A professional editor's tips for improving your writing. All content copyright 2005 by Mary Jo Tate. http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/WritingTips/ en-us Homeschool Blogger Sun, 22 Jul 2007 19:24:00 -0500 Sun, 22 Jul 2007 19:24:00 -0500 My book coaching clients always ask about the best resources to learn about marketing their books. Here are my top three recommendations. Guerrilla Marketing for Writers by Jay Conrad Levinson, Rick Frishman, and Michael Larsen Grassroots Marketing for Authors and Publishers by Shel Horowitz (Note: if you buy the book directly from Shel at the website below, you’ll get some great bonuses! Tell Shel I sent you.) www.GrassrootsMarketingForAuthors.com 1001 Ways to Market Your Books by John Kremer   Be sure to check out John Kremer’s excellent site here: www.BookMarket.com Now get back to writing that book! Mary Jo Tate http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/WritingTips/360997/ Sun, 22 Jul 2007 19:24:00 -0500 http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/WritingTips/360997/ On August 17th, Alex Mandossian--one of the best marketing trainers I've ever encountered--will reveal his closely-guarded "Virtual Book Tour System" he has tested for the past 3 years.If you're in a hurry right now, listed below is your private registration link and VIP Code.><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><>< Here's your private access link; click it now: http://www.VirtualBookTourInfo.comYour VIP Discount Code is: "VBT-3964"(Saves you $79 from the normal $99 tuition)><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><-->>> Authors, Info Marketers, Publishers <<<--Because you're reading on, let me get more specific about WHO should attend this call.If you're an author, info marketer or publisher and you're sick and tired of humiliating "book tour" appearances or marketing campaigns that are inadequate, then this training is for you.Alex Mandossian has taken the old "book tour" concept to stratospheric new heights because his new and improved system lets you connect directly with your readers and audiences with nothing more than a telephone in your hand!This means you can promote your books not just in a few cities, but internationally ... ... and all at once!! -->>> What You'll Learn In Just 2 Hours <<<--The "Virtual Book Tour System" is a revolutionary concept for selling more books (or info products) and the idea was born at a book signing featuring former Vice President Al Gore.><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><Here's your private access link; click it now:http://www.VirtualBookTourInfo.comYour VIP Discount Code is: "VBT-3964"(Saves you $79 from the normal $99 tuition)><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><>< In just two hours, Alex promises to teach you: * Why the traditional book marketing and promotion sales model is now obsolete...* How to "repurpose" your content to rake in 50 times more profits with practically no work...* How to "outsource" your busywork to reliable vendors to give you laser-like focus on selling...* How to build your own online lists, even if you're just starting from scratch...* The precise step-by-step blueprint for doing your own Virtual Book Tour - from the comfort of  your own home or office...* How to interview famous authors, and much more!! -->>> Short-List Of Virtual Book Authors <<<-- During the past 3 years, Alex has conducted more Virtual Book Tours than anyone else on the planet.Maybe you've participated in a few of these?* Harvey Mackay (We Got Fired)* Joe Vitale (The Attractor Factor)* Gay/Katie Hendricks (Spirit-Centered Relationships)* Mark V. Hansen/Bob Allen (Cracking The Millionaire Code)...but wait, there's more... * Michael Masterson (Automatic Wealth)* Chris/Janet Attwood (The Passion Test)* Mireille Guiliano (French Women Don't Get Fat) * Bobbi DePorter (Quantum Success)* Stephen Covey (The 8th Habit) ...and there are still others...* Loral Langemier (The Millionaire Maker)* David Allen (Getting Things Done)* David Bach (Start Late, Finish Rich)* Marc Allen (The Lazy Person's Guide To Success) -->>> What If You Can't Attend? <<<-- I encourage you to register with your VIP Code, even if you can't attend this tele-training because you'll get access to the recordings by the following day.  That means you can listen to the call over and over again so you don't miss a morsel of content!Click the private registration link now and remember to type in your VIP Discount Code so you'll save $79 on your tuition cost.><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><>< Here's your private access link; click it now:http://www.VirtualBookTourInfo.comYour VIP Discount Code is: "VBT-3964"(Saves you $79 from the normal $99 tuition)>><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><Speak To You Soon,Mary Jo Tatehttp://www.VirtualBookTourInfo.com http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/WritingTips/183734/ Mon, 14 Aug 2006 14:51:00 -0500 http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/WritingTips/183734/ Do you have a passion for language—for words, sentences, paragraphs, and books?When you’re reading newspapers or magazines for pleasure, do you naturally spot errors in the text, even when you’re not consciously looking for them? (This is a surefire sign that you have the editorial instinct.)Have you ever felt the uncontrollable urge to correct a mailbox labeled “The Smith’s”?If you answered “Yes” to these questions, freelance editing may be the right business for you.I've distilled my 20 years of experience into a four-week course on the most essential information you need to get started as an editor.For all the details, go to: http://www.EditingBusiness.comBut don't delay!  The class starts in only 3 days!Blessings,Mary Jo Tate http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/WritingTips/119684/ Mon, 17 Apr 2006 21:09:00 -0500 http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/WritingTips/119684/ As publishing options expand beyond books, magazines, and newspapers into e-zines, web copy, blogs, and e-books, more people have the opportunity to write and publish than ever before.With all this writing and publishing going on, the need for skilled freelance editors is growing.That's one reason why my editing business is booming.I’ve been a freelance editor for 20 years.  