I was naive last week. Naive to think that getting my book back from my proofreader would be easy. That I would just make the changes in a couple of days and whooosh, I’d be off to sending query letters. Yeah, that didn’t happen. Maybe it could’ve happened if I just pressed “accept all changes,” did a cursory clean-up, and considered myself done. But nooo, I wanted to learn from my mistakes. Oy vey!

Suffice it to say, I’m not getting to query letters this week as I’d hoped. This is a bit of a downer, but hopefully for all the right reasons. I am learning a ton from going through the proofreading (I’ll get to lessons learned in a second) and I’m really glad I had her do track-changes so I could see every last fix. 

I am also glad to say that through sheer brute force, I have cleaned up every track change she sent me. This means that after pouring through my book line by line in microscopic detail, I must now also step back and look at the big picture one last time and take time to re-read it. I started the re-reading process yesterday (out loud, as many people have suggested, which is such a good idea for editing but takes forever) and it’s been invaluable. For example, in one dinner scene my editor and I have both missed that the main character Will hands Molly a beer, and then a couple pages later hands her the beer again. Yep, re-reads are worth it. But, thankfully, there have been relatively few glaring moments like that and mostly the re-reads are re-affirming my belief in my book. It’s actually a damn good read.

So yes, thank you for your support of me sending out query letters. I’m fully anticipating I’ll be able to send that blog post out next week instead. Fingers crossed agents will be receiving letters soon!

For now, I thought I’d share the top things I’ve learned from going through the proofreader’s work.

• I need to learn more about commas. Sometimes I use too many, sometimes I use to few. I need to learn when to use them for pacing and when to use them just because they are grammatically necessary to use. I’d say at least 50% of my changes were comma related. 
• I’m inconsistent with single quotes and double quotes. For example, when a character is thinking something, I often put their thoughts (within the paragraph) in single quotes. But other times I put them in double quotes. Whatever I choose, consistency matters
• Aligned with quotes, I need to pay more attention to when I am capitalizing a sentence during dialogue (before and/or after quote marks) and when I’m not
• I need to better understand the nuanced difference between a dash (-) and an ellipse (...) within a paragraph
• Overall I need to be consistent with capitalization. If I say the Cube, I can’t also say The Cube. 
• I use ‘that’ instead of ‘who’ in sentences sometimes. People are people, people!
• I need to spell out numbers when they are within dialogue. I’ve usually gone by the rule that if it’s over the number nine, you can use the number, but apparently in dialogue you are always supposed to spell it out
• Finally I’ll say that I usually emphasize words but putting them in ALL CAPS when I really should be italicizing them instead. Duly noted.  

So yes, it’s been a long week. My eyes are kind of googly and I want to be done, but I have to remind myself that this is the good stuff. This is polishing the finished product. This is getting close to the finish line of this leg of the triathlon. And this is me bettering myself. So, yes, I’m glad to be here. And I’ve learned a lot.  

​Welcome to week fourteen of the #WritersQuick5 series - where we learn about writing from fellow writers.

This week I’m pleased to feature writer Paul R. Lloyd. Paul’s writing comes in many shapes and forms across a prolific writing career. He is a business writer and marketing pro. He is also a blogger and a book coach. He has been featured in literary magazines such as Possibilities and Daedalus and also writes and self-publishes horror books on amazon. 

Paul is a big supporter of his fellow writers and heads up the Write Time Writers Group in Geneva and is a member of the DuPage Writer’s Group and the Lively Arts. I had the pleasure of meeting my fellow Chicago Writers Association (CWA) member at a recent CWA event and he has been kind enough to share his insights with us this week. 

Let’s see what Paul has to say… 

Question #1 - Where do you write and why do you write there?
I work upstairs in the spare bedroom where I can close the door. If I peer out the window at the correct angle, I can watch tree tops sway in the breeze in a way that reminds me of Wisconsin for an instant vacation. My laptop rests upon a little desk my dad and I built back when I suffered through high school. Dad was a cabinetmaker so it’s a nice desk. Snpgrdxz, my teenage space alien shapeshifter character from my time-travel series, volunteered to become my muse. He parks on a pillow on the guest bed and makes snarky comments while I write. For example, this morning he said, “Why do you spend so much time editing? Get my story up on Amazon and be done with it.” He once told me to pronounce his name like there’s an “i” every place you think a vowel should go. He doesn’t complain when I pronounce his name “snip-grid-ix” but he insists I spell it without the vowels because on his planet they no longer believe in them. According to Snpgrdxz, only the lesser planetary civilizations resort to such primitive writing practices.

