Quick Editing Excerpts from Carolyn Howard-Johnson
1. Here's one of my favorite agent tips found in the third edition of my The Frugal Editor's chapter titled “Let’s Peek Into the minds and Inboxes of Literary Agents." It's full of query letter pet peeves agents generously let me quote: Kae Tienstra says agents can tell when they are being “buttered up...we know you’re impressed with our ‘wonderful publishing credentials and vast experience’ as agents. But, ya know? We’ve only been agents for a short time so who are we kidding here?”
2. Don’t trust your spell checker. “…copy-and-paste remnants hang in your copy until you, the author, an editor, or a careful reader (embarrassing!) ream them out. That’s because spell checkers don’t recognize one or two letters like a or an as typos. They also don’t know the difference for the spelling of many homonyms that you will know once you have read The Frugal Editor’s chapter on homonyms writers frequently miss.
3. The Frugal Editor gives you permission to try to get in on the book cover discussion, even if your book will be traditionally published. The most destructive and common error? Putting the author’s name in small font at the bottom of the cover design.
4. Keep up with the latest trends in “politically correct” language. Yes. Even if you don’t intend to abide by them. Sometimes it isn’t about politics at all. It’s about avoiding reviewer’s critiques or, worse, rejections from agents, publishers, and the journalists who might otherwise give you some free ink. (Learn more in the chapter “About Stuff That Shouldn’t Trouble Us But Does.”)
5. Even humorists who do not plan to write a book need to brush up on the niceties of dialogue. The media uses anecdotes (with or without dialogue) more than ever before. Find little tidbits in my “Editor’s Extras” scattered throughout The Frugal Editor including the one titled “Stephen King on Making Dialogue Logical.”
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Carolyn Howard-Johnson is the author of the newly released third edition of
The Frugal Editor from Modern History Press. It is the second multi award-winning book in her
HowToDoItFrugally Series where it serves as an example of Amazon’s new
free benefit for series of books that offers a special package deal—much like a boxed set—for all her books. (That’s a bonus tip!)
The Frugal Editor has been fully updated including a chapter on how backmatter can be extended to help readers and nudge book sales. It’s available on Amazon in paper, hard cover, or as an e-book.
