Virtual Poetry Reading – Episode 14 A #TheRedheadedAuthor Production
INCLUDED IN THIS EPISODE:
Resisting Revenge by Chuck Puckett (Read by Chuck Puckett)
The Rain by Amanda Porter (Read by Lilly Brown)
The 13th Skull by Karen Mullins (Read by Brewer Mitchell)
Kubla Khan by Samuel Taylor Coleridge (Read by John Miller)
I originally published this article as a guest author at http://timothy-oullette.blogspot.com/ and http://www.timouellette.com on August 8, 2014, but I felt that the information was important so I also shared in on my website. Since I continue to get questions about editing as an indie-author, I thought it might benefit my readers to repost it today. I hope you enjoy my take on Typos and Errors in Indie-Published Manuscripts. You can let me know what you think by leaving a comment below.
Are typos in a book a big deal?
Of course they are – to some extent! Typos happen. Typos happen in books that are self-published and traditionally published. Typos happen to new authors and seasoned authors. Typos happen in eBooks and print books. It doesn’t matter how many people you have edit, proof read, re-read, etc. there is always a chance a typo (or two – or three – or four – OR MORE) is going to slip through THE CRACKS. Does that mean the world is over, the author should never write again, or that the author should lose all credibility? NO!
Let me say that again – NO!
It goes without saying, although I will say it, that every author should take the time and effort to make their manuscript the best that it can be. Not only do readers deserve the best product an author can provide, authors deserve to produce their best work – manuscripts they can be proud of for years to come!
You might be asking yourself, ‘how do I, as a self-published author without the backing of a traditional publishing house, afford to make sure that my manuscript is ready for publication?’
Good Question! Editors, proof-readers, and copy-writing services all cost money! Plus, and here is the catcher, even professional editors, proof-readers, and copy-writing service professionalS make mistakes! Even when you pay good money for these services you can’t be 100% sure your manuscript is flawless. That doesn’t mean you should just accept the fact that typos happen and therefore you don’t need to worry about them. There are a lot of things you can do to ensure that you publish your best work, and I will give you some examples, but you have to remember that you are never going to please everyone. There will always be someone that finds something wrong with your book.
What can you do to ensure minimal typos and errors in your final manuscript?
Below is a list of tools (free and/or low cost) that all self-published authors should be using:
SPELLCHECK – I LOVE spellcheck. No matter what I am working on, I have spellcheck set to mark spelling and grammatical errors while I am typing. No, it doesn’t always catch misused words – but it is a great start to catching those words frequently misspelled. You can also add words to your computer’s dictionary. This is a great way to allow your computer to know that names (or other words) you use frequently are not incorrectly typed.
READING ALOUD – Yes, just like you did when you were a kid. One of the reasons teachers have their students read out loud is because we often retain more information when we hear text read out loud. For me, as an author, I like to either read my books aloud to myself or have someone else read them to me as I follow along. The down side to this is that it can be a rather lengthy process, but the upside is that it allows me to catch words that have been misused and dialog that doesn’t sound natural.
FIND / REPLACE – If you don’t use this Microsoft Word tool yet – you need to! Microsoft can find just about anything from double commas or periods, extra spaces, repeat words, etc. Once you find them you can fix them. Although, what I really like about this feature is that you can easily replace mistakes with corrections. (Example: FIND: .. REPLACE WITH: .) Don’t get me wrong, you don’t want to just trust your computer to make all of your corrections for you. When I do a search for an error I look at each of the results and decide if I want the correction to be made.
TEST READERS – Or as I like to call them guinea pigs! My mom, my sister, and a number of my friends have all been my willing and loyal test subjects in this area. They have read, edited, and re-read all of my books throughout the writing process looking for errors that I might have missed. It isn’t easy seeing your manuscript covered in red edits, but trust me this process makes your final manuscript much better than it would be with only you reading and reviewing it.
