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Editing client publishes her first novel - Inventing Reality Editing Service

Editing client releases Battle of Britain novel - Inventing Reality Editing Service

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Published on April 23, 2018 04:45

5 Great Quotations about Word Choice

��A word is not the same with one writer as with another. One tears it from his guts. The other pulls it out of his overcoat pocket.�� - Charles Peguy

��Literature is the art of using words. This is not a platitude, but a truth of the first importance, a truth so profound that many writers never get down to it...�� - Arnold Bennett

��Words empty as the wind are best left unsaid.�� - Homer

��If the word doesn��t exist, invent it; but first be sure it doesn��t exist.�� - Charles Baudelaire

��Any word you have to hunt for in a thesaurus is the wrong word. There are no exceptions to this rule.�� - Stephen King

Professional Book Editor: Having your novel, short story or nonfiction manuscript proofread or edited before submitting it can prove invaluable. In an economic climate where you face heavy competition, your writing needs a second eye to give you the edge. I can provide that second eye.

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Writing Inspiration: Who are you?

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Published on April 22, 2018 05:51

Professional Book Editor: Having your novel, short story...

Professional Book Editor: Having your novel, short story or nonfiction manuscript proofread or edited before submitting it can prove invaluable. In an economic climate where you face heavy competition, your writing needs a second eye to give you the edge. I can provide that second eye.

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5 Writing Prompts for Science Fiction Writers - Inventing Reality Editing Service

5 Great Science Fiction Writing Prompts - Inventing Reality Editing Service

Editing client releases Battle of Britain novel - Inventing Reality Editing Service

Editing client publishes her latest kid's book - Inventing Reality Editing Service

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Published on April 21, 2018 04:45

Add audio to your authors website

Making a personal connection with your readers marks a great way to sell your books �� and one solid way to do that is to use audio on your website.

When website visitors hear your voice, they��re more likely to pay attention than if they simply read text that they know is polished. Further, speech allows you to vocally emphasize points that readers might miss when they just scan your website.

The first step to getting audio on your website is to download and install software or an app that can record your voice. A number of such programs are available online. A popular one is Web Audio Plus.

You probably have a microphone on your computer, but it may need to be readjusted so that works best for you. If using Windows, you can adjust the microphone by going to your Control Panel��s Hardware and Sound section. Should your PC mic not be up to the job, you can purchase better quality mics that plug into your computer for under $50.

The next step is to write a script for your audio presentation. It can be as long as you like, but depending on its purpose, various lengths are better than others. A welcome to you website probably shouldn��t be more than a couple of minutes. A recording of an interview with you or a presentation you gave ought to be the exact length as the original so that visitors don��t feel cheated of information.

Topics of an audio presentation could be a welcome to your website, snippets in which you explain cool stuff about your books (like who your favorite character is, how you came up with the idea for the story, an alternative ending you didn��t go with), and an interview of you.

Once you write the script, rehearse it a couple of times then record. Always play it back before posting to ensure you��re satisfied with it. If you aren��t, then re-record.

Once you��ve got the recording you like, you can post it to your website. Usually this involves pasting the audio file into your web page��s html.

Professional Book Editor: Having your novel, short story or nonfiction manuscript proofread or edited before submitting it can prove invaluable. In an economic climate where you face heavy competition, your writing needs a second eye to give you the edge. I can provide that second eye.

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Published on April 20, 2018 04:45

Indie authors: Don��t hire staff �� contract them!

Once your self-publishing business takes off, you��ll likely find yourself overwhelmed. You��re getting more requests and orders for products or services than you can handle, you��re finding yourself on the road all the time delivering seminars and workshops, and you have a dozen books you still want to write, never mind all of the blog entries and press releases you must pen.

You��re seriously considering hiring employees to help out.

Be cautious about doing so, though. Instead, give serious consideration to contracting out work to freelancers and small businesses that offer services you want to push off your to do list.

When you hire a freelancer or small businesses, they become your contractor. They use their own tools (such as a computer and software) to do the job. They have their own office or place where they do business. They work on their own time and so set their own hours. They have other clients as well as you.

In contrast, employees use tools that you the employer provide for them. They work at your place of business. You set their hours. You solely grade their job performance.

That kind of control over how your money is spent to get a job done sounds wonderful, but it��s full of traps. You don��t want to hire employees because:
�� They are more expensive than you probably realize. You don��t just pay their salary but also contribute to their Social Security, Medicare, unemployment insurance, and possibly health insurance.
�� Management requires time, so you must ask yourself if the hours spent on hiring and managing employees could be better spent simply doing their tasks yourself or even not doing them at all?
�� Employees need a place to work and equipment to use, which is a new expense. Are you ready to rent a place for your business or alternately allow people into your home? Are you willing to purchase new computer, software, and workstations?
�� Following government regulations can be a real headache, as you are required to complete paperwork and pay payroll taxes.

Instead, you should go with freelancers/contractors because:
�� They are less expensive than employees.
�� Most contracted freelancers don��t need management or motivation.
�� Contractors work out of their own chosen locations so there��s no need to house them.
�� As they are hired to perform a service, the burden of paperwork for declaring their income and paying taxes is all on them.

Eventually, if you want to significantly expand your operations, you��ll need employees. Indeed, the real advantage of employees is that you can train them to do things your way using your own methodologies, and that may be necessary for your expansion to work. Before taking on the burden of employees, though, always consider the intermediary step of contracting out services.

