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Tag Archives: advice for indie publers
Another Way to Write Your Memoir
Many’s the person who’s thought to themselves, “I’ve had an interesting life. I should write my memoir.” And they’re right: there’s a book in every one of us, whether we’ve lived what to the ordinary world would seem an interesting … Continue reading
Posted in advice about writing, advice for writers, Danielle De Valera, how to write a memoir, indie publishing, memoir writing, Patrick de Valera
Tagged advice for authors, advice for indie publers, advice for new writers, advice for writers, editing, editing advice, editors, how to write a memoir, indie publishing, manuscript appraisers, manuscript assessments, memoir writing, writing advice
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Using Commas with As, Since and While
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 advice for authors, advice for indie publers, advice for writers, commas with As, Danielle de Valera, editing, editors, fiction editing, fiction editors, Since and Whille
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Producing a Print Book’s a Hard Journey
Some time ago, I investigated Indie publishing, particularly the publishing of Print on Demand (POD) books with CreateSpace, a subsidiary of Amazon. This investigation and my own experiences with it were most illuminating, and I thought I might share my … Continue reading
Posted in advice for indie publishers, advice for writers, Australian manuscript appraisers, Danielle De Valera, good editors, how to find a good editor, indie publishing, manuscript appraisers, manuscript assessments, Patrick de Valera
Tagged advice for authors, advice for indie publers, advice for new writers, advice for writers, book development, editing, editors, fiction editing, fiction writing advice, indie publishers, indie publishing, indie writers, manuscript appraisers, manuscript assessors, manuscript evaluation, manuscript evaluators
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Conflict in Novels
Every good novel needs conflict, something that prevents its hero from achieving his or her aim. Superman wants a safe world, Lex Luthor wants to take it over and doesn’t care who he kills to do it. Girl wants boy, … Continue reading
Posted in advice about writing, advice for writers, Australian manuscript appraisers, conflict in fiction, Conflict in novels, Danielle De Valera, good editors, Patrick de Valera
Tagged advice for authors, advice for indie publers, advice for writers, Conflict in novels, Danielle de Valera, editing, editors, fiction editing, fiction writing advice, manuscript assessors, what is conflict in fiction?, writing advice
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Those pesky possessive Ss
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 Advice about apostrophes, advice for indie publers, advice for new writers, apostrophe Ss, editing, fiction editing, fiction writing advice, indie publishers, indie writers, manuscript assessors, possessive apostrophes, writing advice
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Foreword v. Preface v. Introduction
Last month, a client of mine asked me to edit his non-fiction book, a series of vignettes about his time in rural Australia in the 1950s and Papua New Guinea in the ‘70s. One of the first things I noticed … Continue reading
Posted in advice for indie publishers, forewords, indie publishing, introductions, manuscript appraisers, manuscript assessments, manuscript assessors, manuscript presentation, Patrick de Valera, prefaces
Tagged advice for authors, advice for indie publers, advice for writers, fiction writing advice, Forewords, introductions, manuscript assessors, manuscript presentation, prefaces, self-publishing, writing advice
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Commas – inside or outside quotes?
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
Posted in advice about writing, advice for writers, commas, editing, editors, fiction editing, indie publishing, Patrick de Valera
Tagged advice for authors, advice for indie publers, advice for new writers, advice for writers, advice on commas, commas inside or outside the phrase, developmental editors, editing advice, editors, fiction editing, fiction editors, fiction writing advice, indie writers, manuscript evaluators, writing advice
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The Thumbs Down Publishers List
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 advice for authors, advice for indie publers, Danielle de Valera, editing, editors, fiction editors, indie publishers, manuscript appraisers, manuscript assessors, self-publishing, Thumbs Down Publishers List, Victoria Strauss, Writer Beware, writing advice
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Naming your novel
When choosing a name for your novel, always check to see how many of the same names already exist on the web. The more unique your title is, the better your chance it will come up in the first page … Continue reading
Posted in advice about writing, advice for writers, Australian manuscript appraisers, Choosing a name for your novel, Danielle De Valera, manuscript appraisers, manuscript assessments
Tagged advice for indie publers, Danielle de Valera, indie publishers, indie writers, manuscript assessors, naming your novel, titles for novels
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The Manuscript Assessor - Tips for Writers 