How do I become an editor? (Part 3)

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The last person who works on the words in the manuscript is the proofreader. This is still part of the editing process, but the proofreader has little say about the manuscript itself. By the time the proofreader gets the manuscript, the designer and typesetter have done their jobs and created a PDF that will look like the final book.

The proofreader looks over the entire book visually, then reads every word, every sentence, every paragraph, and every piece of punctuation. Any corrections are marked on the PDF and sent back to the typesetter for correction.

If content editing is the 10,000-foot view, and if copyediting is the 1,000-foot view, then proofreading is the 10-foot view. At this point, the content edit has handled the big-picture issues and the copyedit has cleaned up all of the sentences. Now, as proofreader, you should be able to dig in and look closely for errors.

The proofreader’s job

The proofreader is not an editor or copyeditor. No one wants the proofreader’s input on the book’s content, or how well the sentences are written, or whether a character is flat or not. Truly, no one cares. That is not the proofreader’s job to give that kind of feedback.

While proofreaders are looking for errors only, it’s a far bigger job than just reading copy. The proofreader carefully goes over the entire visual look of a project—whether it’s the pages of a book or a magazine or a newspaper. Even if a manuscript looks perfect when turned in to typesetting, errors can occur in layout that don’t show up on a manuscript.

For example, if a random tab is embedded in the Word document—a tab that hasn’t resulted in actually moving the words to an odd location on the line (perhaps because the tab was close to a tab stop and therefore is there but not seen)—that tab will rear its ugly head on the typeset page by taking the words and spreading them far apart on a line. Only the proofreader will see this.

In the same way, sometimes Microsoft Word can bury random font sizes and, when typeset, suddenly the font size on a page will vary between paragraphs. I’ve proofed pages where I could clearly tell that one paragraph had a slightly larger font than the surrounding paragraphs. I had to mark it and ask the typesetter to double check the font size and fix it to be consistent.

If copy has to fit into a certain pre-designed space on a page (say a column in a magazine or newspaper, or a small page in a devotional book), run-over can occur, resulting in copy that just appears to be missing. A proofreader can go through and delete as needed to keep the piece intact but have it still fit. This is where having a proofreader who is a wordsmith can be very valuable. Generally, you don’t want to leave this to typesetters to do (and they don’t want to).

Proofreaders look over the pages to make sure the visual elements look right and are consistent. When I proofread a book, for example, I look at individual elements across all of the pages; that is, I don’t try to look for everything on every page at the same time. Sometimes there are too many things happening on the pages.

I have proofread several devotional books. In one series in particular, every page had a date, every month had its own color that was used for the running heads (those dates) and various parts of the copy. The first paragraph of each devotional used a drop cap (a larger capital letter, also in that’s month’s color). There were specific spacing and centering issues, and a box at the bottom held a few words of encouragement for the day.

The types of errors I found were color mistakes, too many words in a devotional resulting in the typeset page ending in the middle of a sentence (I had to go back to the original manuscript to find out what the rest of the devo said and then find a way to edit so that it would fit), some spacing issues at the ends of lines, hyphenation problems, and ellipses that broke over lines and needed to be pulled back together.

Proofreaders check the running heads—in the case of books, these are the lines across the tops of the pages. Usually on the verso (left-hand, even numbered) page, the book name appears; on the recto (right-hand, odd numbered) page is the chapter title. The proofreader checks that the chapter title running heads are indeed in the chapter with that name. I once was looking at Bible pages and the book of Deuteronomy still had the Genesis running head; another time I proofread a book where the running head on the verso page was missing a word out of the title.

Very few of the corrections will have to do with spelling or grammar errors if you had a good copyeditor; most will have to do with issues that arose in typesetting and would not be seen until proofreading those typeset pages.

The process of proofreading

When I proofread a book, I use a checklist (included below) to make sure that I remember to look at everything.

Overall look

It’s important to first do an overall look at the book, page by page. It’s impossible to try to do that while reading the pages. Better to go page by page and check visual elements first. For instance:

  • most books have justified right margins; scan each page that all paragraphs are consistent
  • if the chapter beginnings are all to start on a recto, or if they can start on either a recto or verso, that this is indeed happening
  • if the chapter start pages all begin in the same spot—that is, if they begin halfway down the page, that the spacing is the same on all of them
  • if the chapter title begins with a number or the number along with a title that the numbers are sequential and that the fonts are the same (I once proofed a book that had two chapter 8s and no chapter 9—it was just a typo)
  • that if the first paragraph of a chapter begins with a drop cap (a larger first letter dropped down into the paragraph) that every chapter begins with a drop cap
  • alignment along tops of bottoms of pages
  • running headers or footers are consistent
  • consistency across all pages and design elements

The actual reading

After all of this is completed, only then do I go back and read every word. Every word. From the title page, through the copyright page, through the Table of Contents, through the endnotes.

  • mark only true errors and inconsistencies
  • watch for widows and orphans (the single word or two sitting alone at the top or bottom of a page)
  • correct grammar, spelling, and punctuation
  • following the publisher style guide and editor style sheet
  • citations: footnotes or endnotes; bibliography entries

For illustration of some of the above points, check this post for when I was proofreading my book.

Becoming a proofreader

As with the copyediting job, proofreading can also be your entree into the editorial publishing world. Often these jobs are outsourced by publishers to freelancers. Much of the advice and resources for becoming a copyeditor apply to being a proofreader. You need to know grammar, punctuation, and spelling; you need to understand the style manuals, guides, and sheets; you need to practice. Here are a few more:

(1) Learn how to work with Adobe (you’ll need it on your computer so you can open the PDF files). A free version allows you to do what you need to do — see the PDF pages and highlight and note errors. With a free version, you can’t actually make the edits; you can only mark them — but seriously, leave the revisions to the typesetter who knows what she’s doing. A change you make could cause a page to reflow, creating other issues on subsequent pages. So stay in your lane and just mark the changes.

(2) Practice whenever you can — not just with reading words but also with noticing inconsistencies in visuals (fonts, colors, spacing, etc.). Offer to proofread others’ writing — blogs, resumes, cover letters, the church newsletter, anything. Just continue to hone your skills.

Here are a few online resources for practice:

(3) As noted with copyediting, don’t use AI tools like ChatGPT. Don’t ever put a PDF of someone’s work into such a program! It has to be done by you. If an experienced proofreader can come along behind you to help you see what you might have missed, that would be invaluable in your training.

(4) Hone your skills in attention to detail. Often I’ve been proofreading a manuscript and come across some inconsistency that jars me. For instance, something like a name, Billie. I’ll think to myself, “Didn’t I see it spelled as Billy somewhere else?” A quick search for Billy will show me if that’s the case; the number of instances of one or the other gives me a sense of what the author really wanted to do. And I would make a note that the name needs consistent spelling.

(5) While most proofreading is done on PDFs, once in a while you may have to proofread on actual paper. This is where you’ll need to learn proofreader marks. I’ve placed a sheet here that you can download to learn some of the most used markings.

Proofreader MarksDownload

As noted with Part 2, Copyediting, proofreading can also be an entree into the publishing world.

And as a final note, whatever monk was proofing what became known as The Wicked Bible, missed the word “not”:

Courtesy Wicked Bible, Wikipedia

We proofreaders often save people a whole lot of confusion and consternation. And sometimes morality!

How do I become an editor? (Part 2)

lindaktaylor1 Comment

Following along from Part 1 of this little series about becoming an editor, today we’ll talk about the copyediting process.

I tell my students that this (or proofreading) will be the entry level job in a publishing house. To break in, they will look for jobs as copyeditors or sometimes they’re labeled as editorial assistants.

In a publishing house, after the content editor, in consultation with the author, finalizes the manuscript and considers it solid at the big-picture level, the manuscript will move on to a copyeditor.

The copyeditor reads at a more micro level. The macro work has been completed, so the copyeditor focuses on every paragraph, every sentence, every word, every bit of punctuation. She reads closely for sentence construction—looking for dangling or misplaced modifiers, run-ons, lack of parallelism, correct subject and verb forms. He fact checks and queries if something doesn’t make sense. She marks if a transition is needed. He checks spelling, grammar, and punctuation and works to be correct without changing the author’s voice or stylistic choices. (Yes, sentence fragments are often just fine.)

In addition, the copyeditor makes sure that the the manuscript follows house style guidelines. For instance, some Christian publishing houses may have a style that uppercases deity pronouns (He, His, Him, etc.). The copyeditor will make sure all pronouns for God, Jesus, and the Holy Spirit are capitalized. However, if an author doesn’t want it that way (or if everything were vice versa), the copyeditor notes that on the style sheet. On that sheet goes anything specific to a manuscript that the copyeditor doesn’t want proofreaders to change when they do their pass.

The copyeditor makes the manuscript readable.

But wait, there’s more! The copyeditor also makes sure the front matter (title page, copyright page, table of contents, dedication page, etc.) and back matter (appendix, index, endnotes) are in place. He might often be charged with writing the back cover copy for the book.

Besides understanding the role and where you would fit into the publication process, what else do you need to know to be a copyeditor?

Grammar, punctuation, spelling

You need to absolutely know the basics, but beyond that, you must be willing to get into the weeds to really understand where commas should go, how to use semi-colons, nuking passive voice (when necessary), or how to render footnotes and bibliography entries.

Here are a few resources:

  • The students in my editing class use The Copyeditor’s Handbook (currently in its 4th edition) and the accompanying The Copyeditor’s Workbook (also currently in 4th edition). Working through these books will provide a solid foundation for you to know more than you ever wanted to know about grammar and punctuation. But to be an excellent copyeditor, you need these skills. I highly recommend these books for your personal study and reference if you want to be a copyeditor.
  • For fun and to test your skills, take advantage of several weblinks that offer grammar quizzes. See what you know; test what you still need to learn or improve. Try: Punctuation Practice Test; Free Grammar Quizzes (you can pay for more access, but try all the free stuff first); Purdue Online Writing Lab (OWL). Work your way through all of these. Find out your weak spots and then study up!
  • Work on your spelling and know the correct word. You do know the difference between disinterested and uninterested? Affect and effect? Venomous and poisonous? Save this link on your computer, Easily Confused Words, to check on words where you’re just not clear. Study them, learn them. When a word gives you pause, look it up! Your dictionary is still your best friend.
https://www.writeforharlequin.com/inside-harlequin-copy-editing-with-taryn-ortolan/

Style manuals, guides, sheets

You’ll need to know how to use style manuals; these industry “bibles” provide the standards for correct usage of anything from how to write people’s titles or addresses, to how to render times of day, to how to write centuries, to the order the front and back matter pieces. Study these books and always have them on hand as references when you come across something you need to know how to do correctly.

  • If you want to get into book editing, you should have a copy of The Chicago Manual of Style (currently in its 18th edition) or a membership to its website. This is the standard guidance for all of book publishing.
  • For magazine and news editing, which use AP style, you’ll want a copy of The Associated Press Stylebook (currently in its 57th edition).

Style guides are specific to every publisher, every organization. They should have standardized spellings and usages for words or other notations specific to the industry. For example, each Christian publisher may have a different way to write Bible book abbreviations and references, or different spellings for names of people or places (is it Ishbosheth, Ish-bosheth, or Ish Bosheth — actually all three are correct depending on the publisher).

