Who knew, editing a novel would be such a tedious and long winded journey!

I know this is my first time having one of my novels professionally edited but boy, did I not realize how long the process would take.

It has been a few months now and there have been more than a few back and forwards with my editor, plus the many many re-reads, corrections,…

Read more

Hope you don’t mind me reading your version, but dang, you have a knack with words. Well done. Read well, lots of description, things I need to learn too.

Interesting read.

I found it hard to follow at first, as the violence jumped in so quickly. If this man is a stranger to her and had intent on hurting her, you might want to elaborate on that more, before she throws a jar of pickles at him. It came across quite confronting, and confusing.

The comment about seeing his blue eyes and green snood on…

Read more

Good morning all,

I am hoping to get some advice please. I am currently editing my book with an editor and she has made a few changes to my inner monologue sections, which has left me a bit confused (yes I have asked her to clarify things but yet to hear back).

My book has a few characters, with the MC in 1st POV and all other characters in 3rd POV.…

Read more

Thank you. I will take all you said and work on what I have written so far.

Thank you. With further investigations I found out I need to basically tell the whole story. Guess they will know from the synopsis if it is something they are interested in.

Thank you for this.

How does one write their synopsis, when the book has a Mystery/Suspense theme?

I am close to finishing the 3rd edit of my novel and am now concentrating on the synopsis, so I can get it ready for finally editor/publishers but I don’t want to give away the ending to the novel in the synopsis I need to write.

Plus, on average, now long is the…

Read more

Thank you. That is pretty much how I type. Comma when I would breath, but my word program tends to want more comma’s than I would usually use. I guess a lot might have changed since I left school 30 years ago too.

I will persist with how I usually type, and maybe leave it up to the editors to correct.

Thank you.

It is a learning curve in the long list of skills needed to write a good book. I love the fact other writers on here are very willing to give advice.

I will take all I get and hopefully, in time, will gain a better understanding of the best grammar and punctuation do’s and do nots.

Thank you. I have removed a fair amount of the comma’s as I am going through my edited novel, and am ignoring the computer when it tries to underline the words. I have also found, that perhaps I have needed to change my wording, for the sentence to not require the comma.

Your input has helped. Once again, thank you.

Thank you. I understand what you are saying.

With too many comma’s the sentence structure is messed up, and even reading the sentence out loud, I stumble over the commas. I might just write the way I would normally do so, and get the editor to give feedback at the end.

Thank you for your input. I have always used commas in my writing , but have honestly noticed that word wants me to put them in places I usually wouldn’t. This leads to those annoying little lines, which make me think I am not grammatically correct.

I might just go back to how I have always written and ‘ignore’ the hints. Perhaps the next edit of…

Read more

Last week my sister gave me back my novel, which she had finished editing (Full edit: grammar, spelling, punctuation, repetition etc.) and she lovingly asked me,

“What is with all the comma’s?”

I replied “Don’t ask me about the comma’s! I am so sick of the comma’s. Word keeps wanting me to add them in places that do not need them. If I don’t…

Read more

Hi, I am not sure where you are, but if you are a neighbor, I guess you are not that far away from me. 😀

Hi. I am still here, and sorry you could not attach the screen shot. I am sure I will work it out one day.

I have finally gotten my book to the stage, that I need to find an editor, to complete the final full read of my book.

So my question is, who can edit books and what exactly will they be looking for?

Friends, family or someone who has certified qualifications?

Do they look for spelling errors? Grammar and punctuation? Story line and flow? I have no…

Read more

Thank you. I shall check it out.

Thank you very much. 😃

Thank you. It is never too late to celebrate! 😀

Thank you. Not only did I finish it, but I gave it to my sister to read/edit. Once I got it back, I made a few changes, added a few more chapters, and now it has been finished once more. Time to find an editor, and make this book dream, a reality!

😃 I’m not sure if i could work in complete silence, but I guess, if I was fully immersed in my writing, I properly wouldn’t even hear anything anyway. Hahahaha

😃I love how diverse we all are, yes we all have the same goal. Write a damn good book we will be proud of! Thanks for your response. I hope what ever book you are writing, is coming along nicely.

