Did you write yesterday? Did you follow my advice and keep your audience in mind? Maybe you plan to sit down at your computer and do some serious writing this weekend and apply this concept to your writing project. Be sure to let me know how it goes.<\/p>\n
A common habit I see in writing is the author doesn\u2019t bring the reader along on the journey. She leaves him out in the cold while she moves to the next page of her story. In other words, she might drive home and fix herself a sandwich without allowing the reader to follow along through the process. You might not want to go into how the character pulls up to the curb, steps on the break, puts the car in park, removes the key, etc. We don\u2019t need all of the mundane details unless they are relevant to the story, such as in establishing the character\u2019s mood or demeanor:<\/p>\n
\u201cMarge felt a sharp pain in her knee as she stepped on the brake and a more piercing pain drove through her gut as she recalled Jay\u2019s attempt to cripple her that night\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n
\t\t\t\t\tOr<\/p>\n
\u201cMike opened the kitchen cupboard and stared blankly at its contents. Peanut butter\u2014that\u2019s what I want<\/em>, he thought, peanut butter. Where\u2019s the damn peanut butter?<\/em> The jar wasn\u2019t sitting on the shelf where he was used to seeing it. He slammed the door shut so hard that it bounced back and slapped him in the head. That\u2019s when he noticed them\u2014cookies. Peanut butter cookies. My favorite, he thought.\u201d <\/p>\n Some writers tell the story as they write. Others sketch a skeleton of the story (or outline) first and fill in the particulars later. However you choose to produce your masterpieces, make sure that it makes sense to your readers and that your readers are not left behind\u2014wondering what happened.<\/p>\n If you need someone to double\/triple check your manuscript before you send it off to a pay-to-publish company or publisher, contact me for a free evaluation. I will look over your first few chapters (20 pages or so) and let you know what I think you need\u2014most often it is an editor. I will explain what I would do to improve your manuscript, how long it would take me and how much it would cost. (Expect a cost of anywhere from $250 to $2,500). <\/p>\n It is a wise author who budgets this fee for editing services. Hire a BOOK editor\u2014someone who is accustomed to editing books using the Chicago Manual of Style<\/em> (16th edition) and who knows something about the publishing industry.<\/p>\n Check out my credentials and client testimonials here:<\/p>\n