Question #2 - What is unique about writing for your particular genre?
I must figure out what genre I write in. With only six novels on Amazon, I have time. I write horror with a twist of humor, but I can’t find an outlet for “cozy horror” stories. In the past, I never intended to write about monsters, but the darn critters show up uninvited. So I should embrace the horror genre, a decision I now make right here on Kelly’s website. Horror stories scare the bejeebers out of you in a unique way that cannot be matched by that shirtless guy with the horse and the half-naked girl on the cover of those romance novels. But if fangs protrude from the horse’s mouth, you purchased a horror story by mistake.

Question #3 - What are some of your grammar or punctuation pet peeves?
The discovery of an error that masquerades as correct serves as my favorite pet peeve. Any errors. For example, what if I found out the second sentence in this paragraph was a fragment? Horrors. When I attended high school and Miss Burnett assigned an annual essay on “My Pet Peeves,” I always wrote about the dog. Then in twelfth grade, Emily Springbottom leaned across my desk (big exhale here just thinking about it) and said, “Miss Burnett wants us to write about stuff that fries our gourds.” I always thought it would be fun to fry Emily’s gourds but that would have to wait until after graduation. In the meantime, Miss Burnett’s annual assignment about “My Pet Peeves” became my biggest pet peeve. Peeves wasn’t just an ordinary dog, by the way. He served as a private detective without gum shoes. You can read about him in that novel I didn’t write yet.

Question #4 - At what point in your writing process do you start to bring other people in to review your work?
​I prefer to take a manuscript as far as I can before submitting it to my critique group. Critique groups find the stuff you missed, but after a while, you learn to appreciate it about as much as I enjoyed that pet peeves high school assignment every year for four years. My futile search for first readers continues. Every time I find someone who volunteers for the honor, I hand over a copy of the book and then never hear back from them. They may be trying to tell me something.

Question #5 - What advice would you give to a new writer about the writing process?
The most important thing is to write every day. Okay, you can take the weekend off if you want. The second most important thing is to trust yourself. You are hardwired to hear, read or tell a story in a certain way so you have to work at getting it wrong. But that doesn’t mean you will automatically get it correct. Learn the craft. Take courses and workshops when you can. Google stuff when you can’t.

Trust yourself and learn the craft. Great advice from Paul for us today! Please be sure to follow Paul across social media and check out his novels and short stories.
Find Paul: LinkedIn, Twitter, Facebook, Blog, & Amazon Author Page 

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If you would like to be featured as a writer in the #WritersQuick5 series, please just reach out and let me know. I’d love to promote your work as well!

For updates on #WritersQuick5 and other info from me, please follow me on Twitter or check back with this blog for all the latest.

I consider myself to be a decent writer. Above average even. I love writing, I write all the time, so I’m also a practiced writer. When I sent my book to my editor for developmental critique, I knew there’d be a lot of changes because I’d never written a book before. I wasn’t surprised at all when I needed help developing the plot or the main character arcs (and I continue to work on realistic dialogue). But, when I sent my book out to be proofread, I have to admit, I was a little more sure of myself. I thought that I’d miss a comma or two, a misspelling would be caught, that I’d get the occasional grammar rule wrong. But, I felt confident enough that it would just be a clean-up job, that it wouldn’t be a rewrite. 

Today, I received my book back from the proofreader. At first, my eyes glazed over. When you have 91,000 words, even nominal changes add up. I had to check my ego and stop my tear ducts from activating to rationally think about what I was seeing. There were changes on every page, but ultimately they were exactly what I thought they would be. Changes to capitalizations or commas. Fixes to my use of quotation marks and pointing out a handful of awkward sentences. As my heart stopped racing and I started actually looking at what I was seeing, I realized they were do-able. Do-able changes to my book that I’ve finished and has now been proofread.

Then, I started panicking for a completely different reason. Because once I make these changes, my book is actually done and there are no more reasons to wait to query agents. Once I make these changes… I am done. 

Take. A. Deep. Breath. Kel.

So yes, after regrouping and breathing into a paper bag for a few minutes, here are my goals: 

1. Make the changes 
2. Learn from the changes. Don’t just change things to change them. Take notes on what the changes are. Pick up trends. Figure out where my writing weaknesses really are
3. Review the book one last time
4. Send it out to the first batch of agents by the end of next week

That’s right my friends. I want to finally send this book out by the end of next week and I hope you will all help keep me accountable. I want my blog next week to be about the nervous fear coursing through my veins as I press the send button on query emails. And, I’m hoping you will all send positive thoughts my way as I deal with my nerves the next few days, with each correction bringing me one step closer to the realization of… I was going to say my dreams but that seems entirely too lofty. Each correction bringing me closer to my immediate goals. How about that?

And one last comment. If you are writing, and you don’t enlist a proofreader, I think you should. I could have been cocky and rested on my laurels and not had my book proofread. But, as I scan through the changes I have to make, I can only think how much I needed someone else to give it a hard look over. So, I humbly accept these changes, and will diligently go about making them, trying not to internalize all that that implies. (Should I use a double ‘that,’ here? Proofreader, where are you?) 

