One Heck of a Month

Hey there, happy people of the page! Jo here. It's been one heck of a wonderful month for us at INDIE Books Gone Wild! We're excited to announce the soon publication of Tia Silverthorne Bach's new title: Chasing Memories. We also have a number of upcoming jobs we'll be talking about soon! Don't forget to check the calendar linked at the top of the left sidebar to see if one of us is available for your editing needs.

Remember, it takes a team to publish a book! We'd love to be a part of your team.

Watch the site for updates, a cover reveal, and to see where you can get a copy of Chasing Memories!

What we've done for this title:

• Edited twice
• Proofread (proofreading services are included in the cost of editing, and are done by a separate member of the team, we believe fresh eyes never hurt)
• Cover design (not something we readily offer, but we did on this book)
• Formatted for print (I can't wait to give you a glimpse of the interior; you're gonna love it!)

And, after it's published, we'll help her market by giving her a link on the sidebar, a shout out on the Facebook page, and a cover reveal/synopsis post.

How many places do you get all that for your money? Very few.

In the upcoming weeks, we're going to run a couple of giveaways. Stay tuned to see what you could win!

If you're an author and are thinking of publishing a book soon, fill out our form and see what we can do for you!

Well, that's all for today, folks! Until next time, WRITE ON!

Jo

A Hearty welcome

Wow! Our ranks are swelling with the brightest and the boldest. Welcome aboard everyone.

What to Expect

Hello, good people of the page! Jo here! Today, I'm editing the day away. I hope to get done with round two of Ms. Tia Bach's book, Chasing Memories, and get her to press by mid-month! We have a lot to do yet but great planning has been a huge help.

On that note, what does your editor look for? Well, here at IBGW, this is what we look for:

• Sentence construction. We make sure your story flows well and doesn't have off topic sentences or errant commas sprinkled throughout.
• Pronoun usage. This is something a lot of folks struggle with. We make sure every pronoun matches with the previously named person or item.
• Tension. We read your book for tension and note places it could be pumped up a bit.
• Grammar. Yes, We're grammar hounds. We search commonly misused words when we find them and provide you with a reference. You'll know why it was changed.
• Punctuation. We make sure dialogue tags are marked accordingly.
• Consistency. We look for the use of the S on the end of toward, backward, etc... and make sure you're using them the same way throughout. We also check your characters and make sure they're the same people all the way through.
• Conjunctions. This is a big one, believe it or not. Unless you're using a formal speaking/writing style, conjunctions are a must. Writers tend to spell everything out and forget the apostrophes.
• Repetitive words. We replace words used too many times in a sentence or paragraph so your writing stays fresh.
• Improving your writing. We like to educate our writers as we work with them. You'll emerge on the other side of one of our edits with new knowledge and new tools in your writer's box. Plus, the next time you use our services, it'll be less expensive because you won't be making the same mistakes.

When we're done with the second edit, we shoot the manuscript off to another member of IBGW for proofreading. That member will look over the manuscript with an eagle eye and let us know if we missed a period, comma, or misspelled a word.

It takes a team to create a book. Luckily, a team is what we are. Your one-stop-shop for all your editing needs.

Who do you use for your editing? Why not try us out? Fill out our form today and get started on the second step to becoming published. Love your manuscript enough to use the very best!

Well, that's all for today, folks! Until next time, WRITE ON!

Jo

Time to Welcome Tia Bach

Hello, good people of the page! I'm excited for you all to help me welcome our fourth editor, Ms. Tia Silverthorne Bach, author of Depression Cookies, book reviewer, and long-time editor.

Without further ado, here's her bio:

Hi, my name is Tia Silverthorne Bach. Since I was a little girl, I either had a book or a pen in my hand. Guess the same is still true. Raised by a poet and an engineer, I found an equal love for words and structure. In college, I majored in Business but worked as a technical writer and newsletter editor for IBM. Throughout my career, I wrote and edited company newsletters and marketing materials.

Then, I had my first child and decided to write during the few hours she slept. I convinced my mom to co-author a coming-of-age story with alternating view points, teenage daughter and middle-aged mother. Our award-winning novel, Depression Cookies, debuted years later. All the while, I continued to edit and publish Moms Club newsletters and other materials. My second book, and first young adult piece, will be out by summer 2013 (thanks to the editing talents of the lovely Jo Michaels).

