed like no matter how hard I tried or where I looked, I just couldn’t find any clients anywhere!

These days it is difficult to leave the house without running into a new client.

Why is that? I discovered the 7 Keys to CLIENTS.

Today I want to share them with you so that you can start attracting all of the clients you will ever need.

1. Choose your intention. Before you get on-line or leave the house, you need to decide the outcome you are looking for. As my mentor Jenn August says, “Energy before effort!”

Many days I set my intention as “Universe, lead me to one person I can help today.” It’s amazing how it all works out.

2. Listen and be aware. Too often business owners go out with the idea that they need to sell something to someone. This is a great way to chase off potential clients. Instead, open your ears and really listen to the people around you. What are they saying? Who is asking for help?

3. Introduce yourself – the right way. Most small business owners blow it when they approach someone or when they are asked, “What do you do?” Remember, it’s about them, not about you.

Get the rest of the Keys in the Divine Wisdom Academy Special Holiday Edition: http://bit.ly/DWAHoliday

What are your best tips to find new clients? I’d love to hear about them!

When you check out Amethyst's magazine, please check out page 15 where there is an article by none other than Candace of Our Little Books!! You can find it here!

Peace

2012-12-15T03:57:25Z

Celebrate Small Business Saturday (and Sunday) with a discount!

2012-11-24T18:54:59Z

Are you tired of all the big box stores and the constant barrage of ads to buy, buy, buy? Maybe the answer is not to NOT buy, but just to make a better selection as to WHERE to buy.

Today is Small Business Saturday where you can support small local businesses and self-employed people by buying local.

In celebration of Small Business Saturday (and Sunday) Our Little Books is offering 10% off of all our books. In addition, use coupon SmallBiz and you will also get FREE SHIPPING! A double deal for two days!!

SUPPORT YOUR LOCAL AUTHOR and enjoy some great books for you, your friends and family!!

And especially check out our 2 brand new little books- both GREAT gifts (and part of the 10% off! Don't forget your coupon either!)

ENJOY!!

Our Little Books Announces Their Next New Release

2012-11-19T20:59:47Z

Here is our newest press release!

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Our Little Books Publishing Company Announces Their Next New Release!

FEARLESS AUTO CARE, A Guide to What Women Should Know About Their Cars

Our Little Books is pleased to announce the publication of a new little book. Coming from the automotive world, authors Donna and Warren McCord are well equipped to show you how to understand and relate to your car. Women (or anyone!) who seek to have a positive relationship with their car MUST read this information packed little book about how to monitor and keep their car running smoothly and then keep this guide in their glove compartment for immediate reference.

San Rafael, CA – 11/18/12 – There are many do-it-yourself books out there about auto repair, but this book is NOT about how to do your own repairs; it IS about how to be in control of the auto care experience, to know when it is necessary to bring your vehicle in for professional service or repair, and to be confident that you are getting the best return for the dollars you are investing. It is written from a woman’s perspective in words that someone who is not an automotive technician will understand. Within the 90 pages, 7 chapters of this pocket-sized little book, you will evaluate how familiar you already are with your car and then learn what you should know, where to find the information you may be lacking, how to select an auto repair facility you can trust, and then how to communicate with the service providers.

“I just finished reading your book. It is excellent! Well done. Wow, it was easy to read, very informative.” Rita B. Portland, Oregon

Primarily for women, this little book is written as a guide to making good decisions about the care and maintenance of one of the biggest investments most of us make during our lives – our automobiles. Its purpose is to cut through much of the confusing, conflicting and out-dated information that has negatively influenced the consumer perception of the auto repair industry, and to arm the car owner with knowledge to make better decisions and be more comfortable with the auto care experience.

About Authors Donna and Warren McCord – Authors Donna and Warren McCord, co-owners of Dean’s Automotive, Inc. in Mountain View, CA, have over 25 years of experience in the auto repair industry. Warren has written articles for a local newspaper for many years, and Donna realized that all the important information they had to share could be of real interest and help to any car owner who is not comfortable or feels helpless about how to take care of their vehicles. Women in particular sometimes feel lost in what is primarily a man’s world, so this little book was created to give readers the basic information, tips and resources to ensure their cars are receiving the correct care and service they need.

For more information about FEARLESS AUTO CARE, A Guide to What Women Should Know About Their Cars, please visit http://www.ourlittlebooks.com/fearless-auto-care, or contact Candace Davenport at 415-302-1410 or email: Candace@OurLittleBooks.com.