My clients range from university presses to self-publishers of homeschool curriculum like Jay Wile of Apologia Science to internet marketing gurus like copywriter David Garfinkel.   And as a single mom for nearly five years, I’ve learned a lot about balancing business with educating my four boys at home.   People frequently ask me two questions:   “How do you do it all by yourself?”   and   “How can I get started as an editor?”   My good friend Rhea Perry of Educating for Success has twisted my arm to share some of what I’ve learned.    I’ll be talking with Rhea on Tuesday night, March 28, at 9:00 p.m. Eastern, and we’d love to have you join us on the call.Here are a few of the questions Rhea plans to throw at me:How can you determine if you have a natural editorial instinct that makes learning everything else you need to know a piece of cake?  Which skills does an editor need?Aren’t there different types of editing? How do you juggle working at home and family responsibilities? If you’d like to join us call, just register for the call by going here:http://www.educatingforsuccess.com/Editing_call.htmThere’s no charge for this call other than your regular long-distance fees.If you want to learn whether freelance editing may be the right business for you, then don’t miss this call.And if you just wonder how to balance a home business with family responsibilities, I hope you’ll be encouraged.  Plan to join us!I'll talk to you soon!   Mary Jo Tate  http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/WritingTips/106778/ Sun, 26 Mar 2006 20:13:00 -0600 http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/WritingTips/106778/ I'd like to tell you about a revolutionary, never-done-before, all-inclusive professional-grade business acceleration event specifically designed for authors, speakers, consultants, coaches, entrepreneurs, experts, and information marketers. It's called The BookCamp(tm) and there are several remarkable factors that make it a one-of-a-kind event. But before I get to that, first let me tell you about the folks behind this event. Between the two of them, BookCamp(tm) founders David Newman and Steven Rowell have written 9 books and produced over 500 events and seminars for their Fortune 500 corporate clients. And for the past five years, they have been attending and studying all sorts of boot camps, conferences, seminars, and events geared toward people like us—authors, experts, and information marketers. Over and over, they heard some consistent themes emerge from attendees: * I came here for content and all I got was a series of 90-minute sales pitches * Too much information — not enough implementation * Limited access to experts — I'd love to spend some 1-on-1 time with the gurus on MY specific business issues * Lots of success stories and strategies, but no templates and tools to go home with and use immediately Steven and David came up with a surefire formula to address all these shortcomings. You won't believe how simple their "Aha!" moment was! What if they took all the elements that made their corporate training EFFECTIVE and LASTING and applied it to an information marketing and entrepreneurial publishing extravaganza? In other words, what if it included: * Intense pre-work and preparation before you attend the event.* Content-rich "Exactly-how-to" templates and tools that you use DURING the event.* Extreme follow-up, implementation help, and advice AFTER the event.* "Anti-pitchfest" model — you pay one price and you have EVERYTHING in EVERY expert's basic package the moment you arrive.* Private 1-on-1 time with the experts of your choosing.* "Do-Doing-Done" accountability, support, and coaching for 6 months after the event.* Collaborative peer relationships (we call them joint ventures!) and onsite matchmaking to ensure equal access for EVERYone, not just the extroverted "salesy" people. Check it out here: http://www.AudioToBook.com/bookcamp The website is loaded with information, plus you can download their free special report, "27 Ways NOT to Get BURNED Building Your Business Around Your Book." Don’t delay!  Check out The Book Camp today and be sure to join tonight’s complimentary teleconference on “5 Ways to Guarantee You Will Get the Most Out of Any Event.”  Call details available through the site: http://www.AudioToBook.com/bookcamp To your success! Mary Jo Tate who will be speaking at Book Camp!   http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/WritingTips/96660/ Wed, 8 Mar 2006 14:40:00 -0600 http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/WritingTips/96660/ Nine years elapsed between the publication of The Great Gatsby and F. Scott Fitzgerald’s fourth novel, Tender Is the Night, which went through 3 plots and 17 separate drafts before publication.   When Fitzgerald was nearly finished writing Tender Is the Night, he wrote to Maxwell Perkins, his editor at Charles Scribner’s Sons, that he would deliver the manuscript in a month:   I will appear in person carrying the manuscript and wearing a spiked helmet. . . . You can imagine the pride with which I will enter your office a month from now. Please do not have a band as I do not care for music. (September 25, 1933; Dear Scott / Dear Max, pp. 181-182).   I am delighted to announce that I am wearing my own spiked helmet tonight.   Just moments ago I sent the final portions of the revision and expansion of my 1998 reference book, F. Scott Fitzgerald A to Z, to my publisher, Facts on File. The new volume, Critical Companion to F. Scott Fitzgerald, will be published in late 2006 or early 2007.   As one of my writing coaching clients recently told me, “Writing is fun, but to have written is satisfaction.”   I couldn’t agree more.   And I love music, so feel free to strike up the band!   Mary Jo Tate   Learn how to build a successful business around your book: http://www.kickstartcart.com/app/?af=335858   http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/WritingTips/92217/ Wed, 1 Mar 2006 00:47:00 -0600 http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/WritingTips/92217/ At the recommendation of the State Superintendent of Education, the Mississippi Board of Education has eliminated the portion of student testing requiring 10th-graders to write a narrative essay in order to graduate.   