If you’re working for a particular company as an employee or freelancer, get their style guide. The guide supersedes the style manuals (noted above), so you always go to the guide first.

As you work on a particular project, you may create a style sheet that will go with that project, noting any choices made by you or the author that differ from the style guide or style manual. For instance, I once proofread a book in which the author wanted the word Heaven capitalized. In most style guides, that word is lowercased, but because the author wanted it that way, that word went on the style sheet. That way, when the book went to the proofreader, he wouldn’t lowercase the word as incorrect.

Microsoft Word

Chances are you’re working in Microsoft Word, which is the industry standard for manuscript submissions. As a copyeditor, you can make use of the Editor tool (on the Home ribbon) that can do a quick check of spelling, grammar, punctuation, and other writerly issues. I would only use this as a preliminary pass, however, as it isn’t perfect.

  • Learn how to do track changes. (And learn how to hide track changes while you’re working. That can help you avoid introducing errors while you copyedit.)
  • Learn how to accept and reject changes.
  • Learn how to do commenting. This is so important in explaining a change you’re making or querying when needed.
  • My YouTube channel has several videos that can help you with other tasks, such a inserting a title page, adding a Table of Contents, or doing basic cleanup tasks before you begin copyediting.
  • One video explains how to use templates and style tags. You may or may not need to do this for a publisher, but if it comes up, this video can help.

And note, never put what you’re working on into ChatGPT for a proofread or grammar check. You’re basically giving away that writing when you do so — someone’s creative work, a professor’s research, or company internal information. Steer clear!

Practice

Practice copyediting every chance you get. Offer to read the church newsletter or the worship song slides (!!). Anytime anyone has written anything, it needs another set of eyes. Let those eyes be yours.

Consider certifications

You might consider enhanced training and professional certifications through organizations such as ACES: The Society for Editing, EFA (Editorial Freelancers Association), or CIEP (Chartered Institute of Editing & Proofreading, based in the UK), or other courses at local colleges or writers conferences. You will always learn something new.

After all, we editors are saving the world by fixing one typo at a time!

How do I become an editor? (Part 1)

lindaktaylor4 Comments

I’ve had several students take my Editing class and end up saying that it was that class that helped them discover what they wanted to do for a living. They’d been casting around, trying to be writers, and realizing that their love for words did not necessarily translate into becoming the next great American novelist. But give them a fresh manuscript to respond to, to make suggested changes on? They were off and running. They discovered that their love for words—both as readers and as writers—helped them be able to consider a manuscript, see the places where it fell short, and make suggestions. They wanted to become editors.

In my Editing class, we cover all stages of editing. I explain to my students that they probably won’t naturally enjoy all three of them—content editing, copyediting, proofreading—instead, they’ll probably take to one over the others. Inevitably, by the end of the class, some have discovered that they love the big-picture editing; others really liked the grammar portion of the class and wanted to copyedit because they can get in and mess with the sentences; others particularly enjoyed the proofreading we did on PDFs because they loved looking for errors.

It’s natural to gravitate to a particular form of editing. However, if you truly want to try to do this as a potential career, your starting point is going to be in the area of copyediting (more on that in upcoming posts). Rarely do content editing jobs open up without requiring several years of experience. However, that doesn’t mean, if this part really does come naturally to you, that you can’t do this as a freelancer.

Learning the phases of the book editing process and putting them in the correct order.

Of course, some students realize that they don’t like any of it and just want to stay on the other side of the table as writers. That’s fine. I tell them that at least the class gave them an understanding of what editors do so that, if and when they get a book contract, they’ll understand how their editor is trying to help them.

So whether you’re thinking of hanging out a shingle and doing freelance editing, or if you’re looking for a job at a publication of some kind (whether books, newspapers, or magazines), over the next few posts, I want to share with you key things to do to help you become an editor.

Content editing: the big picture

Let’s talk about the first pass on a manuscript: content editing. This has other names — sometimes developmental editing (which goes back a couple of steps and helps an author actually put together the book) or line editing. In any case, content editing is big picture editing.

For fiction: You’re reading for plot, setting characterization, rising action-climax-falling action (Freytag’s triangle), pacing, and theme. Do you want to keep reading? Is the story compelling?

For nonfiction: You’re reading to make sure the topic is covered well, that the book flows logically, that it’s written well for the target audience, that sources are noted and correct, and other things depending on the manuscript. If you’re working on a memoir, many of the factors you watch for in fiction also come into play.

Genres matter

Just as you may find yourself drawn to different types of editing, you will also find yourself drawn to different genres when it comes to what you like to edit. And you can gain expertise in those genres and focus your editing there.

For example, in nonfiction, content editing a memoir will be different from content editing a self-help book; in fiction, content editing a romance novel will be different from content editing a fantasy or sci-fi novel. Not that you can’t cross genres, but you’ll find a comfort zone and will be able to do your best work once you find it.

When content editing, it helps for you to understand how the genre works. If you love fantasy writing and understand it and hope to edit it, then continue to read lots of fantasy. Read your favorite fantasy authors, read blogs by fantasy writers, read the best of the best. And then, for good measure, read a few bad books as well so you can discern what is making the difference. When you’re marinating in a genre, content editing that fantasy manuscript will be easier because you’ll more easily see what’s missing and what will improve it. You’ll recognize the overused tropes and you’ll get a sense of what draws you as the reader into the story.

Of course, that doesn’t mean you should read only fantasy. Read widely. Read the classics. Read outside your favorite genre. Read nonfiction books about writing and editing. The more that you learn about the process for both writers and editors, the better content editor you’ll be.

Stay in your lane

When doing this pass, you don’t worry about grammar or spelling or sentence structure—instead, you’re reading to see how the whole book hangs together. Your mind can’t process the big picture elements if you’re also trying to correct grammar and punctuation along the way. Besides, you may end up having the author cut or revise whole sections of the book, making it a waste of time to copyedit the detail. Leave that for the copyeditor who comes next in the process after the manuscript has been finalized by the author and content editor.

Follow along in coming weeks for more on becoming an editor, focusing on the copyediting role.

Unlocking SEO: How Keyword Titles Boost Video Views

lindaktaylor5 Comments

I honestly never thought much about SEO (search engine optimization) until one of my students. Grant, decided to take on that topic as his final senior project in our Professional Writing major. He had found the topic interesting during our Social Media Strategy class and decided he wanted to learn more.

He researched deep into the weeds of the topic, wrote his paper, and did a final presentation that allowed him to consolidate the research and give the basics of search engine optimization in a presentation that was understandable to those of us who knew nothing. After graduation, Grant got a job with Visit Indiana, the tourism arm of the State of Indiana — now working as webmaster for their website with its tens of thousands of pages. When it comes to SEO, he knows his stuff.

Search engine optimization basically optimizes your search on the search engines … which means that we want to write our titles and posts and internet copy using key words that searchers are going to put into the search bars. When we do so, there is more chance of the algorithm finding our material and bringing it higher on the results. (That’s a way-too-simplified version and it’s beyond my comprehension, but I do understand working with words to match search words.)

Every semester, Grant graciously returns to my classroom to present that basic introduction to SEO to my students. Many of them have no idea what it is or how to use it.

And, if I’m honest, neither did I.

I had started a YouTube channel a few years ago with nothing more than a few screenshotted videos of me showing writers how to do various tasks in Microsoft Word (creating a title page, creating a Table of Contents, etc.). I recorded one of them because a former employer asked me to show how to do style tagging so they could send the video to clients. I created others to go along with my Pathway to Publication book as part of the manuscript formatting chapter. My little YouTube channel sat fairly quiet, with a few folks clicking on and viewing my videos.

As Grant taught about SEO, he explained the power of using key words in titles and descriptions, thinking of what a searcher on Google is going to ask. He suggested that we plug in some questions, and then scroll down to the “People also ask” section to get an idea of those googled questions, the “How do I …?” questions. I went back and changed the titles and descriptions to my eight videos (I know, I said it was a small channel) to questions or statements someone would actually put into Google.

For instance, “Title pages” became “Creating a title page in Microsoft Word,” and in the description of the video is the question, “How do I add a title page to my manuscript?”

A few months passed without me checking in. Last week, I opened the YouTube page to show it to the students in my Editing class to let them know some of the things we talked about in class are in video form there. One student piped up: “Wow, you have 11,000 views on that one video.”

Whaaaaat?

Just in case you can’t see it:

I honestly didn’t think it was real. I sent the screenshot to Grant, thanking him profusely and asking him also if this could even be real. He checked it for me, and then sent me this screenshot, showing that my video appears as the first video option when he googled “how to create a title page in Microsoft Word.”

“You should be proud of yourself,” he kindly said.

I don’t think I’d say that. I just find it exciting to see that yes, indeed, SEO thinking works. AND that so many folks happened upon my little video and, hopefully, made killer title pages!

I’m basically an influencer now …

Great editors: Starling Lawrence

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I was asked recently about what God has taught me through my writing career. While I do admit to enjoying writing, really most of my learning has been through my editing career. In both cases, however, the key lesson has been humility.

On the one hand, writers need humility to handle the (often many) edits of our work, and (often) outright rejection. Editors also require humility because we labor in the background. We don’t get credit for the work; that remains with the author, as it should. But those books became what they did because of the hard work of the editor with the author. That’s why I’ve enjoyed celebrating unsung editorial heroes on this blog; folks such as Maxwell Perkins, Faith Sale, and Tay Hohoff, among others.

This past month, we lost yet another legendary editor, Starling Lawrence, who had a 55-year editorial career at W. W. Norton. I have to admit, of course, I’d never heard of him, but I’ve certainly heard of books he edited, including The Perfect Storm by Sebastian Junger, and Moneyball and The Blind Side by Michael Lewis (all three of which were books before they became movies).

When he started at Norton in 1969, Lawrence had the unenviable job of “reader,” sifting through the “slush pile,” the name for the pile of unsolicited manuscripts that came into the offices and were dropped somewhere for someone to eventually take the time to read. He said that this job taught him “an important lesson about patience and paying attention to the job, no matter what it is.” Publisher’s Weekly noted that, “As he panned for gold among the submissions, he trained ‘a voice that has endless patience for what does interest him,’ as Lewis put it.”

The W.W. Norton website wrote this tribute: “During his more than five decades at Norton, Lawrence had an unmatched impact on the trade list, shaping its character with culturally important books that sold millions of copies. Lawrence discovered future bestsellers in unlikely places: the slush pile of unsolicited manuscripts, the dusty top shelf of an agent’s bookcase, and in proposals rejected by the rest of the industry. As he once noted, ‘It is remarkable in hindsight that for two of the most important books I ever acquired, Sebastian Junger’s The Perfect Storm and Michael Lewis’s Liar’s Poker, there were no other offers on the table.’”

With the latter author, Michael Lewis, Lawrence built a strong relationship that led to 17 books, including the above-mentioned Moneyball and The Blind Side. Lewis wrote of Lawrence, “When I sit down to write, the only voice I hear in my head is Star’s” (W.W. Norton website).

That’s a powerful editor/author relationship!

