Just Write Right

My self-publishing journey: part one

This is going to be a little different from my normal blog posts. An occasional series of blogs, charting my journey to self-publishing. This isn’t my first self-publishing adventure: I first published in 2016. But now, having done lots of editorial training, I’m going back and re-releasing my first book.

What is creative non-fiction?

Anything made up is fiction. Anything with facts is non-fiction. So what exactly is creative non-fiction and why does it need editing in the same ways as fiction?

How to save money and make your editor or proofreader happy

You’re a self-publishing author? You’re on a limited budget. You want to make the most of editing and proofreading.

Here are five simple ways that you can do to make the most of any editorial experience.

I still haven’t found what I’m looking for

Oh no! I’ve just realised that for the last eighteen chapters of misspelt the London Borough of Haringey as Harringay (a district within that same borough – it’s just asking for trouble isn’t it!).

So, once I’ve uttered some profanities, correctly spelt and hyphenated, I’m going to need to go through my manuscript and change them all. Each one. By hand.

Doing it proper: using capitals properly for people

We all know that names need capital letters. My name is Nick. See, there’s the capital ‘N’. I’m so important that I get a capital letter at the beginning of my name. That’s an easy example but it’s not always straightforward.

Genre: Does it matter?

Genre is a lovely way for your local bookshop, library or internet retailer to classify and sort books. But as a writer, does genre really matter? Does worrying about genre mean you will pigeonhole yourself?

Can you have the perfect manuscript?

Is getting your manuscript perfect stopping you from moving forwards with it? Is a fear of it “not being right” preventing you from submitting to agents and publishers or even self-publishing?

Here’s why the dream of “perfection” might be holding you back and why good enough, is good enough.

No work? No problem!

Life as a freelance editor and proofreader can be unpredictable. From times of feeling swamped with work and under pressure to get it all done to worries about the future as you having nothing in your inbox.

How do you cope with the down time and what do you do to fill the schedule in the quiet periods?

Saying too much

Writers, whether experienced or new, frequently come across this problem. It’s easily done, I’m sure we’ve all been guilty of doing it. What is it? Overwriting. In this post, we’ll take a look at how to identify and remove instances of overwriting from your manuscript.

Suddenly, the editor deleted my words

A client recently asked me if I ever have an opinion on certain words. I don’t. Words are there to communicate a message – to tell a story. I do not sit with a dictionary ticking off the words I love and scratching out the words I hate.

Except one.