The superintendent's rationale was that the assessments were too time-consuming and needed to be trimmed.   The director of student assessment said that "students have a lot of trouble understanding the format, although it is sometimes clear from reading their essays they know how to express themselves."   He noted, "Over the years, we've had cases where a student was able to communicate clearly but not in the proscribed way."   This is not simply a typo.  It's the wrong word. In fact, it's a wrong word with the completely opposite meaning of what was intended!   Proscribed means "condemned or forbidden as harmful or unlawful."  He meant prescribed—specified with authority.   The error could be either the educator's or the reporter's—both of whom should presumably be able to navigate the English language a bit more accurately. Not to mention that the proofreaders at either the Associated Press or the local paper which printed the story should have caught this.   Now the even messier educational issue:  If the state board of education has been requiring a narrative essay for graduation, it would seem reasonable to assume that writing narrative essays has been taught in class at some point, so at a minimum, students shouldn't have trouble "understanding the format."    And if students aren't getting it, ditching the test is hardly the solution!  I can hear the deliberations at a meeting of the State Board of Education:  "Well, folks, too many third-graders have trouble understanding this multiplication thing, so let's just stop testing them in math."   I wonder if any of the educational powers-that-be considered that the problem might not be the test, but the quality of instruction in high school (and middle school) English classes.   Frankly, even without the issue of testing, learning how to write a decent, comprehensible essay in respectable English (with correct spelling, punctuation, grammar, and, yes, vocabulary choices) should be a part of any education. Not everyone will be a writer, but basic writing instruction should be part of everyone's education.   One more issue:  Self-expression is only one part of the equation. For true communication to occur, what the speaker or writer expresses must be comprehensible (and comprehended) by the listener or reader. Otherwise, it's just a tree falling in an uninhabited forest.   Mary Jo Tate http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/WritingTips/86823/ Sun, 19 Feb 2006 14:47:00 -0600 http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/WritingTips/86823/ I need your help.  In April I'll be speaking at a writers' conference, and I'd like to get some ideas for how I can be most helpful to the writers attending.   What's your biggest challenge as a writer?   Please leave a comment or e-mail me through the link at the left.   To express my thanks, I'll send you a copy of a special report about common writing mistakes and how to avoid them.  Be sure to supply your e-mail address if you'd like to receive this.   Thanks for your help!   Mary Jo Tate http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/WritingTips/85747/ Fri, 17 Feb 2006 08:55:00 -0600 http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/WritingTips/85747/ “Nobody ever became a writer just by wanting to be one. If you have anything to say, anything you feel nobody has ever said before, you have got to feel it so desperately that you will find some way to say it that nobody has ever found before, so that the thing you have to say and the way of saying it blend as one matter—as indissolubly as if they were conceived together. Let me preach again for a moment: I mean that what you have felt and thought will by itself invent a new style, so that when people talk about style they are always a little astonished at the newness of it, because they think that it is only style that they are talking about, when what they are talking about is the attempt to express a new idea with such force that it will have the originality of the thought” (20 October 1936; Life in Letters, pp. 313-314). http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/WritingTips/72063/ Mon, 23 Jan 2006 13:30:00 -0600 http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/WritingTips/72063/ Have you read Marvin Olasky's column, "DQ Country," in the January 14 issue of World magazine?http://www.worldmag.com/displayarticle.cfm?id=11433It's about the importance of determination in writing, and he includes painfully convicting quotes such as this one from E.B. White:"A writer who waits for ideal conditions under which to work will die without putting a word to paper."   Ouch!   Much of the article focuses on the importance of revising your writing . . . through multiple drafts.  This really can't be emphasized enough.   I've been editing professionally for nearly two decades now, and I can usually tell which of my clients have carefully revised their writing and which haven't.  I've edited more than a few articles that surely must have been unrevised first drafts . . . at least I hope they were.  I guess it would be even worse if they had actually been revised and still were so poorly written!   Many writers find that it works best to revise as a separate step, so that they can stay focused in creative, writing mode, then shift into self-editing mode later.  I tend to revise a bit as I go along, then go back and revise the entire article or chapter several times after I have completed a first draft.   Sloppy writing sends a message that you don't really care about your readers, about making it easy for them to follow your reasoning, or about making reading your work a pleasant experience for them.   If you're writing for publication, take the time to revise and polish your work.  Your readers will thank you!   Mary Jo Tate   http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/WritingTips/70681/ Thu, 19 Jan 2006 21:22:00 -0600 http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/WritingTips/70681/