Across his five decades at Norton, Lawrence championed and edited “scores of era-defining books” (ShelfAwareness). “‘It is impossible to overstate the effect Star Lawrence has had on Norton,’ said Julia Reidhead, chairman and president. ‘His taste was as confident and true as his spirit, and he transformed our list with some of the greatest writers of our time'” (W.W. Norton website).

That’s an amazing legacy. While he did write a few of his own books, he spent most of his career in the shadows, behind the scenes, relegated to the Acknowledgments page (if at all) of the many books for which he as the best reader, the shaper, the author encourager.

That’s what I’m teaching my students in Editing class right now. If they want this career, it will be extremely rewarding but will not bring them fame or fortune. They must do it for the love of the words and the love of good stories.

4 reasons to attend the Taylor University Professional Writers Conference

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One of the hats I wear is coordinator of the annual Taylor University Professional Writers Conference, held every summer on the university’s beautiful campus. And I am inviting you.

Just a little over 10 years ago, we started this conference, wondering, “If we build it, will they come?” Well, came they did, and we’ve been running a successful conference ever since. The conference is a natural outgrowth of the Taylor University Professional Writing major, where students are trained, among other things, to navigate the world of publishing. Meeting and networking (and sometimes interning) with agents, authors, editors, and social media experts from across the Christian publishing industry is just one of the many plusses of our program.

Here are 4 reasons you should attend our 2025 conference:

1. It’s short and inexpensive.

Our General Conference runs a day and a half and is packed with sessions and fun. It runs from Friday, July 25 at 1:00 to Saturday, July 26 at 5:00. During that time are options of 32 different sessions, 3 keynotes, open mic readings, faculty book signing, and one-on-one appointments.

And all of that (including meals) for just $139. You’ll get Friday dinner, and Saturday breakfast and lunch, and all of the activities above. If you’d like to stay overnight on campus, you can for an extra fee of $70/night.

2. Add a day for some extra, advanced training.

For $139, including meals, you can opt to come to one of our pre-conference tracks. Beginning at 1:00 on Thursday, July 24 and ending with lunch on Friday, July 25. This is an opportunity to go deeper with a particular topic. You can choose from the following two options.

Option A: Deep POV / Prepping Your Proposal

In this Advanced Track, you’ll be privileged to learn from literary agent, Linda Glaz, who had been acquiring manuscripts, editing them, and coaching writers for 13 years. You’ll learn on Thursday about deep POV, the kind of writing that will deepen the experience of the reader and allow him/her to stay in the characters’ points of view. Then, on Friday, you’ll do a deep dive into how to write a solid book proposal–one of your first steps for the gatekeepers in the publishing work.

Option B: Comics Unlocked

​Your teachers (two Taylor U students) have been interested in comic books for their entire lives and are excited to share their knowledge with you. In their Comics Unlocked sessions, you’ll learn the history of comics, the craft of comic book creation (including formatting, script writing, pacing, and page layout), the artist/writer collaboration process, and possible paths to publication. You’ll also have the opportunity to work on your own comic book pitch and plan.

3. Do both a pre-conference track and the general conference for a reduced price.

If you choose one of the pre-conference tracks AND the general conference, you get both for $249. You’ll move seamlessly from having lunch on Friday after your pre-conference session to the general conference that begins at 1:00 p.m.

Some snapshots from our 2024 conference.

4. We’re great for all ages, types, and levels of writers.

Never been to a conference before? We’re ready to help you navigate with our friendly faculty and helpful staff (who just happen to be Taylor U Professional Writing students).

Just getting your feet wet in the writing world? We’re great for beginning writers to learn about what it takes and how to get started when it comes to being a writer.

Think you’re too old to start writing? You’re never too old. Lots of Bible characters have taught us that.

Think you’re too young? If you’re at least 16, we especially want to invite you to the conference. You’ll get to take part in all the sessions and networking, plus our college student staff will give you evening activities and a sense of what college life is all about.

Thinking you’re too advanced to need a conference? Maybe you’ve been around the industry a long time; maybe you’re a published author. Even so, there is never a time that you don’t need a refresher or some encouragement. And even better, you bring your expertise to those newer writers.

Check out the conference website at www.tupwc.com and register today!

A “Find Your Tribe” gathering of nonfiction writers at the 2024 conference.

Trying to meet the AI challenge: Part 2

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As I noted in this post at the end of December, I was studying ways to teach my students how to use AI (artificial intelligence; in this case, specifically ChatGPT). However, “teaching them how to use” is a misnomer because I quickly discovered that students already are using it. And I was naive to think otherwise.

That discovery meant that my lesson preparation turned from presenting the opportunity of AI to instead focus on the ethical and practical uses of AI when writing. From a course like Essentials of Written Communication (business writing), students need to learn to be able to use AI well when they get into their internships or jobs. In fact, ability to use AI, write prompts, and yet understand AI’s limitations, will be a requirement by employers.

https://learn.aiacontracts.com/articles/

But first …. let’s understand what AI can and can’t do. I had the students read the article: “The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly of AI Writing.” Here’s a synopsis:

AI can be good and helpful because it can save time, thus making employees more productive, and it can help reduce human error. (For instance, even using a program like Grammarly or the Editor in Microsoft Word is using AI to help clean up writing.) I want my students to see that AI can be helpful with time-saving idea generation, editing, and yes, even some first draft preparation.

For my students, it will be important to learn how to write good prompts and create perhaps some initial ideas for drafts of documents they will need in their future jobs, help them with research, provide guidance when making sense of statistics, etc. Learning how to use AI well will be a timesaver, allowing them time to do other important aspects of their job.

But ..

AI can be bad for myriad reasons. It is only as creative as what is already “out there”; thus, it really has no creativity or originality. It only takes what others have done as everything appears online. (As a writer, this for me is the nonstarter. I refuse to let it do any writing for me. Indeed, I am writing this blog post all on my own!)

Students who use AI to write their papers end up with writing that (ahem) is often easy for teachers to spot. (Not always, but sometimes.) One of the key assignments my colleagues and I are doing is to have students write something in class at the beginning of a semester, which gives us a sense of their writing ability and style. That provides us with a benchmark to work from. And we check all quotes and sources to make sure they exist and are correct.

Students must never depend on AI to deliver a final product. It needs their human eyes and human voice. Thus, they need to know how to edit, what to look for, and how to take what AI gives them and polish it.

But …

AI can be ugly because it doesn’t have ethical standards. It’s happy to write pages of uninspired, generic material, make up quotes, make up sources, make up statistics, all while using everyone else’s ideas that exist in online world.

My students need to find the uses for AI that are helpful but not unethical, such as brainstorming, clarifying material that is difficult to understand, even help with foreign language learning. As a professor, I have had it create some games to make the point of a lesson, or give me some case studies to use, or even advise on how to simplify a concept for my students.

For instance, one assignment we did in class was to have each student write an email to a prospective student. We discussed audience, format, and structure of good emails. We put the characteristics of our target audience on the board.

I gave them a worksheet on which they did the following three activities — all three of which would be turned in. First, write an email in class, without any kind of AI help. Second, create a prompt and put it in ChatGPT, then copy and paste onto the worksheet both the prompt and the generated email. Third, create a final email starting with the original and incorporating anything from AI that seemed helpful (and highlight those things).

I was pleasantly surprised to discover that, in most cases, the first email written on their own was just fine, but they did at times incorporate another point or even a particular phrase that they liked from the AI-generated version. And I did ask them to run their final version through the Microsoft Editor (yes, still an AI) to help them clean up any grammatical or spelling errors.

I’m hoping from this lesson they learned that some helpful ways to use ChatGPT can be for them to write a first draft, get a bit of help from AI, and then adjust their final product if the program did indeed give them something useful. And then, of course, to let it help them make sure of their grammar and spelling.

In other words, it’s only supplemental, not the final say.

Stay tuned. I’m still learning and working …

Just write one . . .

lindaktaylor7 Comments

Lunchtime was a big deal during my elementary school years. I recall spending much energy on exactly which lunchbox would provide my “ethos” for the upcoming year. After all, during every lunchtime, that lunchbox sat in front of me, open, back side available for all to see. Everyone at those long cafeteria tables would set up their boxes, pull out the thematically matched thermos and unscrew the cup and lid, take out the various foodstuffs, and spread it all out on the opened lid.

Yes. The lunchbox was ME. Who was I each year? Was I Holly Hobby? Peanuts? The simple butterfly design with flowers? Fairies?

The drama of the annual lunchbox choice still resides in my psyche.

So when I read Anne Lamott’s book Bird by Bird and her chapter about school lunches, I immediately resonated. As she describes, there’s so much going on when I consider my school lunches back in the mid-1960s. If I would try to write the scene, I might find myself overwhelmed. The lunchboxes, the long tables, the smell from the hot food line on pizza or taco day, the small square milk cartons, the cliques, the snack trading, the teachers walking around and monitoring, the noise and clatter before recess, the internal angst of walking across the cafeteria in a new outfit …

So much. Too much.

Lamott addresses this, giving advice to writers to not try to capture it all. Instead, to write the “one-inch picture frame.” To take a mental shot of the entire cafeteria scene, and then to Zoom in on one small piece of it — such as a lunchbox.

On her Instagram page beside a photo of a small picture frame, Lamott writes:

This is the 1” picture frame I keep on my desk to remind me that all I have to do one day at a time is to write the one scene or portrait that I can imagine or remember and see (if I squint) through that one inch picture frame. Not a whole chapter or essay or book, just one piece of that, the best I can do. I’ve had my writing students give these to each other for nearly 40 years now. It seems silly, but it helps a little, and that can be a miracle.

It sounds similar to Ernest Hemingway’s advice, in A Moveable Feast, to “write one true sentence”:

Sometimes when I was started on a new story and I could not get going, I would sit in front of the fire and squeeze the peel of the little oranges into the edge of the flame and watch the sputter of blue that they made. I would stand and look out over the roofs of Paris and think, “Do not worry. You have always written before and you will write now. All you have to do is write one true sentence. Write the truest sentence you know.”

One-inch frame . . . one true sentence.

The idea is to not get overwhelmed. To not give in to imposter syndrome. No matter how many chapters still to go, no matter how long the article, you can just write that one beautiful sentence. You can focus on that one small bit of the big picture, working word by word, sentence by sentence.

Eventually, yes, you’ll go back. You’ll edit. You’ll rearrange. You’ll cut. You’ll write more. But to get there, you need to start.

Break it down. Focus in. Take your time. A little bit every day.

One inch. One sentence.

My next teaching challenge: The AI effect

lindaktaylor6 Comments

The chair of my department came into my office and said, “Linda, brush up on AI. You’re going to need to teach your students to use it.” He was referring to my Essentials of Written Communication class, a class where I teach the format and strategy of different types of writing that is important to both their lives on campus and beyond into the business realm.

And I must teach my students to effectively and ethically use AI platforms (such as Chat GPT) to truly prepare them for their future careers. The world is heading that direction and they need to be ready.

I have to admit, I’m a little worried. I’m a veteran of the 5-1/4-inch floppy disk era. Even before that, I navigated my way from typing class in high school (on typewriters) to computers with various floppy disk sizes and on through the many, many versions of Microsoft Word (remember when “Clippy” would give writing advice?).