How to Choose the Correct Word as a Writer

2012-09-03T15:00:01Z

As you may know, Our Little Books does a Word of the Day. Everyday we post a word, its definition and a sentence using the word. Often times, we try to have a series of words over several days or weeks to reflect how words can be connected or how different words can have the same or very similar meanings.

These upcoming next couple of weeks, there will be a series of words all revolving around the concept of laughter. Some of the words that you will see are: chortle, guffaw, titter, snigger, snicker, giggle, tee-hee, chuckle, smirk, fleer, scoff, simper, jeer, sneer, and snort. Most every word can be used as either a verb or a noun. So as a writer the question becomes, when you have so many words with similar meanings, how do you choose the right word?

Choosing the right word is important and not always easy. If it were easy, you could just have a thesaurus next to you and go down the list and choose willy-nilly. But choosing a word just because it is listed in a thesaurus or has the meaning you want is not necessarily the right method. Words need to express a feeling or idea that you are trying to convey and evoke a response from your reader. Getting the right word across to your reader to get your expected response is of prime importance.

As an example, using some of the upcoming Word of the Day words mentioned above, take the words guffaw and simper. Both are a form of laughter, but both words should evoke completely different responses. Guffaw generally evokes an older male with a big belly laugh whereas simper brings up the picture of a young girl, with her hand hiding her mouth, issuing a small coy laugh. Both are laughter words, but the responses from reading those word should be completely different. Hopefully, both words triggered pictures in your head of someone either guffawing or simpering. Now, flip it around and think of a big burly man who simpered when he laughed.

That should have evoked another great picture in your head! However, if that is the response you as a writer are trying to call to mind in your readers, then that is the correct use for that word. As you can see, as a writer, it is not so much a choice of a right or wrong word, it is the choice of the correct word for the response you are looking for from your reader. As a writer, you are dealing with ideas and your readers’ feelings and your choice of the correct word for what you are trying to say will make your writing sing.

What examples do you have where you have used a different word meaning the same thing just to evoke a different response in your reader?

“The difference between the almost right word and the right word is really a large matter–it’s the difference between the lightning bug and the lightning.” ~ Mark Twain

Please check out our Word of the Day. It makes a great writing prompt if you need something to get you writing! Or, if you want the Word of the Day delivered via email, please sign up to receive your own personal WOD delivered directly to your mailbox!

Guest Post Wednesday - Why Write?

2012-04-04T12:34:06Z

We are very pleased to have for Our Little Books Guest Post Wednesday, a post from author Margaret Lambert. Marg is from Down Under (if you are from Up Above) and has a book, "Longing to Live: Journeying with Chronic Fatigue Syndrome and Fibromyalgia," to be published later this year. So, in tune with the Sound of Music and “Let’s start at the very beginning”, lets kick off Margaret's first blog titled: Why write? Enjoy.

Writing developed as an unintended interest for me when I became chronically unwell. Prior to that time, I engaged in writing for purposes of my professional work and study: writing submissions and reports, reviews and recommendations, assignments and papers; and writing to raise issues and present new ideas to staff or bosses. I enjoyed writing for work and study and had not considered broadening my perspective to write in other genres. Besides, when I wasn’t at work or studying, I was busy being physically active: with four children in tow, a full-time job, building our home on a farm in a remote location in Australia’s Northern Territory, raising cattle and growing pasture, I did not need to look too far afield to keep myself busy. Writing as a personal endeavour, and just for fun, was the furthest thing from my mind!

How things change - and without any planning on my part! Over the past 20 years I have had several lessons in my life nudging me to notice that I am not totally in the driver’s seat directing my own life. In former years I argued vehemently that we control our own destinies and we must direct our lives in whatever way that we choose for ourselves. I even taught others how to achieve their goals more efficiently when adopting a single focus. Well, that philosophy worked well up to a point…

Repeatedly, the lesson that has been presented to me through the challenges of chronic illness, is that I am not alone in the driver’s seat, but rather that I need to work with whatever presents in my life each day. This may seem at odds with general coaching advice but it appears to be a necessary philosophical approach to life when living with an erratic and unpredictable health condition.