PRO WRITING AID – This is an online writing editor and personal writing coach. It checks grammar and spelling; helps to improve overall readability; finds overused words; improves dull paragraph structure; locates repeat words and phrases; checks for consistency of spelling; hyphenation and capitalization; warns you about clichés and redundancies; and so much more. I learned about this tool through a friend that does line editing as a freelancer. She told me that it was an inexpensive way to help improve writing as you go and that it was extremely user friendly – SHE WAS RIGHT! I highly suggest trying it out. What is the worst that could happen?
ARC – Advance Reader Copies! Okay, once your manuscript is complete, as complete as you feel you can make it, you need to offer advance reader copies. This is a great way to get feedback. You can request feedback in the form of reader notes and/or book reviews. I have even gone so far as providing a list of questions at the end of the advance reader copies I have sent out, this helped me to target key areas of my story and/or editing that needed to be fixed.
EDITOR – OK, this one costs money. All of the tools above are free or can be done at a very low cost, however hiring an editor is not cheap. If you decide to go this route – which I highly recommend – you don’t want to skimp! You get what you pay for!!! But, you still have to remember – Editors are only HUMAN, they make mistakes too! Again, there is no way to guarantee – 100% – that your manuscript isn’t going to have typos or errors.
My novels may still have errors – heck, even award winning authors sometimes have errors in their novels – but I can honestly say that I have taken all possible steps to ensure that the books I publish are the best they can possibly be. So, if there are still a few errors, as I am sure there are, then I’m OK with that. I’m happy with my finished products and that truly is all an author can ask for.
Written by: Nina Soden
Author, the Blood Angel Series & The SECTOR C Series
USA Today bestselling author, Sarah K. L. Wilson writes young adult fantasy books about little people in big worlds who face the darkness and don’t back down. Sarah hails from the rocky Canadian Shield in Northern Ontario – learning patience and tenacity from the long months of icy cold – where she lives with her husband and two small boys. You might find her building fires in her woodstove and wishing she had a dragon handy to light them for her.
Fae Hunter (Tangled Fae Book 1) by Sarah K. L. Wilson ~ Genre: YA Fantasy Romance
“You’re the most wicked thing I’ve ever met.”
From USA Today bestselling author Sarah K. L. Wilson comes a deliciously trope-filled young adult romantic fantasy about a viciously funny mortal girl and her quest to hunt, trap, and conquer powerful fae.
I was born to hunt. I was born to protect. But this is the one creature I wasn’t trained to kill. The fae are sneaking into our little town. They stole my sister. They stole my sight. And now they’re going to steal everything else … unless I stop them. Isn’t that so charming? I don’t care that they’re pretty. I don’t care that to them lies are truth, power is sustenance, and every action ripples into violence. I’m not going to let their glamor fool me. I’m going to use it to fuel me as I bring them down. But the town is turning against me, and I’m losing allies one by one. I need a secret weapon to use against them and I need to be brave enough to use it … whatever the cost. Can one mortal girl stop all of the Faewald? I’m going to have to try.
For lovers of The Cruel Prince and An Enchantment of Ravens comes a world of violent fae, trickery, and magic. Grab the first book of the Tangled Fae series today!
Fae Captive (Tangled Fae Book 2) by Sarah K. L. Wilson ~ Genre: YA Fantasy Romance
Think you could craft the perfect bargain?
From USA Today bestselling author Sarah K. L. Wilson comes the second book in this stunning new fantasy series. Allie Hunter thought all she had to do was make an exchange to buy back her father’s life. She was wrong. Mortals are so often wrong about the Faewald. Usually, that kills them, or mires them in bargains that will suck their life out sip by sip.
With Allie caught in a cage and the Fae she had once tormented her new captor, can she strike the right bargain to save everything she loves?
For lovers of The Cruel Prince and An Enchantment of Ravens comes a world of violent fae royals, trickery, and magic. Grab the second book of this hot new series today!
Fae Nightmare (Tangled Fae Book 3) by Sarah K. L. Wilson ~ Genre: YA Fantasy Romance
The hunt is on.
Allie Hunter has lost ten years in the blink of an eye. But though the town she left has changed, some things – the worst things – remain exactly the same.