Clippy, courtesy of Mental Floss

And then came email (woo hoo! Files could be attached and sent instantaneously) and the Internet. So far I’ve managed to move through these past 50 years of my writing career with a minimum of turmoil.

But I have to admit that the world of Artificial Intelligence is setting me back on my heels a little. While many of my colleagues have embraced and are using it well, I’m setting aside January to catch up. Here’s my reading material, Teaching with AI.

I have my concerns. As a writer, I’m honestly worried about my students deferring to AI and not understanding the creativity needed for every kind of writing — an email, a news release, a report. Having an AI just generate these annoys every part of me.

But I’ve been teaching long enough to know that writing doesn’t come easily to everyone. Even as I teach my students to use programs like Grammarly or Microsoft Word’s editing tools on their papers means I already have been teaching them to use AI.

So as I prepare for my spring Essentials of Written Communication class, I will be rewriting my curriculum to continue to teach the formatting and structure of various types of writing, while planning for students to use AI. I plan to create assignments for them to write and then edit with AI; I’ll be showing them how their human touch is still vital to anything they use AI to create; I’ll be talking about the ethical use of AI so they understand its creative limitations (and potential for plagiarism).

As the book says, “It is essential that educators start to talk about these issues with students. if we want students to use AI responsibly, both in school and beyond, AI ethics must be baked into curriculum and include AI literacy, an emerging essential skill” (3).

Do you use AI? How has it helped you? What concerns do you have about its use?

What kinds of jobs can a writer get?

lindaktaylor4 Comments

OR How can I turn my writing into a career?

Helping my students turn their love for words and ability to write into a career is exactly what I’ve been trying to do with my life for the past 15 years.

I’m planning a class for spring 2025 that will be the introductory class to my Professional Writing major here at Taylor U. But I’ve set my sights a bit bigger as I also want to invite into the class any student who might be sitting around considering their major and thinking, “But I’m also a pretty good writer.” I want to offer a class where they can explore how their ability with words (which, believe me, isn’t something everyone has) can be leveraged into many types of jobs in their chosen fields.

Here’s the deal: Even though I teach the students who major in Professional Writing about the ins and outs of writing well and book publishing, I don’t leave them with the unrealistic dream that they’ll be able to make a living off the royalties from their published books (if, indeed, they get published). My students who have had their books published often still have day jobs — or have spouses who have day jobs. (I know you writers, laboring in the evenings or early mornings on your manuscripts in between bouts of “real life,” understand this.)

Gif from plaidswan.com

Most of my alumni are using their ability with words in many fields. I currently have former students in the following jobs:

  • Copy writer
  • Magazine editor
  • Book editor
  • Freelance editor
  • Digital content strategist
  • Communications director
  • Marketing director
  • SEO specialist
  • Publicist
  • Acquisitions editor
  • Literary agent
  • Author
  • Technical writer
  • Social media director
  • Proofreader
  • Email marketing manager
  • Blog writer
  • Web writer
  • Content writer

And no, AI is not going to replace all of these people. In fact, I plan to teach ways to use AI strategically to help us (and it can). However, we’re going to learn what we humans still need to know to help AI do its thing, as well as to help it deliver what’s needed.

Thus, as I create my syllabus for the coming semester, I hope to expose my students to the many opportunities available to anyone who can string words together in a coherent, concise, and clear manner. Good writers are desperately needed because content is desperately needed almost literally everywhere. Even writing a good email has become a lost art.

What jobs are you aware of that need good writers? Even if you’re a novelist by night or hammering away at your opus, where else do you use your writing skills?

Help me give my students some encouragement!

5 ways to stay sane on social media

lindaktaylor1 Comment

We all probably have a love/hate relationship with social media. In these difficult times, how can we stay sane (and Christian) on social media?

I have talked often about the Social Media Strategy class I teach each semester at Taylor U. This summer, I wanted to rethink the class to make sure I am staying on the cutting edge of what’s happening in the social media world. I read (and highly recommend to you) two books:

Following Jesus in a Digital Age by Jason Thacker (Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 2022)
Posting Peace by Douglas S. Bursch (Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 2021)

I’d like to share with you a few takeaways that I also shared with my students, sourcing some quotes from these books as I go.

One key thing to realize right from the start: Technology is shaping our lives and our expectations.

We are so used to getting anything we want quickly. Amazon delivers in a couple of days. Have a question? Google it and have the answer in a matter of seconds. Click a button; get what we want.

The problem with this is that what’s real in life doesn’t work that way. Spiritual growth is a long, slow process that takes us a lifetime. There isn’t an app that will make us spiritual. Relationships — whether marriage or family or friends — take time and must weather ups and downs. How easy it is to decide something is too hard or taking too long, so we shut it down, let it go, turn away.

Technology has made us incredibly impatient. It has changed our expectations for how life should work. And not for the better.

So from these two books, I came away with 5 key points regarding our use of technology and social media that I shared with my class and I’d like to share with you. These are the things we need to keep in mind:

1. Keep in mind how social media is shaping us.

Wondering why social media can be such a toxic place (my goodness, especially now in a very divided country staring down a very divisive election)? Here’s what Bursch writes:

“Social media is more than just a medium for communication. The internet does more than magnify or amplify our expressions. Social media fundamentally changes what we say, when we say it, where we say it, why we say it, and how we say it. Most importantly, social media modifies who we are and what we are becoming. … [It is] revising our foundational understandings of moral decency, truth, and humanity.”  (Posting Peace, 25)

What can we do? We can slow down and process our thoughts. Not everything we think needs to be shared. It can be easy to hide behind a screen. We would be far better to chat with people in real life. It’s so simple to share posts without taking the time to actually educate ourselves, look for sources, find the facts. And, the capital T of God’s Truth should guide our every post and interaction.

Also realize that technology is monitoring everything we do and where we go online. If you’re more of a political liberal or a political conservative, you probably read certain sites and follow certain blogs. The algorithms are watching that and so sending you more of the same. What this does is entrench us into our divisions because we often don’t even see anything that disagrees with what we think.

2. Keep in mind how social media is causing us to lose our ability to build relationships.

Again from Bursch:

“Many individuals lack deep connections or the ability to form deep relational connection because they no longer have to maintain strong ties to function well in our online society. …Online communication ‘provides just enough connection to keep us from pursuing real intimacy. In a virtual community, our contacts involve little real risk and demand even less of us personally.’” (Posting Peace, 38, 39)

What can we do? We can realize that anything of value takes time to build, and what matters are those real people who are in our lives. Yes, we may have 900+ “friends” or “followers,” but, at the end of the day, who is going to be there for us? Are we taking the time and putting in the effort to strengthen our real relationships — the ones we have today, the new friends we could find tomorrow?

3. Keep in mind how social media affects our ability to handle conflict.

And life is full of conflict. But when we are impatient and don’t want to do the hard work, when we have not learned the basic skills for conflict management, we end up divided in our own camps, with no one able or willing to work on a compromise. We hunker down into our own little groups who agree with us and treat anyone who believes differently like an enemy. Bursch writes:

“In-person communication includes various verbal, facial, and environmental cues lost in online communication. … Because we’re not fully present online, capable of using all our senses, we don’t use our full brains to solve the relational complexities we face. When conflicts arise, we have fewer mental conflict processing tools at our disposal, which frequently leads to argumentative, depersonalized, detached, non-empathetic interactions.” (Posting Peace, 48)

What can we do? Think about how differently people deal with conflict online vs. conflict in person. People say things online they might never say to someone’s face. And rarely do those online conflicts lead to any kind of mutual respect and understanding. Real life discussions — even with differences of opinion or outright conflict — can do both. Let’s try to have more of those.

4. Keep in mind how we as believers must engage wisely.

Unfortunately, our world is filled with lies, manipulation, and gaslighting. We are at a point where we don’t know who is telling the truth; we don’t know who to believe. We as believers, writes Thacker,

“ . . . must engage any manipulation of truth in our world with eyes wide open. … We seek to understand the issues at stake and seek to apply God’s unchanging truths to our post-truth society. … We look bad news square in the eye (and learn more about it so that we might respond in a godly way) because our current hope and future security are in Christ, not in the culture around us.” (Following Jesus, 61-62)

What can we do? We need to be willing to do the work of seeking out the truth for ourselves, not simply believing and reposting every tweet or every Facebook post. We need to be people who focus back on the Truth, who can cut through the noise to the issues that are really at stake, and stand strong for what we believe.

5. Keep in mind how we as believers must honor the image of God in others.

Jesus must be our guide and model even as we engage in a world vastly different from 30 A.D. He taught us how to love others, and this must carry over into our online lives. Thacker writes:

“As Christians, our job is to testify to the reality of who God is and how he has made us to reflect him. The people we interact with online are not simply avatars. They are divine image bearers, just like you and me (Gen. 1:26-28). This means we must engage others online with grace and humility.” (Following Jesus, 66-67)

What can we do? Turn that social media time into prayer. Remember that behind that faceless X handle is a human being, and that human being has beliefs and opinions shaped by a plethora of experiences in his/her life. That’s why in-person conversations are so important, because that person becomes flesh and blood and you can get at what’s going on, why the person believes as he/she does. You can ask questions, follow up, share your own thoughts, reach an understanding or agree to disagree while still respecting each other’s place in God’s world. Absent the ability to chat in real life, let your social media feed become your prayer list instead of a place to argue (you’re not going to change anyone’s mind anyway). Everyone can use prayer.

We need to be careful today more than ever. What advice do you have for how you engage technology as a believer?

Create a personal social media calendar

lindaktaylor1 Comment

As I mentioned in a previous post (4 keys to your author social media strategy), you as a writer need to be on social media, you need to choose the platform(s) that most works for you, and you need to be posting consistently.

“Aye, there’s the rub” (to quote Shakespeare). It’s difficult to be consistent.

In that post, I suggested that you create a weekly schedule that you can keep up with (and because that weekly schedule can repeat, you easily have a monthly schedule). I said that perhaps on Monday you’ll share on Facebook about something you learned in research for your book. On Wednesday you’ll post on Pinterest some photos you found about the time period of your historical fiction. On Friday, you’ll share the link to an article you read that was pertinent to your book’s topic. On Saturday, maybe a Canva-created quote from your book.

But if you’re a visual person like me, perhaps putting this on a calendar (physical or electronic) will help this make sense. This will keep you from worrying about posting or getting behind and having lapses of days or weeks at a time.

As I was posting around the release of Pathway to Publication, I needed to create a visual plan to help me to both remember to post and not stress about remembering to post.

Below is a sample week that I created at the time. This one week provided a template for the rest of the month — which then created a habit that’s easy to remember. Each day I describe a post or two and which platform. Of course, when I feel inspired, I can post more often. I take Sundays off and breaks on Saturdays between blog posts. And I only blog once a month. I wish I could do more, I just don’t have it in me with my other responsibilities.

Sample One Week Social Media Calendar

MonTuesWedThurFriSat
Insta and X: Create a Canva with helpful line from book.
Post.		FB and X:
Post regular weekly Typo Tuesday pictures.		X: Share a link to an article of interest about writing or books.Insta and X: Post humor meme about writing, teaching, or books. X: Ask convo starter question. Insta: Photo “day in my life.”Website: Work on blog. Plan 1x or 2x month. Share on FB & X.

