Proof reading

I remember when I first started writing and I decided to take the plunge and expose myself on the internet. I would post articles and essays I had written on several different websites. My first love at that time was politics, so naturally, I decided to write about that topic,—it was my only area of expertise. Readers scorned my politics--as anyone would expect (at least those who disagreed); however, the worst tongue lashings I received were for my grammar, spelling, and general syntax. The biggest reason for this was that I never proof read anything before I pushed the “publish” button. Yes, there I was, an unfound literary master, one who was so good that my work should be published pure, as it was first written—blah, blah, blah—(sighing loudly) the ego of a writer can be quit ugly in its raw form. I have to give myself some credit for being so brave. My wife Lori would cringe as she sat and listened to some of the comments readers wrote about my work. One guy told me that I was an affront to the Liberal Arts (laughing). Lori, my dear wife, began to meekly suggest that allow her to read my work for a second opinion, you know (she said) a second pair of eyes. I begrudgingly agreed; however, this was also an interesting display of ego. She would point out areas that needed editing only to hear me growl at here like a dog that guards his bone. Over time, I was verbally beat into submission by readers who saw themselves as the guardians of syntax. Then, it happened, I mustered enough courage to take an honest look at my readers, their comments, and for that matter, my overall traffic. It told the real “tale of the tape.” I sucked. No one was reading my work—not really. I came to the horrid reality that I needed to work on my skills as a writer, that I wasn`t the natural born, unfound, literary master that I thought I was. I was just another garden variety writer who needed to study the craft and practice more. And more importantly I needed to PROOF READ!One of the top ten books that I ever read about the craft of writing (and there are so many) was a book called “Write good or die” by Scott Nicholson. This book is a compilation of shared advice and experience from published authors. It’s free for download and well worth a read. This book revealed to me some harsh truths about my craft from real writers who knew what it was like and what it takes to make it. One author in particular spoke to the issue of proof reading. He said that he would proof read no less than five times. Each time working to make his sentences more concise, looking for awkward sentences and poor grammar, and making sure the final product was truly his best. As indie authors and freelance writers, we are often times our own editors. We don`t have the luxury of an editor that we pay, like perhaps Steven King or some other best-selling author. We will make mistakes and typos; however, we must try our best to drop the ego and realize our first writing is not as good as the third or fourth. God bless--WP

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Publishing your eBook

Hey folks, Just wanted to drop a line about a recent conversation I had with another author who was contemplating which way to go in publishing her eBook. As many of you know there are a myriad of choices out there concerning self-publishing your eBook; however, the question remains, which one is best? I have used both smashwords and createspace for my eBooks and my paperback “Voices from the Heart II.” My first published eBook “Apples of Gold: A collection of inspirational short stories and poems,” was my first attempt at self-publishing an eBook. It was a daunting task but I learned so much on that journey. The task of formatting the eBook was an arduous excursion into the world of an editor. I was no editor, but by the time I was done (nine months later) I was confident in my ability to edit a manuscript. I discovered later that there were still typos; I went back after the first 6mos and re-submitted a new manuscript that was, for all intents and purposes, free of error, and the book has remained in the top 3 of free eBooks under poetry for over 6mos to date. I later published “Voices from the Heart” (first edition) with smashwords as well. Finally, when I published my paperback edition of “Voices from the Heart” (second edition) I saw the huge difference between smashwords and Kindle concerning a quality eBook format. When you publish a paperback (or hardback) through creatspace.com (an Amazon company) they give you the option for a “Kindle” edition as well. I opted to use their ePub to format the eBook version and I was not happy with it at all. The format is lacking to say the least. The table of contents does not have embedded links (it is also smashed together and looks horrible), the body paragraphs are too close, and it just looks unprofessional. I spoke to creatspace and Amazon about this issue and I plan to update the eBook version next week. I say all this to point indie authors in the direction of smashwords in terms of publishing an eBook. If you follow their formatting guidelines (they have a free eBook download for this) you will have a very nice and professional looking eBook; if you are publishing a paperback, than creatspace.com is a fantastic site to use.

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Paint a picture in words

I was with some friends last night, one of whom is a writer, and I was amazed at my friend’s ability to be descriptive in her writing. This reminded me of how important it is in creative writing to be able to “paint a picture” in words for the reader.

She had written a persuasive essay about art in education. In the beginning paragraph she began her essay with a few sentences describing the memories of the art and music room in elementary school. She described the smell of Elmer’s glue and construction paper, the smell of colored clay, and the faint sounds of band instruments from the music room down the hall. The picture she painted with her words immediately took me back to those memories—I really enjoyed the trip her words took me on.

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The first shipment

 

 

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Opportunities for aspiring writers

I was talking with a friend of mine on Twitter and we were discussing what writers can do now a-days to jump-start their careers. Compared to how things were even 10 years ago--writers have enormous opportunities at their fingertips to advance their writing careers. There are multiple sites that pay for content if a writer either wants a "copy writing" career, or simply wants to make a few bucks from home. There are single parents who make several hundred dollars a week just writing for content sites. This is also a great way to hone your writing skills.

 If you are more of a creative writer (stories, poetry, etc.) than there are a number of sites like “The Hubpages,” “Helium,” and others, that will allow aspiring writers to not only gain exposure and experience, but also get paid for doing what they love. These sites also offer opportunities for aspiring writers to meet and gain knowledge from more experiences writers and authors. The Hubpages is a fantastic community of writers and authors who are supportive of one another.

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First Drafts

I was talking to a dear friend of mine tonight who is tackling the task of writing her first novel. She is an avid reader and she is also very artistic in many other ways but has never written anything. The book she is writing is a YA fiction and I gotta say that I think she has a best seller on her hands. Sshhh--don`t tell anyone I said that; I`m the only friend of hers who has read the partial manuscript. 

We walk together in the evening oftentimes and as we walked she said to me, "I`m stuck, I can`t quite get my plot going in this next chapter." Now, I know my friend very well and she is, as am I, a perfectionist to the 'T' and won`t cut herself a break. I asked her if it was because it wasn`t perfect enough. As we walked and I asked her that question, she stopped...put her hands on her hips--you know,like she was fixin to cuss me out--and then smiled and began walking again. She knew I had a point. My point was this: You have to re-write to get to the creative perfection you want. 

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Want

In the darkness of despair,

The selfish want more than their share.

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I`m stuck in here

I`m stuck in here!

I cannot move or think…

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Why do we write?

Hello fellow wielders of the pen, or key board as it were, I wanted to to take Monica Brinkman`s advice and say a few words here on the site. First off, I love the site. I think it has a great potential for authors, writers, and readers to intermingle, network, and just share things with one another. I like the feel of this site; meaning, it has a general friendliness that is not often found on the internet in other writing communities. And finally, I have been welcomed by members here--to include Monica--with open arms. 

So, what about my title of "why do we write?" Well, I wanted to share my personal thoughts about those of us who choose to expose our innermost thoughts, our souls, our neurosis or personal baggage to the world; frankly, I have no damn clue why we do this *smiling*. It seems to be innate, we are born with this--this desire somehow to tell the world a story. We are consumed by it, we are obsessed with it, and in most cases we are even willing to lose it all to be read.   

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