You’ve written a book you’re nervously in love with. Now what? Contrary to every neophyte urge in your authorial body, you are not to immediately send your work out to every publishing house you know. Sorry! Instead, you’re in for an age of reviewing. Yaaaaay . . .
So, what is a manuscript assessment and how is it different from a beta read? Let’s get into it.
Tag Archives: first time author
What the Canada Council for the Arts can do for you as an author
Being an author is hard, and it’s harder for first-time authors or people who need to work a separate job to support their writing habit. Money doesn’t come easy to new authors! But there are organizations that can help you survive the artistic lifestyle. The Canada Council for the Arts provides millions of dollars in funding each year to artists across the country, even to authors. While it’s more difficult for a fiction writer to get a grant than a nonfiction author, it’s worth understanding what support you could be eligible for from our government.
Mood (writing) board
Mood: I don’t want to write. I don’t feel like it. The scene I have to write doesn’t match my mood at all and therefore I can’t write anything.
Sound familiar? Good. You’re having a very normal writer experience. The thing is, your mood—as a professional writer, that is—doesn’t matter. Like, at all. If you’re wanting to make a career out of your writing, you’re going to have to get comfortable mighty quickly with writing through discomfort or even your own discordance. But you can do it smartly, in a way that feels less like pulling teeth and more like productive work. If that doesn’t sound appealing, I don’t know what would!
Let’s talk trash: dealing with garbage in fiction
Whenever you’re diving into world creation, it’s important to keep in mind what kind of trash you’re also likely diving into. While you can easily see today’s trash, particularly what’s in your own area, it can be hard to imagine new landscapes of garbage. So that’s what we’re going to overview today: How to forecast your trash, where to find information about the trash of the past, and why it’s so important to get it right.
The top North American trade publishers
What is the first place that comes to mind if you think of published books? Chances are, it’s one of the big multinational publishers: Penguin Random House (now including Simon & Schuster), Hachette, HarperCollins, and Macmillan. While there are literally hundreds of places to get published, these four take the cake in terms of annual revenue, number of titles, and notoriety.
How to self-edit (properly) in 5 steps
Oh, what? An editor saying you can self-edit? Don’t get too excited. You can do it, and you should do it, but you should not be the last person to do it. That said, there are some pretty standard steps involved when reviewing your work before you send it out into the world (or even to an editor!).
Why on earth do you need an editor?
The goal of any editor is to bring out the strongest version of the text in front of us, no matter what stage it’s at. We are ever-so-careful of the suggestions and comments we make as we strive for better understanding of the material and its design. You have a goal in mind for this work and we’re the intermediary who helps you reach your target audience the most effectively.
Right Your Writing 