You may have other social media to post on, or you might set aside a day each month to work on a newsletter. The point is to decide what you need to do and then schedule time each week or month to get it done.

So much less stress when you just have to do what is scheduled on each day to do!

Beyond the weekly schedule, I try to be aware of annual holidays and special days throughout the year tied to my brand — writing, editing, books, communication, teaching. (The following are courtesy of the Days of the Year site.) These can help focus the quotes I use.

  • January: New year, resolutions, how you can set up for a successful writing year, setting goals; January 9 (National Clean Your Desk Day); January 23 (National Handwriting Day)
  • February: God’s love for us; February 7 (National Send a Card to a Friend Day); February 14 (International Book Giving Day); National Library Lovers Month; Freelance Writers Appreciation Week (second week)
  • March: March 2 (Dr. Seuss Day); March 2 (World Book Day); March 4 (National Grammar Day); Easter (March or April)
  • April: Easter (March or April); spring cleaning; April 6 (National Bookmobile Day); April 20–26 (National Stationery Week); April 23 (World Book Night); April 27 (World Stationery Day); April 30 (Independent Bookstore Day)
  • May: My college students graduating; May 3 (Write a Review Day); May 16 (National Biographers Day); May 19 (National Notebook Day); Memorial Day
  • June: my professional writing summer academy week; June 23 (National Typewriter Day)
  • July: Info about the upcoming Taylor University Professional Writers Conference (held end of July); July 1 (Write a Letter Appreciation Week); July 4 (Independence Day); July 30 (Paperback Book Day)
  • August: Prep for the teaching semester; August 5 (Blogger Day); August 9 (National Book Lovers Day); August 31 (We Love Memoirs Day)
  • September: Back to teaching; Read a New Book Month; Sept 1 (World Letter Writing Day); September 6 (National Read a Book Day)
  • October: October 1 (International Coffee Day); October 18 (National Chocolate Cupcake Day—I love cupcakes; sue me); October 29 (National Cat Day—I own way too many cats)
  • November: November 4 (Fountain Pen Day); November 15 (I Love to Write Day); Veterans Day (I’m an Air Force brat); Thanksgiving
  • December: December 21 (National Short Story Day); Christmas

Now if you check up on me, you’ll probably not see this continued activity because I know what I should do but am not very good at execution. I did fairly well around the release of my book but have not been consistent since. Writing this post is making me think I need to get myself back on track.

What about you? What do you do to stay motivated and consistent with your social media postings?

Gif courtesy of https://metricool.com/social-media-gifs/

How to spot (and avoid) publishing predators

lindaktaylor2 Comments

I’ve seen it happen one too many times (and one time is too many) — well-meaning writers get caught in the net set by predatory “publishers.” The writers thought they were getting published, only to find themselves with an inferior product (if indeed they end up with any product at all) and out a whole lot of money.

In a writers Facebook group recently, someone posted that they had received a phone call from a publisher who wanted to publish her book. She had some red flags (how did they even get her number, she wondered), so she asked the group for advice. Thankfully, every response warned her that this is a scam. I so appreciate all those seasoned writers in the online world helping one more person to not be a victim.

It’s sad to say, but the world is full of folks who are ready to take money from us moony-eyed writers who simply want to get our words out there. So how do you spot a scam?

You can spot these “publishers” by how eager they are to publish your book. Their process is simple. They will target you, do a sales job, flatter you and your book, make big promises, and then ask for money.

The fact that they target you is the first red flag. That’s not how the publishing process works. Generally, literary agents and acquisitions editors are wading through piles of proposals. They are working with the folks who know the process, not out seeking newbie writers and calling them on the phone offering to publish for a fee.

Let’s say you wrote a post on Facebook about finally finishing the writing of your book and then, magically, you receive an email or phone call from a company that effuses about your book and says they want to publish it!

Wow, you think, I didn’t realize it could be so easy!

Well, my friend, it isn’t. These folks are simply preying on new authors who haven’t yet gained the knowledge and experience of what it takes to publish a quality book. In short, they will publish anything as long as they get their money from you up front. They have no editorial standards. Their goal is not to create a quality product or see your book do well.

They are going to approach you first, flatter you, do a sales job, ask you to send them your manuscript, and ask for a credit card number for a large chunk of money (we’re talking in the thousands: $4K, $5K, $12K) for a list of services that they say they will provide (some of which are virtually meaningless, others that may or may not be delivered or may not be up to industry standards — such as their editorial process). They will send you a contract but generally the terms are not standard in the industry.

Hear me say this: These publishers are not trying to work with you to create a book of high quality. They just want your money.

https://tenor.com/view/alert-scam-sheep-zombie-lies-gif-21519331

You see, with traditional or independent publishers, they invest in your book so they have an interest in it selling well. They vet your work before publishing by studying your book proposal and sample chapters. They edit and copyedit and proofread and lay it out and create a compelling cover design and help with marketing. Because they make an investment in your book, they want to see it do well. They want to make back their investment and make money on it so that you also can make money on it.

Not so with these scam publishers. You will pay money and have no say over anything. Most detrimental of all, they contractually often take away your rights to your book — meaning you actually no longer own your book. You’ll have paid out of pocket and lost control of everything — including your book. It’s a lose-lose. These predatory publishers can afford to publish anything (no matter how poorly written or how poorly someone they hire edits it) because they aren’t making money on the sale of quality books — they are making money off you, the client. You pay them up front, so they get their money regardless of what happens with your book sales.

There is absolutely no risk to them. Some may offer up a little bit of service, but very often you will find yourself with a poor quality product that only works against you. Again, it’s a lose-lose for you.

Note that I’m focusing on those places who contact you. These may fashion themselves as “publishers” or “hybrid publishers” or “self-publishers.” And unfortunately this puts a bad face on the legitimate self-publishing or hybrid companies that, while they do charge money for their services, are working on a business model that is trying to help you create a superior product. See the link in the bulleted list below of ratings of self-publishing companies.

The key is, if it sounds too easy and too good to be true, it probably is. So before you outlay a chunk of your life’s savings, do some thorough research.

  • Look for information about the company online, especially complaints.
  • Check out this list of ratings for self-publishing companies.
  • Insist on receiving a sample contract that you can review. (If they want money first, don’t give it to them.)
  • Ask for some names of books the company has published that you can review. (Even if the company is legit, you do want to see what other types of books they publish so you know if you want to be part of their catalog.) If you can get your hands on physical books, even better, so you can check the quality. Get in contact with those authors online to ask about their experience.
  • Check out this post with more information about what to look for in order to avoid publishing scams.
  • Check out Writer Beware for other advice.

Chances are, you do all of the above with that publisher who called and flattered you, and you’ll discover a scam. Steer clear. Ultimately, you may continue your quest to get traditionally published, or you may steer toward a hybrid or self-publishing route. But you’ll be in charge, you’ll research and contact legitimate companies, and you’ll be able to create a product you can be proud of.

4 keys to your author social media strategy

lindaktaylor3 Comments

As much as I talk and teach about social media, I have rarely written about it on this blog. Turns out, 2015 was the last time. In rereading that post from nine years ago, I see that it stands the test of time. While social media constantly changes, some things stay the same. One thing that is the same:

If you want to get your book published, you need to be out there on social media.

So how do you build a social media strategy? I know many of you struggle with this. But every publisher or agent will tell you that it is vital that you have a presence on social media. Let me help you get over your distress and offer four key points.

1. It’s not all about you.

That’s meant to make you feel better. Being on social media as a writer means the privilege of engaging with your “tribe” (a Seth Godin term), the community of writers — and not just writers, but writers writing in your genre, published and unpublished, local or around the world. On social media you find and follow those people. It has never been easier to connect with your favorite authors and with other likeminded writers working in the trenches. Seriously, we need one another.

Make your social media about those folks. Celebrate their successes. Read their books and learn from them, then share them on your social media, write reviews, be excited. Point to others, not at yourself. The more you do this, I guarantee you’ll begin to build a network of people around you who will support you when your time comes.

2. But you should also share about you–authentic you.

But at the same time, you need to let people see a window into your world. You’re not just lurking over in their world while presenting a blank slate about your own. That’s hardly helpful because the whole purpose is to join these networks of people. So let them know you a little. But be you. Be authentic.

Share about your writing process: was today a great day of writing? Why or why not? What works best for you? Share about what you’re researching and learning. All writers know the rabbit trails we can get on when we’re researching information on the internet. What new pertinent (or not) information did you learn today? Then you can get a little more personal.

Pinky is not helpful at all.

You don’t need to go overboard, but do know that people are interested. Talk about how your cats are not helpful. Pets are always safe and fun, especially if you don’t want to share family photos or information. Fine, just stick with your writing. I would advise you to stay out of politics unless that’s what your book is about. Just stay on brand. You can do all of these whether you’re blogging or posting on social media.

3. You don’t need to be everywhere.

You can’t do every social media platform and do it well. After all, you have a book to write and, I assume, probably a million other things going on in your life. You should be on the platforms you’re comfortable with and where your readers are. I would advise that you have a website, because that is your own piece of real estate that all of your social media can point back to. This is where you have your author photo and bio and your blog (and yes, you need a blog so it can showcase how you write and that you can indeed write).

From there, perhaps you just want to do Facebook. Or Goodreads. Or Pinterest. If you’re writing YA, then you need to be where the young people are, which is probably Instagram. Study how to use these platforms well. Find your favorite authors or writers you admire and see what they’re doing on these platforms to give you ideas.

4. Post and engage consistently.

This ties back to the “if you want to get published” theme and the “you can’t be everywhere” idea. You may despair that you haven’t been active for a long time or you don’t have many followers. That’s okay. Start back in again, and then create a weekly schedule that you can keep up with. It has to work for you or it won’t work.

Perhaps on Monday you’ll share on Facebook about something you learned in your research. On Wednesday you’ll post on Pinterest some photos you found about the time period of your historical fiction. On Friday, you’ll share the link to an article you read that was pertinent to your book’s topic. On Saturday, maybe a Canva-created quote from your book.

Then, as people engage with you, engage with them. While many social media experts will talk about how you need X number of followers to even be considered for publication, that’s not true everywhere. If you’re building a following and engaging with your followers, if you’re actively and consistently posting on brand, if you’re showing yourself as winsome and creative and someone any publisher would love to work with, well, you’re doing it exactly right.

Realize you’re building relationships. That’s the most important thing you can do as you build your social media and create your author platform. It’s not all about you. You don’t have to become an internet influencer posting selfies all day. In fact, that’s the opposite of what you want to do. Focus not on yourself but on your tribe and your readers. Put good content out there that will be interesting and helpful to them.

Be you. Be there. Enjoy. Drop your blog link or social media handles below so I can follow you!

What’s your author brand?

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I teach a class called Social Media Strategy at Taylor University. It’s a required course for my Professional Writing majors, although I usually get a plethora of other majors taking the course as well.

It’s purpose? In the first half of the semester, I help students navigate social media personally (more in another post about the second half of the semester). While many are active on social media, most students don’t know how to be strategic in beginning to think of themselves no longer as “kids” or even “college students” but as professionals seeking internships and jobs.