As Allie battles conflicting loyalties, the censure of the town, and her own broken family, she begins to realize that she might be the only one standing in the way of a war between fae and mortals.
Can she possibly craft a trap good enough to stop the coming fae army? For lovers of The Cruel Prince and An Enchantment of Ravens comes a world of violent fae royals, trickery, and magic. Grab the third book of this hot new series today!
Fae Pursuit (Tangled Fae Book 4) by Sarah K. L. Wilson ~ Genre: YA Fantasy Romance
Allie Hunter is playing a dangerous game for mortals.
From USA Today bestselling author Sarah K. L. Wilson comes a deliciously trope-filled young adult romantic fantasy about a viciously funny mortal girl and her quest to hunt, trap, and conquer powerful fae.
Allie thought she was saving her own mortality and stopping the Fae incursion when she killed the Balance – one of four Fae roles – and took a particularly essential Fae as her captive.
But Allie didn’t think through the consequences. Now, she has one of the four roles of the Faewald. A role she must fulfill by force of magic.
Worse, the Blood Moon has risen in the Faewald and that means it is the time of the Wild Hunt.
Can Allie find a way to save her people while fleeing the Wild Hunt and fighting against a magic that seeks to control her?
It’s still just one mortal girl against the Faewald, but now the stakes couldn’t be higher.
For lovers of The Cruel Prince and An Enchantment of Ravens comes a world of violent fae, trickery, and magic. Grab the fourth book of the Tangled Fae series today!
Fae Conqueror (Tangled Fae Book 5) by Sarah K. L. Wilson ~ Genre: YA Fantasy Romance
She can conquer the Fae – but at what cost?
From USA Today bestselling author Sarah K. L. Wilson comes this thrilling conclusion to a deliciously trope-filled young adult romantic fantasy series about a viciously funny mortal girl and her quest to hunt, trap, and conquer powerful fae.
Allie had an army, allies, and a plan, but with all of those things slipping through here fingers she is being driven further and further toward a path she hadn’t planned to take and a choice she didn’t want to make.
How selfless is Allie, really? Would she give her own life to save her people … and her new husband?
Or will she have to carve out another way forward? And what might that way cost her?
For lovers of The Cruel Prince and An Enchantment of Ravens comes a world of violent fae, trickery, and magic. Grab the thrilling conclusion of the Tangled Fae series today!
Would you like a chance to win a $15 Amazon Gift Card? Follow the tour HERE for special content and two giveaways!
What does it takefor a story to be successful?
A story works if it makes us want something other than for the story to be over. If it makes us want the hero to win, or darkness to be defeated, if it makes us want the heroine to find that one thing she’s searching for or finally kiss that person she’s been longing for, if it makes us want something even deeper – justice or courage or love in our real lives – then that’s a real story.
Stories let us feel the thrill of riding a dragon without the terror of falling off. They let us find the courage to risk everything for love without the danger of losing that love. They give us the chance to fight a battle with bravery and honor without the fear of torture and failure. And if they do their work, we walk away with a deeper love, a stronger courage, an ability to choose honor that we didn’t have before we started reading.
I try to tell stories like that for readers like you – people who want more from a story.
Virtual Poetry Reading – Episode 12 A #TheRedheadedAuthor Production
INCLUDED IN THIS EPISODE:
The Kind of Pain by Amanda Porter (Read by Cherie Elise Evans
Judgment, Pain, and Expectation by Karen Mullins (Read by Karen Mullins)
The Oak by Alfred Lord Tennyson (Read by Michael Anders)
The Boat Song from 'The Lady of The Lake' by Sir Walter Scott (Read by John Miller)
A deathbed promise—a secret kept for decades… Everything about DEA Agent Jake Castillo’s life is a lie and he doesn’t know it. Seeing two fellow agents killed right before his eyes has left him with PTSD and a thirst for revenge on the drug lord who murdered them. He vows to bring El Toro to justice. When the enigmatic Gabriella abducts him, Jake wakes up a week later in his San Diego home with no memory of what happened. Convinced his kidnapping was not a random act, he ignores department policy and returns to Colombia to unravel the secrets of his past. But can he live with the truth?