So what has this got to do with Why write? Absolutely everything! The very reason I have developed a love for writing is because I couldn’t do much else! Had I not become unwell with Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (CFS),which main symptom is erratic and low energy levels, I would have continued living a highly physical and active life and I would never have contemplated, or even had time for, the ‘leisurely’ pursuit of writing.

When I developed CFS, my busy lifestyle was brought to an abrupt halt. Being bedridden for long periods of time allowed me much time to think, although often my mind would not function sufficiently well enough to form a rational string of thoughts, a typical symptom of CFS. With reduced physical capacity and the inability to accomplish many tasks associated with my various roles, I was forced to find new ways to make sense of my life and carry out activities that were manageable from my bed. So began my pursuit of writing.

Why write? Writing commenced as a way to express the disappointment and grief associated with my reduced capacity to do things. I was fortunate to have a dear friend and mentor who was interested in reading whatever I wrote and this was great encouragement for me to continue to write and express the physical and emotional battle of my experience with CFS. Many years and millions of words later, I thought that some other sufferers may benefit from my expressions of struggle with CFS and the additional symptoms of Fibromyalgia that had become part of my experience, and so the concept of my book Longing to Live was born. The book has been many years in the writing (that’s another blog topic!) and will finally be published this year.

Why write? For me it is to put words and expression to the inner journey, with the wonderful side-effects of gaining insights and developing greater awareness of myself and my reason for being here. What is it for you?

Margaret Lambert is a Registered Psychologist specialising in the use of Energy Psychology techniques (EFT) for counselling and mentoring. She has lived and worked in remote Australia and currently is based in Darwin, Australia. Margaret writes on matters of personal and spiritual development and holistic health and her articles can be found at www.connectcounselling.com.au

Business Success- Process over Content

2012-03-26T10:00:57Z

I spent the other day sitting in the wonderful Alison Mark’s one day event, Your Business Makeover: 6 Figure Home Office. I went to network, see old friends, meet new friends and support Alison who is one of our authors (The Little Book of Sanctuary and The Little Book of Freedom from Clutter). I didn’t expect to come away with a huge take-away for me. This take-away really solidified a major shift I was going through on how I was looking at running a successful business. I know I must have heard this message a million times before, but it never ‘clicked’. So I am grateful to Alison and her event and for the Universe for providing what I needed, when I finally was ready to hear it and put it all together!

I had actually started this revelation process a couple of weeks ago. As I’ve done for the past few years, I recently started working a project job with a company that sells reading programs. I love the programs and always enjoyed talking to parents about their kids and how to use these great programs to get help for their kids. I was quite successful because I believed in the product.

This year however, rather than sell the programs, they asked me to interview sales people for the job that I’d been doing for the past few years. Interviewing potential enrollment coordinators, and listening to them gush about what we do, I found myself constantly having to remind them, “yes, it is a wonderful program, but the bottom line is that it is still a sales call. You have to get the credit card.” I realized that the success of this 42 year old company that has enhanced millions of kids reading abilities over the years, is not because of their wonderful programs, but because they have a business process in place to promote these wonderful programs.

So, when I heard Alison say, “To be successful, you need to be committed to the process of the business as opposed to being committed to the content of the business,” it all fell into place. You can have the most wonderful products/services in the world, but if you are not set up with processes to run your business, it really doesn’t matter how wonderful you are. Yes, you definitely can achieve some success with just good content, but to have that 6 or 7-figure success, you must get your business processes in place.

Bottom line take-away for me? To run a successful business, you need process over content.

Do you have your business processes in place? Have you experienced a recent revelation in the past few weeks?

Moving Forward Into Silence

2012-03-12T10:00:19Z

I just took one of the first real vacations I've had in years. It was only a few days, but it was one that was not directly connected to any business needs, so for me, a REAL vacation. However, it was filled and fairly quick. Driving up with my son, we talked, listened to audio books, texted and various of other things to pass the time. In Seattle, I was visiting with relatives, driving around, walking, eating and just generally doing things that took my attention.

It was different on the trip home. I took a 22 hour train trip. I was not connected to wi-fi, or internet nor phone. I couldn't do anything except read, walk the aisles and look out the window. I can't remember when the last time I had almost a full day and night where no one wanted something from me or where I didn't have to do something.

At first I was a bit restless. Then, while sitting in the observation car watching the last of Puget Sound race by around 10 feet away from my window, seeing the snow capped mountains in the distance, my mind started to relax. The swirl of my 'need to dos' and 'next steps' and 'what ifs' slowly dissipated.