Since 67% of employers use social media sites to research potential job candidates, my students need to up their game. This class gives practical hands-on skills and encourages students in wise use of social media in all areas.

One of the first things we do is create a website. Each student uses a free platform (no $ or coding required) in order to nab their own piece of real estate on the internet. Their other social media then will branch out from this hub. But this is where it begins. This is where they showcase their brand and then build consistently on it through all their other media.

What do I mean about “brand”? When you think about a brand, you think about, for instance, McDonald’s arches—and then you immediately have some kind of emotional reaction tied to their branding of families coming together to eat, or eating in the car on road trips, or how that burger tastes the same whether you’re in Marion, Indiana, or Paris, France. Let me let Erik Deckers and Kyle Lacy, authors of Branding Yourself: How to Use Social Media to Invent or Reinvent Yourself, explain this: “It’s an emotional response to the image or name of a particular company, product, or person” (6). So, when you think about yourself as a brand:

Branding yourself means that you create the right kind of emotional response when someone hears your name, sees you online, or meets you in real life. The “right” kind doesn’t mean being someone you’re not. It’s your personality, your voice, your interests, your habits—everything about you that you want people to know. The information you show to other people, the things you say, and the photos you post should all fit within the theme of your personal brand. (7)

For instance, in the first iteration of my website and blog, I wrote devotional thoughts. A later version was about moving from the city to the country and the attendant adventures (like the time our rooster attacked me from behind and jumped on my back). Those were fine, and I still have those blog posts in my current website under various categories.

But what is my brand? What am I most knowledgeable and passionate about? What should I be writing about? What do I have to offer into the world?

For me, it’s anything having to do with writing, editing, and publishing.

When I figured that out, that made all the difference. This gave focus to my website and my blog topics, and it helped me understand how to use my website and social media more strategically.

Deckers and Lacy suggest asking yourself, “What do I want to be known for? What qualities do I want people to associate with me? What is the first thing I want to have pop in their heads when they hear my name?” (7).

As my students realize that potential employers will be seeking out their social media (which we clean up) and will find their website, this is where they can express themselves as future writers, editors, PR professionals, journalists, filmmakers, etc. This is where they show that they aren’t just one of many students graduating from college in their chosen field; this is where they show how serious they are about what they’re learning, and this is where they show their uniqueness, how they are “purple cows,” standouts.

Their website is a powerful tool. They will continue to change and adjust, as I did, but I’m counting on them being able to impress their future employers because they are more than just a name on a resume. They are interesting people with their own stories.

This is their brand.

Writers, what’s your brand? What are you known for? How might you build your website to showcase that?

More on social media usage for writers in upcoming posts.

Formatting your Word documents the way publishers want them

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Microsoft Word can be a mystery, I know. I have worked on manuscripts since way before Word came to be (back when we carried our precious documents from computer to computer on the 5-1/2 floppy — yes, actually floppy — disks). Well, and before that, I worked on an actual typewriter. But I digress. Over the years, I’ve seen the Microsoft Word program change and evolve, making life so much easier for all of us writers.

As I created both my Word by Word book, and then it’s companion titled Pathway to Publication, I wanted to give my readers material to help them with the formatting of their Word documents to the standards that most publishers require. In this post, I talked about some of those standards. In many of my “Let’s Get Tech-y” posts, I gave step-by-step instructions along with screenshots to help Word help you do what you need to do.

But guess what? I have now actually entered the world of YouTube <raucous applause>.

Minions image courtesy of GIFER

I mean, I currently have 8 videos and 2 followers, so I’m basically an influencer now.

In any case, I will continue to create simple videos to help writers navigate Microsoft Word on my YouTube channel (@lindataylor4207).

So far, I have the following videos for your enjoyment:

Creating a Table of Contents in Microsoft Word (2 Options)

Creating a Copyright Page (and Noting Bible Versions on It)

Creating a Title Page in Microsoft Word

Inserting Page Breaks (and Why You Should Do So)

Adding Page Numbers AND Adding Page Numbers Except on the Title Page

Deleting Double Spaces, Replacing Hard Tabs, and Fixing Those Pesky Straight Quotes

Building a Manuscript Template

Adding Style Tags to Microsoft Word Documents

Help me help you. If you have a question about something in Microsoft Word, feel free to ask and I’ll try to answer and add the video to my channel.

Happy writing, everyone!

Writing Real — More than a Dum Dum

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In my Freelance Writing class this week, we’re working on the “art of living” article — writing that seeks to inspire or help readers live life just a little better based on our ability to share our own joys and struggles.

Our text puts it this way: “The key to writing art-of-living articles is to write an article that will make a difference in someone’s life—to provide the reader with something to hold on to and take away into her own life.” —Handbook of Magazine Article Writing

To really make this work, however, that piece needs to provide transparency into the life of the author. Readers want writers to be real, to dive deep, to share their stories.

But it doesn’t need to be dark or traumatic. Sometimes the sweetest and most inspirational pieces of writing come from memories, moments, minute details of life that draw us back and make us think. To give my students that opportunity, I gave them a handout with their lives (so far) divided into segments. They were to write down five or six memories from sets of years: 0-5, 6-10 (elementary school), 11-14 (junior high), 15-18 (high school), and 18+ (college). As they began to scribble, I explained that the memories that came quickly are worth thinking about further. There’s a reason that those bubble to the top.

Their job then was to choose one of those memories and describe it. That gets the scaffolding in place. Now to get a solid art-of-living piece, to get to something that will resonate with our readers, we need to go deeper.

So we considered some questions. I asked them to close their eyes and go back to that memory. What was going on in their lives at that time, in their family life, in the world? Where were they living? Who else was part of their lives at the time? What else do they see, hear, feel, smell, taste? As they looked at that memory in a bigger picture and considered why that particular memory surfaced at all, they can write a story with heart. They can begin to see how that minor thing matters, and in turn, help their readers put themselves into their own similar story.

As if to make me take my own advice, today, a sweet college student dressed as a bunny rabbit stopped into my office and let me draw some Halloween candy from her outstretched pumpkin basket. I drew out a Dum Dum.

The Dum Dum that arrived today.

In that moment, I saw my Grandpa Chaffee’s face. He had been a rural mail carrier in the little town of Wattsburg, PA, and its environs. He drove his massive Oldsmobile Toronado to deliver mail — and there was always a big bag of Dum Dums on his front seat. The children on his route knew he’d give them a sucker. Even though our family visited him only once a year or so, whenever I got into that enormous car to ride with him, I drew a Dum Dum from the bag and stuck it in my mouth, sucking happily as we zipped down twisty dirt roads.

Gramps, me, and Trixie, circa 1964.

That Dum Dum sent me back. The joy of our traveling military family always returning to deep extended-family roots in western PA. The legacy of love and faith I’ve been privileged to receive. The deep loss of grandparents and now both of my parents. Changes as decades pass; foundations that remain solid. Heaven’s certainty. A loving family that shaped who I am. Sweet memories and sweet candy.

It’s just a Dum Dum, but now there’s something there worth writing. Something to help readers also think about how life changes yet some foundations are worth holding onto and passing on. It was just a Dum Dum, but it’s so much more.

What simple things in your life have a depth of meaning? What memories rise to the surface? How might you write about them?

How can I help your writers group?

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One of the joys of having written a book about the publishing process is gaining the opportunity to step out of the pages and help people in person. I wrote the book to advise writers who have a manuscript (or maybe at this point, just an idea) and are asking, “Now what?” My book lays out the pathway to publication. And while I hope lots of writers find help in the pages, I also know that sometimes coming to a gathering to discuss the process and get answers to their questions is even more helpful.

So I’m offering up just that. I’d love to meet your writers group, come and hang with you at one of your meetings, share some of what is in the book, and do a brief workshop to help writers get started.

The workshop will walk writers through the basic questions that publishers want to know — whether you’ve got a book idea or an article idea. I’ll help the writers in your group articulate the focus of their writing and make a plan to move forward.

I’m happy to come and do a one-hour session, or even a couple of hours. Let me know where your group is at, the questions, they have, and the type of advice that would best help them. If you’re beyond my driving distance, I can set up a Zoom call for as long as you need.

Contact me for availability and charges. I promise, I’m very affordable! We’ll work together.

Let me help take the mystery out of the publication process. Let me help the writers in your group take their first steps on the pathway to publication.

Following are a few photos from my book talk/workshop at Taylor University. (Cookies may or may not be included!)

Keeping me humble – adventures in typos

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We writers know that, on the one hand, we need self-confidence to put our writing out there and dare to get published, but we also need humility. We don’t want to go out into the publishing world with an arrogant attitude.

I dare say we will be served up humility constantly — we probably don’t need to seek it. We just need to learn how to deal with those times when embarrassing things happen.

Here’s my latest dilemma. I’ve talked on this blog about my latest book, Pathway to Publication. I’m very proud of this book (seriously, in the best way; you know, that “humble proud” attitude). I feel very good about the book and what it can offer writers.

There’s a meme out in the world that says if you want to do a really good proofread, get your book published and then open to any random page.

I laughed and laughed.

Then yesterday, I opened my book to two random pages.

I found two (count ’em, TWO) typos in my brief foray. This does not bode well for the rest of the book. I promise, my book was proofread by me, by editors, by the publisher, and again by me. I have no one to blame but myself. Me. Professional editor. Me.

Original meme is from shencomix.com

Here they are, for your viewing pleasure.

First, on page 17, right away in the “How to Use This Book” section, I managed to say first that readers could download a “Microsoft Word or Excel” version of the worksheets on my website. Dear readers, I meant “Microsoft Word or PDF” (PDF appears later). In my proofread, I slid right right past it.

This second one, again, in my brief visit back into my printed book, appears on page 47, end of the first paragraph. Clearly I edited something in that sentence and left out the word “What” at the beginning (or I could have seen this and deleted the word “about”).

Seriously. Excuse me while I go away and eat some humble pie.

It’s just part of the process. I join a legion of professionally published books out there with typos.

https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/ugh

Indeed, in her keynote presentation this past weekend at our Taylor University Professional Writers Conference, Maggie Rowe made clear to all of us that we need to “embrace humility.”

Well, humility and I are hugging it out right now!

Have you ever found a typo in your own work, after the fact?

Trail Angels and Trail Magic – Writer Style

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As I’ve discussed in this post (and if you’ve been one of the wonderful folks who purchased my latest book Pathway to Publication), you know that I make comparisons of writing a book and getting it published to the very wearisome task of doing a thru-hike on the Appalachian Trail. My sister began her thru-hike on the trail on March 23, the day before my book released (definitely a God-thing), and as she blogs about her trip, I think the comparisons continue to be apt. You can find her blog at The Trek, Carol Fielding. Her trail name (all hikers have a trail name) is Fortune Cookie. More on that below.

You need the right gear, you need to be ready to face difficulties and overcome them, you need persistence, and you need a healthy dose of confidence as you try to get a book published. It’s a long trek.

A couple things I didn’t include in the book and have only discovered through my sister’s blogs are the terms “trail angels” and “trail magic.” On April 5, she writes this in a post titled “Angels and Magic in Georgia“:

“In case you don’t know what trail magic is, it’s when people set up at a road crossing or parking lot with food and drink. Sometimes they actually hike the food in and pass it out on the trail. Food you can’t carry with you on the trail. Fresh food. Those people are called trail angels and to hikers they are truly angelic.”

