Your Book is Your Baby

By: Aleta Sanstrum, R2P Proof Editor
Are you ready to let your creation out into the wide, wide world? Are you worried about other eyes seeing this beautiful baby of yours? How old is your baby? Is it 6 months old? Two years old? Thirteen? No matter how old your baby is, please remember that it takes a village to raise that baby. You would never keep a real baby out of the daylight - hidden away from interaction with his playmates at the park and all alone at home so she couldn't make any friends! We all know that children need discipline. They need extended family with great advice and gentle ways. They need time to grow up and become polished! 

Editing is book discipline. If your book never truly grows up, it reflects poorly on its author - you. I am addicted to editing, diners and dives. Typos jump off the page at me. I'm not a structural editor and I'm not going to pay much attention to missing content in your plot or subplot unless it's huge. (My sister is great at that type of editing.) Enjoyment is the number one reason I read.

• If you want increased readability and input on creative words that flow out to your reader so that they can truly enjoy your book without the distraction of awkward sentences
• If you don't want your main character to eat everyone, i.e. "Let's eat grandma." VS "Let's eat, Grandma."
  
• If you don't want a discussion group to be confused because a detail was left out
  
• If you don't want your readers to be frightened of a beauty regime (It's regimen.)
•  If you DON'T want readers' comments on your book to include: "So many typos I couldn't enjoy the story!" or "Who edited this book? Did you just dump it onto the market without actually reading it yourself?" or even "Please don't let your relatives edit for you!" 

... Then I am your girl. Please, please, PLEASE let your baby out of the house! I'd like to give it some charm-school polish. 

I'm a mom, a SAHM to be specific. I have 3 kids, 2 cats, 4 backyard chickens, a fish, and a fabulously handsome hubby who has put up with my quirks for over 20 years. I enjoy walking (okay not really and I never watch sports on TV), reading, knitting, sewing, volunteering at our local schools, watching my kids swim or ride horseback, and camping. During the spring and summer, our family camped 15 nights in our tent trailer at various locations throughout Oregon, Idaho, and Montana. I am not a good cook according to my kids, but I make a mean grilled cheese and my strawberry smoothies simply rock.

My favorite reads are classics (on my Kindle), fantasy, and the occasional thriller. Lousia May Alcott makes me feel right at home and Anne McCaffrey writes dragons better than anyone else. Period. George R. R. Martin's A Game of Thrones series is up next on my reading list. I'm finishing the final book in The Hunger Games series, even though I know it has a tragic ending. Yep, the teen around here spoiled it for me. 
 

Who Cares?

By K.C. Hughes - Guest Blogger

Are you interested in guest blogging for Ready2Publish? Contact us today and we'll fit you in! Links to exceptional works welcome!

Who cares to read what I think about writing? I know I don't. Really. Why shouldn't you stop right here and hit your browser's back button and leave. Go on now, leave! You're still here, I see. Yeah, I can see you, biting your nails and thinking what is this blog going to be about? Is the writer going to admonish or bully me into something? No, I just wanted to get your attention.

I used the above paragraph to transport you away from your everyday(not a left-out word), the way only words can do. For a few seconds, you were probably wondering what now, another stirrer trying to rev up emotions. But, you see, words can do that and that's why I love to write.

For instance, I am currently working on a novel set in 1937 Atlanta. The main character (MC) is an eighteen year old black girl who moves from the deep, deep south where she was picking onions in. Stop right there, buddy!

This will NOT be about racism or Jim Crow laws or any part of history that has been drilled into our heads. I'm sick of it, I tell you! This is a coming of age tale of an eighteen year old country girl who happens to be black. It's a tale of loss, love and all that other wormy stuff that makes a great heartfelt book. I wanted to write something different other than mystery/suspense and paranormal. I wanted something fresh.

Transporting the reader to 1937 is challenging because nothing was the same. But I love learning about the era and putting a different spin on it other than prejudice. I hope that you will take the journey with me!

K.C. Hughes lives in sunny-all-the-time Phoenix with her fourth husband and four cats. She works in the IT field with 16 years of experience. She's a kindle-holic and enjoys occasional trips to the Indian casinos. She loves travelling to Las Vegas and anywhere with water, including her bath tub. Writing fiction is her hobby. She has written 2 novels, a screenplay and well into writing her 3rd book. 

Man in the Mirror
http://amzn.to/nzCCuX
Wicked Warlock
http://amzn.to/jKiS5h 
Book Trailer
http://bit.ly/nHAkEq

The opinions expressed in this blog are those of the guest blogger and may or may not reflect the views of the editors, photographers, copywriters and coaches on this site.

Melinda Todd: Trailing After God

Even though we only have three officially registered professionals on this blog, and only one has her bio up for all to see, the jobs are rolling in! However, our blog posts won't toot our own horns, but rather they will sing the praises of God working through our clients as we all work together to use our gifts and talents are there for His glory.

The second editing job done by Bethany Learn was for Melinda Todd, author of "How I Forgave My Molester." Although it's a short read, it's not meant to be a coffee table book. Melinda hired Bethany to be an objective voice in editing and reshaping her book, which has already been published once before, into something that would be even more clear and caring to those who have experienced sexual abuse and molestation.

"So many just suffer in silence.  There are not a lot of resources available for a woman who has been sexually abused.  I’ve tried finding Christian resources and they’re just not out there.  It’s a yucky topic and many women think they are the only one it happened to.  We know that’s not true when we look at statistics.  One in three women has been sexually abused. That’s a lot of damaged and hurting hearts out there!" -Melinda Todd

God is not wasting any of Melinda's hurts. Her web page and facebook are hubs for the hurting, and if you know anyone who needs help with past abuses, please send them her way. Because God is turning her story into His glory as women read and heal and begin to hope.

What is your story? Have you processed an event in your past to the point that you are ready to write about it? Do you have a fictional story, that although untrue, could still bring light and laughter to lives living in the shadows? Do you need a graphic designer, author photo or a coach who will help you with the whole process? Let us help you get ready to publish today!

Are You Ready to Publish?

It's a scary step ... but you want to be published and build your brand more than anything else in the world. But how? How did all those amazing authors sell hundreds, thousands, millions of copies? How does a person go from doodling in a journal to being a successful author?

The answer to those questions is that they didn't do it alone. A team of people were a part of their process, editing, counseling, encouraging, even taking pictures. We know what it takes to end up on someone's coffee table or Kindle. We've been there, and we want to help you chase that dream down, too.

It'll take some hard work on your part. Yeah, sorry about that. Maybe you thought you were done. But have you had your writing edited yet? You know that packaging sells products, so have you found a photographer or graphic designer for your cover? What about an author photo?

Perhaps you are just in that place where you've run out of words and you need a little nudge, a little insight, a little coaching from someone who has been there. Our network of professionals can help you a lot. Don't let the simple language on this blog fool you. We speak words. We write words. We caress words. We manipulate words. We brand words.

So contact us and tell us what you need. We like to keep it local, but some online consultations, editing and copywriting can be arranged.