Welcome to week thirteen of the #WritersQuick5 series - where we learn about writing from fellow writers.

This week we feature Marcie Hill, a prolific writer, blogger, and content marketer. Marcie has a successful career writing for a variety of businesses and publications, including her own website and blog, Marcie Writes. I can’t say it better than her own bio can: “I’ve published over 100 articles in print and online publications; 3100+ blog posts; and seven books. My three proudest writing accomplishments are my interview with Dr. Maya Angelou; being published in Forbes; and publishing 62 Blog Posts to Overcome Blogger’s Block book and companion guide.”

Marcie is also an experienced public speaker and she and and I met at the Chicago Writers Association event, Path to Published, an event that she helped coordinate. 

Let’s see what Marcie has to say… 

Question #1 - Where do you write and why do you write there?
I write in my office at home because it's my space of solitude.

Question #2 - What is unique about writing for your particular genre?
The unique thing about writing nonfiction as a freelancer is that I can write about any topic I want. My topics range from small business to African Americans to roller skating.

Question #3 - What are some of your grammar or punctuation pet peeves?
The overuse of commas and the lack of use of periods. Stop writing one long paragraph please!

Question #4 - At what point in your writing process do you start to bring other people in to review your work?
​If I'm writing a book, I hired an editor after my first completed draft. When I'm writing articles and not sure about the flow or need feedback, I'll request help then.

Question #5 - What advice would you give to a new writer about the writing process?
Develop a process that works for you. Learn as much as you can and ask questions. And when doubt rears its ugly head, kick it in the face.

LOVE that advice. “When doubt rears its ugly head, kick it in the face.” Damn straight! Thank you Marcie for taking the time to share your insights and advice with us. 

Be sure to follow Marcie via her website and on Twitter. She always has so many incredible resources to share!

***
If you would like to be featured as a writer in the #WritersQuick5 series, please just reach out and let me know. I’d love to promote your work as well!

For updates on #WritersQuick5 and other info from me, please follow me on Twitter or check back with this blog for all the latest.

Welcome to week twelve of the #WritersQuick5 series - where we learn about writing from fellow writers. 

I am so excited to bring you the writing and advice of poet Kerriann Curtis. Poetry is such an important part of our life fabric. I'm thrilled to get the perspective of someone who is so passionate about this art form.

Kerriann can also be found as the editor at Wordkrapht, “a community that focuses on independent musicians and small labels and the fans who love them,” where she has penned tons of write-ups and reviews. 

​Let’s see what Kerriann has to say… 

Question #1 - Where do you write and why do you write there?
I wish I could tell you I have a desk or a comfy spot set up somewhere in my house and that's where "the magic happens" however it's not. I tend to do the majority of my writing in my car, while parked at my kid's school. I have to get there early because the lines get long fast, and sitting there with very little distraction has really worked out for the best.

Question #2 - What is unique about writing for your particular genre?
What is so unique about poetry is how versatile it can be! You can be traditional, you can rhyme, not rhyme, tell a story or be cryptic and leave the readers wondering what on Earth you're talking about. Once I realized there was no set format to write a  poem I was hooked.

Question #3 - What are some of your grammar or punctuation pet peeves?
Grammatically I cannot stand when people get you're, and your confused as well as too, and to and their, there and they're. Punctuation-wise I'm not one to talk, I use way too many commas!

Question #4 - At what point in your writing process do you start to bring other people in to review your work?
​Being an independent author, I tend to do the majority of the reviewing and editing. However, once my book was finished I sent it out to anyone and everyone who would read it to get feedback. We live in a time now where the world is at our fingertips, and we have so many resources available. The great thing about social media is the ability to get instant feedback, so I'm trying to utilize that as well.

Question #5 - What advice would you give to a new writer about the writing process?
Write all the time, even when you're not inspired to. Read. Read outside your preferred genre(s). Keep a pen, notebook, and a back up pen with you at all times. Please don't ever say, "I don't need to write it down, I'll remember it later" because you won't, and we will miss out on your great ideas. Write it down while it's fresh!!

YES! Take that notebook with you! Especially when capturing the little moments of life the wait Kerriann so beautifully does! Thank you Kerriann for sharing your advice and poet’s perspective with us. 

Please be sure to check out Kerriann’s book of poetry, TEN, on amazon and her poetry series Waiting on Channillo.com. You can also follow Kerriann on Twitter. 

***
If you would like to be featured as a writer in the #WritersQuick5 series, please just reach out and let me know. I’d love to promote your work as well!

For updates on #WritersQuick5 and other info from me, please follow me on Twitter or check back with this blog for all the latest.

​Welcome to week eleven of the #WritersQuick5 series - where we learn about writing from fellow writers.

This week I am thrilled to bring you responses from writer Briana Bryon. (Side note: I’m also thrilled to feature Briana as my second international author, coming to us from Australia.) 

