First Word

1. Using the character's name too often in the dialog . Think about it. When you're talking to someone, how often do you actually say his or her name. You don't need to use their names. People don't talk like that and repeat someone's name often in conversation. It bogs down your writing and pacing. 2. He said, she said -- no, no . If you have only two characters in a scene once you establish who has spoken first, no need to use "said" anymore unless you have specific purpose to express more than the statement of someone saying something. For example, she said with an angry look of outrage. 3. Repeating what you just described . Too often writers will show the character doing something and repeat in the dialog what the reader just read. Once you've established something about a scene, no need to rehash it in the dialog or even reference it again. It bogs down the pacing and bores the reader with the redundancy. For example, a character walks in t...

I run into writers who are also professional editors. I'm sure they're all very good at their jobs. These same writers often get it into their heads that they don't need an editor -- they're editors. Most of the time I can talk them out of the "I-know-how" tree and back down to the ground and their best interests. These writers are often skeptical of my intentions since they falsely believe, "Well, she's just trying to make money." I am naturally in business to make money; but I'm not telling people they need an editor because I'm trying to make money. I'm telling them what I'll just call a "flat fact," which goes like this: even the editor needs an editor . Here are the reasons why even if you're the queen or king of editing, you, too, need an editor: Snow blind AKA computer screen blindness -- I think of it as snow blindness since the screen background is white. Time and time again our minds insert words wh...

Traditional publishing is the premiere way to publish for authors, so goes the myth. But did you know that many big name authors now self-publish? Do you know why for some authors this has become a more desirable route? 8-12 percent royalties -- when you use services like my company 3L Publishing , royalties range from 35 to 100 percent. If you sell 10,000 copies at 10 percent, say, for $10 books, that is a $1 a book. You've made $10,000. If earn 35 percent of that same $10 it's $3.50 per book, which is $35,000. You can quickly see why some big names decide to publish independently. Agent Fees : Now let's take that $10,000 and pay the agent who got you the traditionally published deal. Most agents take between 10 to 20 percent. For the sake of easy math, let's subtract your agent's fee of $1,000 for your $10,000 and now you have $9,000. The self-published author with a name, still has his/her $35,000. Which would you rather have? $9,000 for selling 10,000 ...

My favorite rebuke of 3L Publishing's editorial services comes from professional journalists, English teachers or editors who swear in stone they don't need our editorial services. This declaration always leaves me smiling like the all-knowing publisher that I am. Let me entertain you now with true confessions: I (the publisher and professional editor) NEED a proofreader ! Shock! Awe! No ... you ? Yes, me. Let me take this a step further: I don't care if you're a Pulitzer Prize winner for literature, guess what? You still need a proofreader. I have said this in the past to help laypeople understand how hard it is to proofread, so I will use the analogy again: Imagine taking a huge jar of 100,000 black jellybeans. Now take those black jellybeans and spill them on a white table. Now go look for the flawed beans. You will find you have to pick each one up, look at it, and put it back, and so on. Friends, THAT is how difficult it is to perfect a manuscript with 100,000 ...

No one agrees on comma usage. Look it up. All of the grammar sites have differing opinions. The style books ( AP Style and Chicago ) don't agree. Struck and White has its own rules about commas. And then you have the "grammar police" (as I call them) who think they KNOW your comma usage is wrong -- it doesn't work with their rules. I have different authors who have differing uses. It's like this discussion that can't be won. I will say this: I cannot stand the grammar police who insist your usage is just plain wrong. If you followed AP Style and they use, say, Struck and White , yep! It's wrong. Yet it's not wrong. When it comes to commas, I allow the authors to use their preferred styles. The only rule I apply is consistency. Do it that way; always do it that way, period. Now some comma usage is, in fact, just plain wrong. You know like splitting the adjective from the noun or the noun from the verb -- that sort of thing. My favorite (and funny) ...

We are once more running an   AMAZING BLOW OUT SUMMER PUBLISHING SALE ! Invest in our full publishing package and save up to 75 percent! Yes, 75 percent on our package DEAL. Beat the heat of other publishers!!! Book Publishing Package #1 Qualifying Books: 1-150 Pages Editorial Includes: Two draft editing process Final proof reading Grammar, spelling, usage and Style check Graphics  Front and back cover design Guts/interior design Final finished book Price: $3,000 Book Publishing Package #2 Qualifying Books: 1-250 Pages Editorial Includes: Two draft editing process Final proof reading Grammar, spelling, usage and Style check Graphics  Front and back cover design Guts/interior design Final finished book Price: $4,000 Offer expires: June 30, 2013 *We will accept full payment or two easy payments. For more information, call 916-300-8012 or send email to info@3LPublishing.com. 

I am chuckling over my headline. I was relieved when I had one splash of cream left in the half-in-half for my coffee this morning. Because "gawd" what would I do without cream in my coffee? I might have to run yelling and screaming in the streets. "Get me some crrreeeaaammmm!" All right enough of the nutty talk for the morning. Would you like to hear the most common spelling mistakes perpetrated by even the most seasoned writers? We'll call them spelling bloopers, how's that? Here we go: Altogether or all together -- if it's completely, totally, it's altogether. Problem is some writers just completely, totally get it wrong and spell it all together. Well that is altogether wrong. Every day or everyday -- if it's happening every day it's everyday (adjective). I go to the movies every day (two words). I am an everyday person (adjective). Comprise or compose -- as a verb we write or create or we compose. As a verb the work is compris...

Sometimes we just want to write the book we want to write, damn it! It's my story, I'll write it if I want to. You can, of course, write whatever you like, but just don't assume a publisher will want to publish it. So many things go into selling that first manuscript, and the first thing you should do is find out whether or not your idea is wanted or needed. Research the marketplace. Do some searches on Amazon. If you do find a similar book, is it selling? Look at it's Amazon ranking. If it's up in the millions chances are people are not particularly interested in that subject matter. If you want to work with a particular publisher, look at what they publish. If you want to sell a book on hunting deer, going to sell your book to a Vegan publisher is a bad idea. Now while I'm kidding here, you get the point. Also, do look at that publisher's products. You are always in the driver's seat so you should not desperately accept whatever offer comes your way. O...