A fan of dark and dangerous medieval Scotland, Connie C. Scharon published her first Scottish historical romance in June of 2013. The success of that book led to eight other romance novels, but Connie wanted to mix things up a little.
Her medical background gave her a desire to create stories that wove her hospital experiences, visits to the morgue, and tours of the forensic lab into crime-focused novels.
In 2020, writing as C. C. Scharon, she transitioned from her romance roots into mystery and suspense with the international thriller BLOOD NEVER WASHES OUT.
Connie is a life-long resident of Maryland. She belongs to multiple professional organizations, including Pennwriters, Romance Writers of American, and Maryland Writers Association.
Would you like a chance to win a $25 Amazon Gift Card?Follow the tour HERE for special content and a giveaway!
For as long as I can remember I loved stories, so it seemed natural that I wrote them. I can’t pick any specific date when I started, and I guess I’ve never stopped. My husband sent me on the path of doing it professionally when I expressed my desire to write a book. He told me to stop talking about it and get to work. The first novel I completed will never see the light of day, but I learned a great deal fleshing out a complete book. It was written in long hand in spiral notebooks that I kept in my nightstand. You never know when a good idea is going to hit you. It could be the middle of the night. Now I go to my office and boot up my computer if I must record my thoughts immediately. Several tries later, I got some viable manuscripts, which later made it into print.
What I love most about writing is the author’s God-like ability over everything that happens. What characters do, what dangers they face, who lives, and who dies. Your story is the only place in the world you can control fate of everyone. The only limit is your imagination. It is the greatest feeling in the world when the story catches fire and almost seems to write itself.
A fan of dark and dangerous medieval Scotland, my first books were Scottish historical romances that took place in the 1300s. When I visited Scotland, it captured my imagination and resulted in eight books I later dubbed the Highland Legends series. These were all published under Connie C. Scharon, while my new venture into mystery and suspense is penned by my alias C. C. Scharon. I wanted to separate the two genres as they are for distinct audiences.
When I begin a book, I start with an inciting incident, the main factor that gets the whole story rolling. I know then how I want it to end, but little else. As the story progresses, I begin a rough outline consisting of a few sentences about what scenes will happen in each chapter. My favorite part to write is the big finale where all the pieces come together with a few extra twists. After all, I wrote the whole book to get to it.
Virtual Poetry Reading – Episode 11 A #TheRedheadedAuthor Production
INCLUDED IN THIS EPISODE:
Wayward Daughter by Amanda Porter (Read by Molly Knicks)
Time by Karen Mullins (Read by Brewer Mitchell)
Lines by John Keats (Read by Michael Anders)
Mandalay by Rudyard Kipling (Read by John Miller)
Virtual Poetry Reading – Episode 9 A #TheRedheadedAuthor Production
INCLUDED IN THIS EPISODE:
Courage by Karen Mullins (Read by Karen Mullins and Brewer Mitchell)
We Are Asleep by Amanda Porter (Read by Nina Soden)
Missing You Both by Nina Soden (Read by Jacinda Rose Swinehart-Johnson)
Abdulla Bulbul Ameer by William Percy French (Read by John Miller)
Today, I’d like to welcome Edgar Rider, author of ‘Riding Out The Kipling Effect’ to my site.
Let’s start by finding out a little bit about you…
What is your name and do you write under a pen name? Edgar Rider Sometimes write under Pen name Bob Eager
Where do you call home? Recently moved from Scottsdale, Arizona to Riverside, California. Like both places but Arizona will always be home.
Obviously, we know you are an author, but some writers have other jobs as well. Do you have another occupation? Do you believe you’re any good at it? Do you like what you do? Work In Education as a Paraprofessional. I like the education field. Would like to incorporate art and education and have a career in both.
What is your family like? They were kind and supportive. I lived in a nice house and was well taken care of.
If it doesn’t bother you, can you let us know what your childhood home looked like? It was a nice house on side of a golf course. Got to walk around the lake as a kid.
