Category Archives: editing

Using Commas with As, Since and While

Posted on March 20, 2017 by Danielle de Valera

This is actually very easy, but people often get it wrong. Most people whack in a comma at the end of all opening clauses that contain a verb. In Australia, at least, this is not the right way to go … Continue reading →

Posted in advice about writing, advice for indie publishers, advice for writers, advice on commas, Australian manuscript appraisers, commas, Danielle De Valera, editing, editors, fiction editing, good editors, Patrick de Valera, Since and While | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Those pesky possessive Ss

Posted on May 28, 2016 by Danielle de Valera

with possessive Ss I think we all know that an apostrophe is used before the possessive of singular common nouns, e.g. the boy’s bike. So far, so good. But what if the noun being possessed (as it were) isn’t singular, … Continue reading →

Posted in advice for indie publishers, Australian manuscript appraisers, Danielle De Valera, editing, editors, fiction editing, manuscript assessments, manuscript assessors, Patrick de Valera, possessive Ss, re-editing | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Commas – inside or outside quotes?

Posted on April 11, 2016 by Danielle de Valera

In my work as a manuscript evaluator and developmental editor, it’s clear to me that writers are still having a lot of trouble with commas. One of the instances that always seems to cause confusion is the one where sometimes, … Continue reading →

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The proper use of italics

Posted on November 15, 2015 by Danielle de Valera

The proper use of italics can be a vexed question for writers, especially when they’re starting out. We’re all familiar with the usage for a word needing emphasis, e.g. “That film was awful.” But there are many other instances where … Continue reading →

Posted in advice about writing, advice for writers, Australian manuscript appraisers, Danielle De Valera, editing, fiction editing, indie publishing, manuscript appraisers | Tagged , , , | 5 Comments

The Thumbs Down Publishers List

Posted on November 1, 2015 by Danielle de Valera

What indie writer trying to juggle the demands (and costs) of cover design, ebook design, print book design, and possibly a full time job as well, hasn’t been tempted to toss the lot to one of those publishers who promise … Continue reading →

Posted in advice about writing, advice for writers, Australian manuscript appraisers, Danielle De Valera, editing, editors, getting published, indie publishing, manuscript appraisers, manuscript assessments, manuscript assessors, Patrick de Valera, publishers | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 3 Comments

Spontaneity in fiction

Posted on September 14, 2014 by Danielle de Valera

How important IS spontaneity in fiction? The answer is: It depends. Some works benefit from having a style that appears spontaneous. However, in my experience, when emerging writers talk about spontaneity and the fear of losing it by redrafting, they … Continue reading →

Posted in advice about writing, advice for writers, Australian manuscript appraisers, editing, editors, fear of losing spontaneity, fiction editing, getting published, manuscript appraisals, manuscript appraisers, manuscript assessments, manuscript assessors, traditional publishing | Tagged , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

“Real” Dialogue

Posted on July 19, 2014 by Danielle de Valera

Good dialogue in novels is not real dialogue, which is often very boring, containing as it does a lot of batting about of unimportant information between the two parties. Too often, writers get led astray by their desire for realism … Continue reading →

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So yew trust yaw computer to cheque yaw spelling?

Posted on July 7, 2014 by Danielle de Valera

  Your computer can check the spelling in your fiction for you, but it won’t pick up your typos and it won’t pick up wrong gender adjectives, such as blond for blonde, where the owner of the hair is female. … Continue reading →

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Ten Ways to Make Certain Your Novel Won’t be Published Traditionally

Posted on June 15, 2014 by Danielle de Valera

1.   Don’t redraft on the grounds that you don’t want to lose the spontaneity of your work. 2.   If you do decide to do the 8+ drafts necessary to make someone take you seriously, you insist on doing them online, … Continue reading →

Posted in advice for writers, editing, editors, fiction editing, getting published, manuscript appraisals, manuscript appraisers, manuscript assessments, manuscript assessors, traditional publishing | Tagged , , , , , , , | 10 Comments