Folks who live near the Appalachian Trail will provide for hikers passing through. Sometimes it’s containers of fresh water beside a tree. Sometimes it’s chips and candy bars. Sometimes it’s a full-fledged setup with hot breakfast or a barbecue. Carol describes several instances of trail magic so far — Matthew with his chips, granola bars, and apples; a ministry with a tent making breakfast for all of the hikers; a church near the trail providing shuttle service to their kitchen and a free meal; the Southern cookie lady who set up fresh water and homemade cookies.

The need for fresh water is a constant, especially in these dry summer months. Photo courtesy Carol Fielding.
Carol writes, “Nothing warms the heart of a hiker more than seeing a sign that reads, ‘Trail Magic Ahead.'” This group provides hot food and help with resupplying hikers with necessities. Photo courtesy Carol Fielding.

This got me to thinking about my trail comparisons with the book publishing process. Writing is by necessity a lonely endeavor. We walk the trail with only our thoughts (and our characters and our outlines) to keep us company. We get discouraged. The first draft is no better than a rain-soaked sleeping bag. The editing process looks as daunting as that hike up Clingman’s Dome. (In case you didn’t know, that’s the highest peak on the trail at 6,643 feet. Also the highest in the Great Smoky Mountains in Tennessee.)

We writers do indeed have our own brand of trail magic! We have writers conferences that encourage and inspire like a nice hot breakfast after some days of instant oatmeal. We have critique group friends who take the time to sit with pieces of our manuscript and help us make it better. We have beta readers who willingly take on the entire book in order to give feedback. We have writers groups that meet physically or online to encourage one another. We have numerous non-writer friends who understand us and help in whatever ways they can.

Basically, trail magic is folks caring for one another. And we writers have that in spades.

Oh, and about her trail name. My sister happened to get this little gem with some Chinese takeout in mid-2022, a year into planning her hike.

Photo courtesy Carol Fielding

And you know what? I think it applies to our writing trek as well.

Who has provided “trail magic” for you? Tell me about it in the comments.

Family Legacy

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Today is my 65th birthday. This is the first birthday in my entire life when both of the people directly responsible for my existence are no longer here. I will miss my dad’s annual feigned question, “HOW old are you now?” and then the follow up, “I’m not old enough to have a daughter that old!”

Every. Single. Birthday.

So I guess today, I feel a little melancholy. Missing them both, yet so grateful for the legacy they gave me.

I learned from my parents how important family is … immediate family, extended family, friends who become like family. From our annual summer gatherings with extended family to watching my parents trek around the country after retirement in their big motor home to catch up with friends scattered far and wide, I learned how important it is to maintain the relationships in my life.

I learned from my parents to be respectful—of them (my early days were filled with “yes sir” or “no sir,” “yes ma’am” or “no ma’am”) and of everyone else in my world, no matter the color of their skin or their age or their background or their religion.

I learned to respect other cultures as we traveled around Europe in our little Audi, constantly aware of ourselves as tourists but always attempting the language and showing high regard for the people.

I learned to love other people, to be there when needed, to serve and help out. I learned that the behind-the-scenes people are extremely important.

As part of a proud military family, I learned from my parents to love my country. I learned to stand for the flag and put my hand over my heart—because it matters. I learned that freedom isn’t free; it takes brave men and women to defend it. I appreciate that every moment of my life, and I honor the military personnel and veterans who care enough for the rest of us to put their lives on the line.

But most important, mom and dad gave me the legacy of faith in God. They taught me my worth not only as their child, but also as a child of the heavenly Father, brought into this world to live in these particular decades for a purpose. They taught me to always seek God’s guidance and follow it. They showed by example that sometimes that’s difficult, sometimes the way is unclear, sometimes it doesn’t seem logical. But God’s path is always the right one.

They taught me right from wrong, taught me how to stand up for the right, and taught me how to be kind and winsome while doing it.

I can only hope and pray that I’m continuing their legacy and living the things they taught me.

Thanks, mom and dad, for this life you gave me.

“The boundary lines have fallen for me in pleasant places; surely I have a delightful inheritance. I will praise the Lord, who counsels me; even at night my heart instructs me. I keep my eyes always on the Lord. With him at my right hand, I will not be shaken.” (Psalm 16:6-8 NIV)

Writers Need Thick Skin, Part 2: Dealing with Acceptance

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As I noted in Part 1 of this topic, writers need a thick skin in order to handle the inevitable rejection that occurs as they submit their writing for publication.

Here, in Part 2, I want to discuss the entirely opposite reason that we need thick skin — dealing with the results of being accepted for publication: the inevitable reviews.

(The following is excerpted from my book Pathway to Publication, now available from Amazon.)

Be prepared for negative reviews

I’m going to burst your bubble, but only a little bit. I’m going to warn you about the perils of publication. Granted, this was your goal. But I want to make sure you’re prepared with a thick skin for the reviews of your book—maybe not in major publications, but everywhere that readers go. On blogs. On book reviewing websites. On Goodreads. On Amazon. And even when you write articles or blogs, be ready for folks to chime in wherever they can.

https://tenor.com/view/bubbles-gif-6215216

When your book is published, folks will read it and give their opinions. You may receive some five-star reviews on Amazon or Goodreads. You may receive some one-star reviews. Some readers will say yours is one of the best books they’ve ever read. Others will say your book wasted their time, and they didn’t finish reading it.

Be ready for both types of reviews. Take them at face value, realizing that never has any book pleased everyone. It always amazes me—the vast variety of comments and how a book can resonate with some people and be completely disliked by others.

I’ve started going to the Goodreads site online every time I finish a book, first to put it on my virtual shelves to keep track of what I’ve read, then to settle in and look for one-star reviews. Sometimes I have to scroll a bit, and sometimes they are waiting for me on the first page. I want to understand what makes people dislike a book. Sometimes the reviews help me pinpoint a niggling concern I had as I was reading—something I couldn’t quite put into words. Other times, it seems that readers are looking for something to complain about.

Some authors say that you shouldn’t read your reviews at all, for those very reasons.

But, let’s face it. You will.

When you see these reviews, you can’t do anything. These aren’t critique readers or your editor commenting. You can’t make changes. These are readers of your published work putting their opinions out in the world for all to see.

Take everything in stride. Remember that you can’t please everyone. Don’t take the one-star reviews so deeply to heart that you decide never to write again because you’re a failure. But, at the same time, don’t take the five-star reviews so deeply to heart that you decide never to write again because you can’t possibly do another book that would be as good. And if you do get many five-star reviews, stay humble.

Reviews are reviews. When you get hit with a one-star review (and you most likely will), don’t engage, go to battle, or try to change their mind. They read it, they didn’t like it, end of story. Move on. Some people just won’t get what you were trying to say or do in your book.

The problem is that no matter how many encouraging four- or five-star reviews you may get, it is those one- or two-star reviews that will keep you up at night, doubting yourself.

To make yourself feel better, choose a couple of favorite books you’ve read recently (choose some that are fairly new—not a classic from the 1800s).

Go to Goodreads or Amazon. Type in the title, find the book, and read the reviews. Read some five-star reviews (yay! They agree with you!). Now read some one- or two-star reviews (boo! They hated the writing, the metaphors, the characters, the plot, whatever).

Now realize that if your favorite book has such a variety of reviews, surely you are in good company.

Your best defense is to keep marketing your book and engaging with the folks who liked it—they are your audience, and they surely know others who will also like the book. And don’t be ashamed to ask for a positive review from them.

But don’t ASK for trouble

Here is where I get concerned and want to offer a warning. What you don’t want to happen is for your book to get legitimate negative reviews. What I mean is don’t be in such a hurry to self-publish (for instance) that you don’t have your book edited or proofread. If reviewers comment on typos and poor writing, that’s on you. Another issue would be rushing a book to press without fact checking or consideration of truthfulness. Seems obvious, right? Well, here is my plea to be careful and not to count on your editors to catch everything.

I never really thought about this until I finished reading Three Cups of Tea, by Greg Mortensen and David Oliver Relin. From the cover, it sounded like a lovely read about a man seeking to make a difference in Pakistan and Afghanistan in the late 1990s and early 2000s by building schools in remote villages. It topped The New York Times bestseller list for three years, so it must be good, right?

Well, not so much. It was an okay read. I didn’t love it, although I found it inspiring.

I finished the book, went to Goodreads to do my thing, and spent the rest of the afternoon reading review after review, which led me to article after article. The reviews, many of them glowing at first about the topic of the book (although many didn’t like the writing) turned negative after flaws and inconsistencies in the book began to be pointed out. Then in 2011, the 60 Minutes TV show did an exposé about parts of the book that had been allegedly fabricated, along with alleged mismanagement of funds by Mortensen’s nonprofit. Some articles and blogs vilified the book and the authors. Others pointed out the great work Mortensen had done in the region in spite of those lapses in judgment.

All that to say, sadly, the hard work of the book has given rise to questions and lawsuits. What was the motivation for the material that was not factual—such as the story of getting lost coming down from a failed attempt to summit K2 and crossing a bridge to a village (a bridge that did not exist at the time)? This story in the book’s opening provides the impetus for the remainder of the book. So, having that story’s facts on the first pages challenged called into question the rest of the book.

The author recounts another story of visiting Mother Teresa’s charity just after her death and his thoughts as he was able to sit quietly with her body. Problem is, the author says he was there in 2000, but Mother Teresa died in 1997 (not difficult to fact check). And none of the book’s editors caught it.

Mortensen said in interviews that various details had to be conflated to get the millions of original words down to the workable and publishable amount. Perhaps it was just faulty memory, or editing gone awry, or running stories together to keep the narrative moving. I don’t know. I just know that as I read beyond the whiny reviews by people who didn’t like the writing style and got to these very problematic issues that took down the author’s reputation, I felt terribly sad.

Be cautious with what you put into the world

This is merely a cautionary tale. In your rush to get your book out there, don’t skip the important steps because, trust me, you won’t get away with it. Don’t publish a book that hasn’t been vetted, edited, copyedited, fact-checked, and proofread. Make sure it is truthful and represents writing you’re proud of.

Then, when the inevitable nay-sayers don’t like your book, their reasons will be from their own particular tastes versus legitimate concerns. But in the process, you can stand behind your work with no apologies or backtracking.

The experience of getting published is like nothing else! But as you trek along the pathway to publication, take your time, be careful, do it right. Your moment at the mountaintop will be the better for it.

Copy taken from Linda K. Taylor, Pathway to Publication (Friendswood, TX: Bold Vision Books), March 24, 2023, pp. 211-215.

Pathway to Your Dreams

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She’s leaving today.

My sister, that is. Today she leaves to begin on a dream that she’s been holding in her heart for over thirty years. She begins her thru-hike on the Appalachian Trail.

She has been planning this trip for the past couple of years. I first heard about it during a quiet late December evening in 2021 as we sat together chatting, keeping vigil over our dying mom. We held her hands and whispered, and Carol told me of this plan.

And now, the day has come. She and her husband (who will be accompanying her on portions of the trail) have donned their well-prepared backpacks and taken the first steps toward a decades-old dream.