I watched a bald eagle soar and followed its path until we passed out of sight. Things around me became muted. I began to notice little things like broken limbs on most of the trees and small mud slides which made me think they must have had a violent storm recently. Instead of jumping from idea to idea, I was flowing into and out of each one without conscious thought.

I realized two things. First, once I quieted the storm of my mind, my mind was able to make decisions without my consciously trying to force a result. Things just slowly moved to the front of my mind and I became aware of what needed to be done. Once my mind quieted, it was able to sort through and see the right path without a struggle. My mind was able to move forward into silence.

The second thing I recognized was about my writing. I've written a couple books in the past. I've ghostwritten a book. I am currently working on two other books and so normally, writing is not an issue for me. However, I have been lax in writing in the past few months. I certainly wouldn't call it writer's block, but more a situation where I had lost the joy from my writing.

At one point in my trip, I was actually able to spend three whole uniterrupted hours reading a book! As my mind moved more and more forward into silence, I could enjoy reading without feeling guilty that I wasn't doing something else that needed to be done. For me, that actually translated into once more feeling the joy of writing. My books began to take more shape. They made more sense. I wanted to begin writing right then and there. It was fun to feel that again.

It is interesting because I work a lot with our authors on the process of writing their books for Our Little Books. Here then was a situation of "Healer, heal thyself", because one of the main issues we work on when I work with the authors is working through their procrastination and writer's block. I have a lot of different tips and suggestions we work on and it helps our authors move forward with their writing. Now after my recent personal experience, maybe all I should do is tell them to take a 22 hour train ride and watch what happens!

What do you do to bring joy back to your writing?

The Best Ah-Ha Moment on Ways to Repurpose Your Content

2012-02-13T20:55:12Z

I had an Ah-ha moment this weekend. I spent the weekend at Brandy Mychals’ Cracking the Character Code seminar where she gave some really great content about not only the Character Codes she developed, but also a lot of additional information on moving your business forward. At one point she talked about doing business in a very predictable way vs. doing business in an innovative way.

Based on a comment by Vicki Dello Joio from the audience, my Ah-Ha moment was that our business, Our Little Books, is very innovative. As a publishing company, we have a wonderful and unique product in our little books, and the service we provide in helping to demystify the whole process of becoming a published author goes along with that. However, how Our Little Books is moving forward as a business is very predictable. So even though we have a very innovative business, we are getting very predictable results. Thus, a disconnect and my Ah-ha!

What is strange about my Ah-ha is that as part of my job as Publishing Consultant, I talk with authors on how they can innovatively repurpose the contents of their books. Whether you have a big or little book, the content in your book can be used in multiple ways and is an excellent way to attract the different people in your audience. When you package the content in different ways, not only can you reach more people but you can also bring in additional revenue streams while increasing your credibility as an expert.

For example, here are some innovative ways to repurpose your book content that will result in innovative results (including the innovative idea of more income!):

E-books – If you have a print book, you can turn it into an e-book (and vice-versa, e-book into print book). But with an e-book, you open yourself up to those readers who now only read on an e-reader. You can give away a part of your book to get people interested in the whole book, which all goes to building your fan base.

Audio – You can make an audio book out of your print/e-book. Or, you can take the content and make an audio training, which you use in webinars or teleseminars. The training program would enlarge upon or complement the message in your book. The recordings can then be downloaded as either a give-away or sold product.

Worksheets and workbooks – This could be part of a webinar or teleseminar. You can offer complementary worksheets that go along with your book, webinar, or training. You can offer a free tip sheet from the information in your book to use if someone signs up on your site. This will give you a mailing list for future webinars, training and future books and we all know how important the list is! Or you can make an entire workbook program that you sell as an independent product.

Public speaking – You can take the information in your book and take your message on the road. Design a program around your book. You can make worksheets and training manuals to go with your topic.

Podcast – Get on the radio. A podcast is a great way to offer trainings and your book content without the travel involved with public speaking.

And here is a bonus innovative thought. If you have or are doing any of the above but do NOT have a book, then just repurpose the content of what you have and what you are using into a book! Now how innovative is that!

So thanks to my weekend Ah-ha moment, I realize that I need to practice what I preach to our authors. By doing so, not only will we have innovative products, but the business will move forward in an innovative way.

What innovative ways have you repurposed your content and how is it moving your business forward in an innovative way?