Professional Book Editor: Having your novel, short story or nonfiction manuscript proofread or edited before submitting it can prove invaluable. In an economic climate where you face heavy competition, your writing needs a second eye to give you the edge. I can provide that second eye.

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Published on April 19, 2018 04:45

How often do you get this wrong: Fewer vs. Less

Ever see the sign ��20 items or less�� in a supermarket checkout lane and gotten a strange inkling that it was wrong? Shouldn��t it be fewer?

Let��s see...

Fewer is a ��count noun.�� A count noun is something that can be counted or enumerated; such words can be made singular or plural. So, if the object can be counted, use ��fewer��:

With the flu going around, fewer kids were at school.
The team suffered no fewer than four injuries in the sobering loss.
The fewer candy bars you eat, the fewer cavities you will suffer.

Kids at school, injuries, and candy bars all can be counted.

Less is a ��mass noun.�� Such nouns, like applesauce, can��t be counted because they��re an undifferentiated unit �� you can count how many peas you eat but not any much applesauce you eat; they also cannot be made plural. So if the word is about bulk (and hence ��uncountable��) and can only be singular, use less:
Children are playing less outdoors these days.
He showed less kindness that I expected to the homeless woman.
I��ll need less than a gallon container of fruit punch for the birthday party.

Playing, kindness and fruit punch can be quantified.

Given this, that supermarket sign should say ��20 or fewer items.�� But don��t bring a marker to write the correction �� we wouldn��t want you getting in trouble!

Professional Book Editor: Having your novel, short story or nonfiction manuscript proofread or edited before submitting it can prove invaluable. In an economic climate where you face heavy competition, your writing needs a second eye to give you the edge. I can provide that second eye.

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Published on April 18, 2018 04:45

5 Best Sci-Fi Writing Prompts: Novums

Science fiction stories typically arise from a novum, a scientifically plausible concept that is a ��reality�� in the tale. The novum might be an mechanical device like robot servants, artificial intelligence, or faster-than-light spacecraft; it also can be a hypothetical idea such as ��The Earth is a scientific experiment run by aliens to determine the meaning of life�� or ��The government outlaws books.�� The author then asks ��What if?�� exploring how the world with this novum is different than ours.

Among the problems of many novice science fiction writers is instead of introducing a new novum they rely on used furniture �� that is, they borrow novums from popular SF series. After all, how many novels have you read that use starships exploring the galaxy for the Earth-based Federation? Barely changing names to appear as if you are not appropriating �� a starcraft seeking M-class worlds for the Earth-centered Alliance �� still doesn��t cut it as original or fully using the potential that science fiction offers to examine our culture or humanity.

To help SF writers, here are some novums of potential near-future inventions from which stories could be built:

82 Eridani colonization
What if future space explorers decided to colonize a habitable world orbiting this star, which is slightly dimmer than our own sun? The solar system is about 19.77 light years away.

Fire-fighting wand
What if to put out a fire you could wave a wand that emitted an electric field destabilizing the flame��s underlying structure? Would this wand have other uses?

Microbatteries
What if with a 3D printer we could create lithium-ion batteries the size of a sand grain? How do this allow us to further miniaturize devices, whether they be medical implants or insect-size flying drones?

Sequoia replanting
What if in 2100, thanks to global warming, sequoias have almost entirely disappeared from national parks in California, but could now be grow in the Southern Cascades? In short, Lassen and Crater Lake national parks would grow sequoia groves that in a thousand years will look like they do now in Yosemite, Sequoia and Kings Canyon national parks.

Touchable pictures
What if via 3D printing we could create textured pictures that the visually impaired could feel to ��see�� a photograph? Could such textured pictures be the basis of a new form of art or carry human-assigned meanings that allow various textures to deliver symbolic messages?

Professional Book Editor: Having your novel, short story or nonfiction manuscript proofread or edited before submitting it can prove invaluable. In an economic climate where you face heavy competition, your writing needs a second eye to give you the edge. I can provide that second eye.

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5 Free Creative Writing Prompts: Science Fiction - Inventing Reality Editing Service

5 Great Science Fiction Writing Prompts - Inventing Reality Editing Service

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Published on April 17, 2018 04:45

How to Write a Bestselling Novel: In 7 Minutes a Day to ...

How to Write a Bestselling Novel: In 7 Minutes a Day to Your Bestseller, writers receive expert advice on topics like motivating yourself to write, starting your story with exciting opening lines, creating intriguing characters, mastering the craft of writing to elevate your style, and pitching your story to potential publishers.

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Writing Inspiration: Who are you?

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Published on April 16, 2018 04:45

5 Great Quotations about ��Why Write?��

��I was inspired to write this book by those who are skeptical of the power of freedom to change the world.�� - Nathan Sharansky

��I can shake off everything as I write; my sorrows disappear, my courage is reborn.�� - Anne Frank

��I write to discover what I think. After all, the bars aren��t open that early.�� - Daniel J. Boorstin

��It just happens to be the way that I��m made. I have to write things down to feel I fully comprehend them.�� - Haruki Murakami

��...Writing tells us we have choices. Writing tells us what those choices are. Writing tells us when we are shirking responsibility. Writing tells us we are overburdened...�� - Julia Cameron

Professional Book Editor: Having your novel, short story or nonfiction manuscript proofread or edited before submitting it can prove invaluable. In an economic climate where you face heavy competition, your writing needs a second eye to give you the edge. I can provide that second eye.

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Writing Inspiration: Who are you?