Do you have any hobbies, other than writing? What do you enjoy doing? I like the performing arts such as Theatre. Like to perform at open mics.
What is your greatest dream? To be financially stable at making a living being creative
What kind of person do you wish you could be? What is stopping you? Wish I could be more confident in marketing these ideas. And be able to explain them better in a few sentences.
Not to pry too much, but do you remember your first love? Yes did not end well but found true love now.
What is the most terrible thing that ever happened to you? DUI had to go through two trials and did not end well.
What or who inspired you to start writing? And how long have you been writing? I was inspired by a teacher named Paul Morris he introduced me to James Thurber. Have been writing for over ten years.
Who is your role model? Paul Morris
What is your greatest fear? Not being remembered
Do you prefer e-books, paperbacks, hard-covers or audio-books? Paperbacks for sure.
Have you ever read a book more than once? And if so what was it? Not that I can think of
What is your opinion of novellas? I like Novellas some ideas are meant to be shorter.
Have you ever read a book just based on its cover? Can’t remember but covers can help seal the deal
What is your favorite film based on a book? Pet Sematary
What is your favorite book genre at the moment? Memoir
Lets shift gears now and talk about your latest story.
What is the name of your most recent book and if you had to sum it up in 20 or fewer words, what would you say?Riding Out The Kipling Effect. It is a book about two male writers living in an eccentric female tenant’s front room and navigating through her constant turmoil.
Is the above book part of a series? It is a one time book
How did you come up with the cover? I came up with the idea of a self driving car. Driver gets in sort of has too trust it to a point.
Did you listen to any particular songs while writing your book? Riders on the Storm by the Doors and Burning Sky Bad Company.
How did you come up with the title for your book? Riding Out The Kipling Effect comes from trusting the experience and relinquishing control for a clearer objective.
Do you have a book trailer? No book trailer
In your latest novel, who is the lead character and can you tell us a little about him/her? There are several, the main character is Carrie Kipling. My friend and I named Muller play a part in the story
What is your character’s greatest strengths? My friend and I have the ability to persist through adversity. Kipling is willing to help people.
And what are her greatest weaknesses? Kipling weakness are her anxieties and turmoil created by her allowing people to use her. My weakness is stubbornness Muller’s weakness is impatience
What are some of his/her favorite foods? We all liked pizza and burgers
What’s a positive quality that your character is unaware that he or she has?Will readers like or dislike this character, and why? They may dislike certain choices Kipling makes but they will also feel sympathetic
What first gave you the idea for your latest book? It was a journey Muller and I undertook in Kipling’s Living room. We spent a year trying to commit to writing while dealing with Kipling’s issues and questionable friends.
Let’s talk now about your writing process.
What is your writing style like? Are you a pantster or a plotter? Definitely a Panster
Have you come across any specific challenges in writing or publishing? What would you do differently the next time? I would spend more time editing. Contacting more people asking questions,
Are you a self-published/Indie author or did you publish through a traditional publishing company? Self published
If you’re a self-published/Indie author what made you go that route instead of the traditional publishing route? It was hard to get this specific niche narrative journey material published.
What’s the best advice that you have been given when it comes to writing? Write in your own voice
What advice would you give someone who wants to start writing? Learn, look up information, and do it now!
Virtual Poetry Reading – Episode 8 A #TheRedheadedAuthor Production
INCLUDED IN THIS EPISODE:
Taste by Amanda Porter (Read by Stacy Kingsley)
It's OK by Amanda Porter (Read by Tanja Miller)
Life Is But A Dream by Karen Mullins (Read by Brewer Mitchell and Mae Mullins)
Annabel Lee by Edgar Allan Poe (Read by John Miller)
As an avid reader of fiction (and an author who one day hopes to make the list) I LOVE-LOVE-LOVE checking out the New York Times Best Seller list. So, here it is… The independently ranked top 10 Young Adult selections for July 2020!
If you’ve read any of the TOP 10 selections and recommend them, please comment below and let me know. If you see something you like and plan to pick up a copy, you can do so by clicking on the cover image, the title or the [BUY IT HERE] button.
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