Blog
-
Four on the Floor with Mary SanGiovanni
Mary SanGiovanni is an award-winning American horror and thriller writer of over a dozen novels, including the Hollower trilogy, Thrall, Chaos, the Kathy Ryan series, and others, as well as numerous novellas, short stories, and nonfiction. Mary is a member of the Authors Guild, the International Thriller Writers, and Pennwriters. She is a cohost on the popular […]
-
Editing with Word’s Read Aloud Feature
After a publisher client suggested that all its editors try Word’s Read Aloud feature to help eliminate errors such as missing or repeated words, I decided to give it a shot. I hadn’t used the feature before and suspected I’d react badly to another voice in my head while editing. But for a last look […]
-
I Like the Sound of That: Reading Aloud for Writers and Editors
Reading a manuscript aloud or listening to it being read can help writers and editors identify errors of spelling, grammar, or tone that they might miss otherwise. If you want to give this a whirl, you can read the manuscript out loud yourself, have someone else read it to you, or use a text-to-speech (TTS) […]
-
Sign on the Dotted Line: The Editing Contract
Signing a contract can be intimidating. What am I getting into here? What might be lurking in the fine print? When it comes to the author–editor relationship, contracts can reassure authors that they’ve chosen the right editor that the editor will provide the services they want that the pay and delivery schedule will meet their […]
-
Shh! What Do Editors Mean by ‘Silent’ Changes?
With Word’s Track Changes turned on, every insertion or deletion an editor makes is visible to the author. Silent changes happen when the editor switches Track Changes off so that the author can’t see what’s been changed. Sounds sneaky, doesn’t it? Almost nefarious. It’s easy to imagine authors bristling at the notion. But there’s a […]
-
My Editing Checklist
When used by doctors and air-traffic controllers, checklists save lives by ensuring that critical steps aren’t missed during high-stress situations. Editing doesn’t involve life-or-death stakes (usually), but checklists are still helpful for reducing complexity and lessening the burden on memory for routine tasks. Even after spending forty or more hours on a manuscript, it’s easy, […]
-
Four on the Floor with Melissa Lason and Michelle Garza
This Four on the Floor interview features Melissa Lason and Michelle Garza, a writing team I came across through their involvement with Silverwood: The Door (a collaboration with Brian Keene, Stephen Kozeniewski, and Richard Chizmar). Read on for their bio and and insights into horror and the writing process. Bio: Melissa Lason and Michelle […]
