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Beta-Reader Update #5
So, my second beta-reader has given me some quick, general feedback. The most significant one being that I need to axe some adverbs. It appears that I’ve overused several and need to cut a bunch out. So, that’s what I’ve been doing. Adverbs like clearly, obviously, actually were frequent and numerous, and I’ve cut out…
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Writing My Book Blurb…
My novel is now in the hands of my second beta-reader. While I’m taking another step away from the manuscript I’ve decided it’s time to start working on the book blurb/description. Which has been a lot harder than I thought. I started a couple weeks ago, and my first attempt was shared with a private…
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A Little Advice From Jon Rance
As readers of this blog know, I’ve been posting regular updates of the writing and editing process of my novel Not Famous. I’ve recently had a beta-reader give me her thoughts, and following her comments and input, I made some tweaks and trimmed out more than 10,000 words from the manuscript to tighten things up…
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Ranking Nick Hornby’s Film Adaptations
This summer, the film adaptation of Nick Hornby’s 2009 novel Juliet, Naked is expected to get (limited) American distribution.I’m looking forward to finally having the opportunity to see it, though, in truth, not every adaptation of Hornby’s novels has been a great, but the film was produced by Apatow Productions, and Chris O’Dowd (from The…
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Post-Beta-Reader Editing Part 2
A few days ago I reported that I was editing my novel with the goal of reducing the nearly 109,000 word manuscript down to less than 100,000. Today I can report that I succeeded in that goal. After two passes of edits, the manuscript went from 108,952 words to 98,727 — a reduction of 10,225…
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Post-Beta-Reader Editing Part 1
Well, I’ve been keeping busy since getting all the feedback from my beta-reader on my novel Not Famous. As I mentioned before, I got some great feedback, and I’ve already started going through the comments in the manuscript, making suggested changes. In addition to some editorial tweaks suggested by the beta-reader, I was advised to…
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Beta-Reader Update #4
Well, my beta-reader has finished her review of Not Famous. My beta-reader gave me a lot of insightful and useful criticism. I’d love to share it all with you, but some of it reveals some key plot points and I don’t want to share spoilers… but she did complimented the the “excellent story” and “strong…
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Responding to Nick Spalding’s Self-Publishing Tips
Yesterday I posted excerpts from Nick Spalding’s thirteen-year old tips on self-publishing, which he told me are all still applicable today. So, today I’m going to respond to his tips with my thoughts. 1. Don’t give up the day job Of course the dream is to sell lots of books, make tons of money, and…
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Self-Publishing Tips From Nick Spalding
Nick Spalding is a very successful author with indie roots, who went on to sign a six-figure book deal. Back in 2003, he gave us his top 10 self-publishing tips. I’ve posted them below with excerpts: 1. Don’t give up the day job “Everyone wants to live the dream and write full time, but it…
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Beta-Reader Update #3
Well, my beta-reader is now about sixty percent through Not Famous. Today I got some useful critiques that I have to work on. All of them center around issues she has with the main character Nick. She says he’s “jealous and self-centered sometimes” but she’s noted areas where I can easily tone it down. His…
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