Between books, I started offering my editing services to friends with novels in the works. Thanks to word of mouth, I built my reputation and business. Last year, I edited two books that were indie published: Trinidad Express by James E. Keen, a nonfiction sailing book, and Gifts from a Muse by Lane Schroeder, a poetry collection. In addition, I recently finished editing a collection of short stories, a young adult paranormal novel, and a literary fiction novel. The latter two should be published within the year. An avid reader with varied tastes, I pride myself on finding diamonds in the rough. Few things bring me more joy than helping an author polish his/her piece.

Independent authors are rocking the book world, and I’d love the opportunity to help you take your manuscript from draft to published book. Go Indie!


Here's what Tia's clients are saying:

“Having a book that I'm proud of has given me much pleasure since its publication last summer. It was a great comfort to have Gifts from a Muse in Tia' s professional hands as she worked with me in transforming my manuscript to one that was ready for the publisher. Her calm demeanor and sound suggestions were truly a blessing. I have missed our phone consultations and will definitely request her help in any future publication.” ~ Lane Farmer Schroeder, author of Gifts from a Muse

“Through Tia Bach's work on my book, Borrowed Things, I learned the priceless contributions a good editor can give to an author. She provided formatting and polish that I, as a novice in the world of writing, knew nothing about. She did this with respect for my creativity and sensitivity, and made the book better than it would have been without her skill and objectivity.” ~ Doris Schneider, author of Borrowed Things (process of being published)



Welcome to the team, Tia!

I hope you'll all join me in welcoming Tia. Leave her some comment love.

That's all for today, folks! Until next time, WRITE ON!

Jo

Ideas for proofreading your own work before sending it to an editor

Over the last few years, I’ve chatted with other authors and followed them on twitter and their blogs to learn more about the craft.

There are so many ideas on how to self-edit and proofread, so I’m going to share a few with you that have worked well for me. Keep in mind, it’s not a perfect process, and there are still a few minor errors, but around 80 – 90% of mistakes can be caught by using these methods.

These are in the order I usually do them, but you can do them out of order and it would still work.

·         I write my stories in Scrivener, so I first scroll through the entire document and look for anything underlined in red, blue or green. Make the necessary corrections.

·         I switch the document over to Word, and do the same. Sometimes Scrivener and Word disagree on how to spell certain words or on what’s okay and what’s not in terms of grammar. If that happens, then I’ll refer to my two favorite resources: The Elements of Style by William Strunk and The Chicago Manual of Style, 16^th ed. If they don’t have the answers then I turn to online reputable resources like Grammar Girl, for instance. Make the necessary corrections.

·         Let it sit for a week or more if possible. At least 3 days minimum. I can usually get away with this because I have Dory’s memory (sorry, I have kids, so you may find occasional Disney references in my blog posts ;D).

·         Put it into an e-pub and read it out loud on my phone to myself with my laptop in front of me and the story up on Scrivener. I make changes as I read along. If I’m out and about and reading it, I avoid reading it aloud, but I do note changes, highlight and bookmark what I need to fix and then the adjustments are made once I’m home. I think this is the most critical step because I need to see my story the way my readers’ are most likely going to view it. They’ll probably read it on their phones as well. It’s amazing how many mistakes I catch this way, and how I’ll find clunky phrasing or poor dialogue. The flow can be improved because when I’m reading it objectively this way, I’m thinking about how a new reader might take the story and how it might sound to them. I also find weak spots that maybe need more, so new sentences and paragraphs will develop, along with previously wordy ones, limited or eliminated altogether.

·         Let it sit again if possible. A week is good here, too. Even better would be two weeks to a month if I have the time to do this.

·         Reread it again on my phone and make the last few changes required and if possible, this is when I try to keep myself from constructing a whole slew of new sentences or paragraphs, since those might possibly have more mistakes.

Now it should be ready to send to an editor.

I know this might sound extreme, but it’ll save your editor or proofreader from finding minor mistakes you can get rid of on your own, which hopefully means a faster turn-around time for you to get your product back.

Hope this helps. Looking forward to sharing more tips in the future!

Crystal