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

Our Numbers are Growing

Hello, good people of the page! I'm proud to introduce you to the newest IBGW editor, Estrella Merrill (who prefers to be called Star)! Please take a moment and drop in a comment to welcome Star to the IBGW team. We're excited to have her and her edits are some of the best I've seen. You'll be very satisfied if you choose her to work with you on your manuscript!

My name is Estrella Merrill, but I go by Star. An Arizona resident, I was transplanted from New Jersey. I attended ASU, and graduated with a BS in Nursing. I worked at Gateway Medical Center in Gilbert AZ, as a Clinical Nurse Manager, overseeing  65 beds on two floors and about 45 nurses and nurses aides. Needless to say, the stress got to me, and I'm now doing what I enjoy: writing, and editing works for other writers. I currently have penned 45 stories, all fanfiction, but hope to turn one into the real deal, as it is very personal to me.

I was introduced to fanfiction by my youngest daughter and decided to write some stories myself. It's become an obsession. Along with my own writing, I've had other authors who requested my help with editing. I like to encourage writers, not tear them down. I point out the good features of the story and fold in my opinions on how to make it better; grammatically, and character-wise. I have an eye for dialogue, and can help greatly in that department.

I enjoy most genres especially humor and romance. Mystery is not my cuppa, nor is erotica. Anything else is fair game. Bring it on.

There you have it! Keep your eyes on the blog because I'll be running some awesome contests over the next few weeks!

Until next time, WRITE ON!

Jo

New Editors on Staff

Hello, good people of the page!

This week, I'll be adding a couple of new editors to the staff here at IBGW. I hope you'll pop on by to help me give them a very warm welcome! I can't wait to introduce you.

We have only the best editors here at INDIE Books Gone Wild and we strive to keep it that way. When you see our logo on a page, that means we've vetted that person and you can hire them with a clean mind and the guarantee you'll get a great edit on your manuscript.

Look for the IBGW logo whenever you consider hiring someone to edit your book.

This logo means quality.

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

Jo

Bogged Down by Social Media

Hello, good people of the page!

As an impromptu surprise, I've created a rather helpful post over on my Jo Michaels blog to help you manage your social media and book advertising.

Since this is a site where we help Indie authors in every way possible, I found it relevant to share here.

Without further ado:

Social Networking Schedule

I hope you all enjoy it! Until next time, WRITE ON!

Jo

Dark Premonitions Second Sight Book Three

I'm pretty excited about what I have for you today. Some great screenshots of the book I formatted for Ms. Heather Topham Wood. She won the formatting in a giveaway I did on my author blog not too long ago. With her permission, I'm showing you the front matter of her book and a chapter opener.

You can buy the Kindle version of Dark Premonitions over on Amazon (as of today!) for just $3.49. Cover design isn't mine, but it sure is pretty. Check it out! When the print version goes live, I'll be linking it from the sidebars here on the site.

Now, that's something to write home to mama about! If you're interested in this service, you can find prices on our Print Book Formatting page. If you're ready to contact us, fill out our Contact Form.

Wouldn't you love a book that looks like this?

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

Jo

Welcome our New Editor!

Please help me welcome our new editor to the team: Crystal Lee. She's edited all my books and I can't say enough about how wonderful she is! Never one to mince words, she lets me know when I've repeated something too often, mixed up my words, or made my sentences too difficult to follow (she also rocks at chasing commas).

Visit the About Us page and read more!

Before long, you'll be enjoying posts from her, too!

Also, I may have a new client this week. After the contract is signed, I'll be back to tell you about the amazing author I'll be working with! She's written a Young Adult Paranormal novel and from what I've seen so far, it's rockin'!

I can't wait to share more news about it!

Until next time, WRITE ON!

Jo