It’s on Instagram. I havent as yet created a Facebook one, so I hope you didn’t look there.

Now that I have finished the first draft of my novel, and it is currently being read/edited, I have moved onto my second book.

I also recently read a post, commenting, that it would be a wise idea, to create a personnel Facebook page or Instagram account, to promote your book and share with people of like minds, that you are an author.

So I have…

Read more

Thank You

Well done Scott. Best of luck to you and your book.

My answer … yes!

Reason: When inspiration hits, go with the flow. When I started to write my first novel, within two days, I had come up with a second novel idea and a week later, a third novel.

I focused on the first one for a few weeks, and when I hit a block, I wrote more on the second book. Forward to 13 years later, I have now finished my…

Read more

Thank you. I love the fact you are trying to work out why she would be kidnapped. As i have started editing my novel, i am loving it even more and can’t wait to try getting it published, so readers like you, can get just as excited.

Thank you. Hopefully, the reader will, one day get to find out.

Thank you very much.

Thank you. I have finally finished writing my book and have now started to edit it. Fingers crossed, i’ll be sending it off to publishers soon. Maybe one day, you’ll get to find out the ending,

Thank you very much. I do hope that i have achieved the suspense needed to hold captive the readers. Time to edit my novel and hopefully, find a publisher

Thank you. I have had so much fun writing this book… even though it took me 13 years to finish it. I love the ending it has.

Book Title: Remember me

Genre: Mystery/thriller

Simple Story: Young lady wakes up in hospital, with amnesia from a car accident. No one knows who she is or where she came from. No missing persons match her description.

Complicator: She begins a new life in the town where she had the car accident and even falls in love, but things go terribly wrong,…

Read more

Crying the biggest and happiest crocodile tears, because last night, I finally finished writing my first novel! Remember Me

Granted it’s only the first edit, but never the less, it is finally done.

I started this novel on the 30th March 2010, and yesterday, at 11.45pm 30th September 2023, I wrote the last words.

I know I still have a long way to…

Read more

When I started writing this novel, back in 2010, I never had a plan on how long it was going to be, how many words I was going to type or how many chapters would fill the book.

Over time, and looking at my own collection of books and novels, I soon realized, I wanted my book to be about 350 – 400 pages long. Word count … unknown.

Today, after…

Read more

Thank you. Your kind words mean a lot.

Thank you for your feedback.

After doing this exercise, I did actually go back to my novel, and made a few changes. Not as much as in this task, but I could definitely see where improvements could be made.

Thank you for your input. I agree with you in regards to describing things a bit more. It’s always hard to decide when and where to add description, without going overboard.

It is nice too see how other people view things, even when they are only getting a small part of a larger picture, and as for the mystery, well, you’ll just have to read the…

Read more

Thank you reading this and any feedback would be greatly appreciated.

Scene: Amber Cooper still has not gotten her memory back, so she is checking again with the local sheriff, to see if any new missing persons report have come in, that might fit her description.

As written in my book:

“I know why you’re here and I’m sorry to tell you, that nothi…

Read more

Thank you for your constructive comments.

I hadn’t even noticed the extra ‘room’. lol. Thanks for seeing it. It has been amended in my book. I think my fingers type faster than my brain sometimes.

Thank you for your comment.

The only pressure I’m putting on myself, is to finish the first draft of this book. lol.. I’ve been attempting to write it for the past 13 years. In the past few weeks, I have written more than I ever have in the past, and, not long after typing this chat, I wrote another 5 pages, finally hitting the 300 mark.

Although I…

Read more

Hoping this is the right context for the task.

Characters: Amber, young woman with amnesia and Tracey, a nurse Amber is currently living with.

Story: Amber, still not knowing who she is, is starting to hear things. In this scene, she has just heard footsteps outside her bedroom, in the hallway. With all the courage she has, she steps out of her…

Read more