​She also is a part-time sports journalist for Fairfax Media, she writes columns for Focus Magazine, and is a feature writer for Cafe Culture. 

If that wasn’t enough, Briana writes erotica under the pen name Fern Watts. Her short stories can be found on Amazon and her first Fern Watts novel is due to be released on August 29 with Deep Desires Press. 

​Let’s see what Briana has to say… 

Question #1 - Where do you write and why do you write there?
I have an office in my house. This is the one place I have to write in peace, complete with a snoring dog and a comically large desk that I share with an ironing pile. I set time aside every day to write in it. Ok, I usually spend that time staring out the window wondering what Buffy the Vampire Slayer is up to. I miss her.

Question #2 - What is unique about writing for your particular genre?
When writing humour, people think I am being ironic or funny when I am actually being truthful. Humour allows the truth to come out in ways you wouldn't get away with in other genres. Also you get to be a bit mean and generally pretty cranky. It's fun.

Question #3 - What are some of your grammar or punctuation pet peeves?
I am TERRIBLE at self editing, so I won't comment on this, except to say, that writers who start a paragraph with an indent are stuck in a time loop. I think that was done last in the 90's. Oh, and double spacing after a full-stop. Again, time loop.

Question #4 - At what point in your writing process do you start to bring other people in to review your work?
​When I have finished the first draft. Then I ask people to have a read to find out which bits they skipped; they are the boring bits that generally need to go. Kill your darlings so to speak. But if they say the whole thing is boring I punch them. 

Question #5 - What advice would you give to a new writer about the writing process?
Write the first draft with your heart, the second with your head. Always carry a notebook with you. And use it. Also get a degree in dentistry, just in case. Dentists make a fortune and I'm pretty sure they can leave the house without a notebook anytime they feel like it.

Thank you Briana for these wonderful answers. I think we should get t-shirts made with the line “write the first draft with your heart, the second with your head” because that is just SO TRUE. Also, I need to re-watch Buffy. Like stat. 

Please check out Briana’s website where you can subscribe to hear more from her, check out her Channillo.com series “There’s a monster in my bed. Oh wait. It’s a baby,” and her work as Fern Watts now available on Amazon.com. You can also follow Briana on Twitter. 

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If you would like to be featured as a writer in the #WritersQuick5 series, please just reach out and let me know. I’d love to promote your work as well!

For updates on #WritersQuick5 and other info from me, please follow me on Twitter or check back with this blog for all the latest.

​On Saturday, February 25, I had the honor of attending the Chicago Writers Association event, Path to Published. It was a panel discussion co-sponsored by Columbia College’s Creative Writing Department that featured five authors and a moderator with a range of writing and publishing experiences. 

Their journeys to publish their works ranged from self-publishing, to traditional publishing via an agent, to traditional publishing via direct contact with the publishing house, through to hybrid publishing. The panelists gave tips on how to promote your work, key factors in self-publishing (like ISBN numbers) and an honest conversation of the expenses that come with writing. 

I have found myself that my experiences as a writer the last few months have indeed been expensive - from hiring a development editor/proofreader to a graphic designer to setting up my website URL - so it was good to hear this from other people. (I covered some of this in my blog post Why I Pay an Editor.) 

The discussion lasted over an hour and then opened up to questions and answers. I took copious notes throughout. Nearly a week later, here is some of the information that is still resonating with me. 

• Only 2% of authors make a living from being an author - we write because we love to write not because it will pay the bills
• There are several key steps to take to get your books into libraries and bookstores, ranging from a PCIP number to a Library of Congress control number to an ISBN number (for audio, print and e-publications). Make sure to research these things before you self-publish
• Reviews are key to book promotion. You can pay for them, but authentic reviews are better
• The New York publishing world is a world in and of itself, and it moves slowly. Patience and persistence are key
• Even if you get your book traditionally published, a lot of the promotion will still be up to you, so it’s important to have a platform. You will have to become your own promoter!
• So, if your publisher asks you for a marketing plan, keep in mind - this means how will YOU market your own work
• Know your audience - if you don’t know who your book should be marketed to, your publisher won’t either

Along with these great tidbits, there was a wealth of suggested resources. Here are a few that I jotted down:

Chicago Specific:

• Windy City Publishers - a local hybrid publisher
• Chicago Writing Workshop - June 24

Additional Resources:

• Booklife.com - the promotional arm of Publisher’s Weekly
• Alliance of Independent Authors - the global association for authors who self-publish
• Kristine Kathryn Rusch’s blog about hybrid publishing

I hope you find this information as useful and interesting as I did. I’m already looking forward to the next event. It will take place on May 13th. They are still forming the topic / panel, but if it is as good as this one was it will be totally worth it so Save The Date!

Thanks to everyone at the Chicago Writers Association. I’m proud to be a member.