My sister and brother-in-law at the first white blaze that marks the southern start of the Appalachian Trail on Springer Mountain, GA. Only 2,190 miles to go!

It was in some of those quiet conversations with Carol that a thought came to me: The kind of preparations and patience and planning required for such a trek for her to reach that dream are comparable to the kind of preparations and patience and planning required to get a book published.

I was in the beginning stages of writing my book about the process of publication. I was struggling for a hook, plagued by imposter syndrome. But her words ignited something in me.

And Pathway to Publication — the title, the plan, the hook, and eventually the cover design were born. (Thank you, Bold Vision Books for this perfect cover. Read more about the book on this page here on my site.)

When you get ready for a long hike, you don’t just put on your gym shoes and start walking. You need preparation, plans, accurate maps, and appropriate equipment. Likewise, when you step onto the pathway to publication, you can’t rush the process. The publishing world has its own language, processes, and gatekeepers. You need to take the time to develop a plan, create the required pieces, and understand each step along the way.

I wrote this book for the dreamers. Those of you out there who so much want to get published. You have a manuscript but you don’t know what to do next. What are the steps on the pathway to that dream of publication?

My book will help you get there.

My sister is making her dream a reality. I’m hoping to help you make your publication dream a reality.

The book can be purchased on Amazon here.

And, incidentally, if you’d like to follow along my sister’s journey, you can read her blog updates here at “The Trek.”

I’m here to help be your guide on this pathway. Please feel free to contact me! In addition, I’d love to speak to your writers groups or conference. Helping writers is what I do.

Let’s grab our gear and get started!

The Proofreading Process

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You guys! I’m excited to tell you that my book, Pathway to Publication, could be available as soon as next month! (Stay tuned! Cover reveal soon!)

This past weekend, I’ve been working through the PDF of the typeset pages of my book to do a final proofread. The publisher kindly is allowing me to do so (since I’ve proofread hundreds of typeset books across my career and … well … definitely wanted to do it for my own). I have a system for proofreading and was eager to see how it played out.

I thought it might be helpful to you, my readers, to understand what the process looks like in checking the final look of book pages and doing a final proofread.

I love love love doing this part of any project. It’s like a treasure hunt making sure the pages are clean and looking for those errant and persistent typos.

So here we go:

On my first pass through the manuscript, I go page by page and do a visual check in several passes. I learned through difficult experience that my brain can’t handle trying to watch for all of the visual elements while also reading every word.

So I will go through the entire manuscript probably two or three times, focusing on different visual elements.

Visual scan of pages

I look down the right side of each page to make sure all paragraphs are justified right (meaning that the edge of the copy is straight). Most books have a straight right margin. If not, and they’re what is called “ragged right,” then I want to make sure that is consistent.

At the same time, I scan to see if the pages across each spread look even on the top and bottom.

Are the paragraph indents even? (Sometimes a random extra tab gets carried over from the Word document and shows up as a double tab on typeset pages.)

Running heads (or footers)

I go horizontally across each spread looking at the running heads (or footers). I’m checking to see if the wording is correct. Often a book will have the book title on the verso (left) page of a spread and the chapter title on the recto (right) side of the spread. I have often seen that the chapter title on the running head doesn’t match the actual chapter it’s in. (I even once copyedited a book where one of the words of the book’s title was missing from the running head on each verso page.)

I also look for “widows” and “orphans.” These are a single word or short line at the top or bottom of a page, or a subhead that’s hanging alone at the bottom of a page. These look awkward and unprofessional.

Chapter starts

I then go back to the beginning and check all of the chapter starts — the first pages of each chapter. Usually designers create an interior design that makes these pages different. The chapter number or title may start halfway down the page and there may be a drop cap on the first paragraph (a larger first letter).

There may also be a design element. (Look at the cool compass on the chapter starts of my book!) I check the first pages of each chapter for consistency. Sometimes the spacing is inconsistent or the drop cap is missing. (In the case below, I would like those two highlighted words, “or an,” moved to the next line so the lines are more even.)

Formatting of elements

I pull up my manuscript — the one I so carefully style tagged. You may not have style tagged, but you do know what level headings go where, what other elements require special formatting, etc.

I scan comparing my manuscript to the typeset pages to make sure the typesetter has differentiated and correctly rendered my levels of subheads. I make sure any box text (elements such as long quotations that should be indented) are done correctly. I check the bulleted text (sometimes bullets are on copy where they shouldn’t be and vice versa). You may have other elements, such as charts, diagrams, pictures. Make sure everything is where you want it and accompanying captions are correct.

Table of contents

I usually print out the pages of the Table of Contents (TOC) for cross checking as it makes less back and forth in the PDF. I always make sure the chapter title in the TOC matches the chapter title at the chapter start (I think every time I’ve proofread a book, I’ve found an error here). In Pathway to Publication, the editor asked me to make a detailed outline that put all my subheads in the TOC.

In my example below, I am marking places where my Level 2 heads need to be indented slightly under the Level 1 heads in the TOC.

Page numbers will be added on our next and final pass.

Now proofread!

Now you proofread every word. Every. Single. Word. Start with the title page (in the photo above I had to add the subtitle because — ahem — I hadn’t settled on one yet, so you can see my little highlight and comment), read every word on the copyright page, read every word slowly, look at every piece of punctuation, read every footnote, read every caption. At this point I make the page larger on my screen so I don’t strain my eyes.

Besides the spelling and punctuation, notice lines that look scrunched together or where the letters look too loose. This means the “kerning” is off and you can ask the typesetter to fix it if it looks awkward.

Sometimes lines may look too close to the lines above them. This is an issue with the “leading,” and again, you can ask your typesetter to check and adjust it.

Then you need to read every bit of the back matter. That bibliography? Check the formatting and that each element is included. Appendices, glossaries, indexes, oh my! This is where those of us who also love copyediting really strut our stuff!

And here’s the kicker. I will do all this and there will still be typos. Ughhh. Perhaps I’ll do a contest and we can all treasure hunt together.

Do you have any tips and tricks for doing proofreading?

When the year begins hard

lindaktaylor5 Comments

I’ve never been one of those people who takes the turning of the calendar to a new year too seriously. I don’t make lots of resolutions or feel that I can somehow start over, but I admit to at least thinking positively about some fun things coming this year. From watching my newest granddaughter explore her world to my new book coming out to a great lineup for our writers conference to some fun class plans, I was feeling enthusiastic.

That is, until January 4. After chatting with my 89-year-old dad and several of our family members together on Jan 1, to then dad suddenly needing to go to the ER with difficulty breathing on the 2nd, to thinking we lost him, to having him rally for a couple days, to then die in an ICU in Pittsburgh, PA, on January 4.

The sheer shock and suddenness threw us all for a complete loop. I had arrived on Dec 29 to help family with moving him to a new apartment in his complex to end up staying to plan his funeral … well, let’s just say the roller-coaster of emotions is not something I want to experience again anytime soon.

I’ve talked about my dad before. I am incredibly proud of him as a Colonel in the United States Air Force, honorably serving his country for 24 years. If you’re interested, here’s his obituary. He was truly one of the good ones. He was my hero.

Not to be morose, but all of this along with losing my mom, my mother-in-law, my brother-in-law, some of my husband’s aunts, another of my aunts and then, just yesterday, an uncle. This all in the past 15 months.

It’s dumb and not really true, but I just always figured my parents would never die. Everyone else’s would, but not mine. I knew I couldn’t handle it, so they’d just have to stick around. They certainly tried, both dying in their late 80s.

I know all of us have lost loved ones. Death is the part of life that comes whether we’re ready to face it or not. The loss is numbing. I’ve been surprised how this has shaken me.

Yet, I do not grieve as those who have no hope. While faith in Christ has in many ways fallen by the wayside in our current culture, looked at as either merely quaint or downright anathema, I remain grateful for parents who instilled that faith in me at a young age and encouraged my growth in it.

I know absolutely beyond a shadow of a doubt that one day I will be reunited with those I love in heaven. I can’t explain it (if I could, well, then where would faith be needed?). Paul wrote in 1 Thessalonians 4:16-18,

For the Lord himself will come down from heaven, with a loud command, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet call of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first. After that, we who are still alive and are left will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And so we will be with the Lord forever. Therefore encourage one another with these words.

People can believe what they will about those of us who hold to these promises, but that doesn’t change the promises. Over my 64 years of life, I’ve watched God at work in my life and the lives of others. I’ve watched new years come and go with new joys and new sorrows. I’ve watched the world spin around me. I’ve felt the ground move beneath my feet. But no matter what, I’ve always always had that solid foundation below me — the foundation that says I am loved by almighty God beyond anything I can imagine and that I was created for a purpose.

So in this new year, as I move forward from grief, I go in peace and deep abiding joy. “I know whom I have believed, and am convinced that he is able to guard what I have entrusted to him until that day” (2 Timothy 1:12 NIV).

Is your 2023 starting off hard? Feel free to comment below or message me so I can pray for you.

Freedom Isn’t Free: Thank You, Veterans

lindaktaylor3 Comments

I’ve posted this very similar post every Veteran’s Day over the last cycle of elections. It seems fitting that this special day to honor those who have served our country in the military comes right around the time that we elect those who lead us. And it seems fitting when those very elections have been so contentious. I’d like to step back and take a moment to think about elections and freedom.

This day means a lot to me because I get to honor my father, Col. USAF Ret. Philip Chaffee, who served 25 years in the military, trained pilots in the T-38 and other trainers, flew F-4 Phantoms in service to his country in Viet Nam, and taught me what it means to love my country (yes, my imperfect country). I get to honor numerous relatives, friends, folks who sit at breakfast beside me and my husband in the local diner, proudly wearing their veteran caps, and men and women I don’t know whose pictures are proudly displayed on banners in numerous small towns as their “Hometown Heroes.” It’s a way to honor my mom and all the military spouses and their families.

I thank you.

I’m here to thank you who swore to protect our freedoms. I’m here to thank you who, answerable to your commander-in-chief (for anyone who might not know, that’s the president of the United States), do what you are called to do. I’m here to honor you who take that job seriously, who are compassionate when you need to be and deadly when you need to be. I’m here to thank you who fight for freedom.

I wish that more people understood the sacrifices you make—in families separated for long stretches and, when not separated, uprooted and moved to new places; in facing enemy fire; in PTSD and things you can’t unsee when you close your eyes to sleep; in doing all of this for pathetic pay and, too often in this day and age, for little respect.

You make these sacrifices because you believe in America.

This is what I thank you for. Too many people just don’t seem to understand that freedom isn’t free. It has to be protected.

My dad is the coolest.

Let’s not let it go. Let’s be careful to be worthy of the sacrifices these people have made and make every day to protect our nation “from enemies foreign and domestic.” On this day we honor those who have served; on Memorial Day we honor those who have died in military service.

The best way we can honor our veterans is to handle carefully and respectfully — and dare I say, in awe of — the amazing gift of freedom. When we see it being chipped away, we need to fight back. We are a strong nation because we are a free people.

But here’s the other side of the coin. With freedom comes a huge amount of responsibility. We’re free—but not to hurt one another. Not to badmouth those who disagree with us. We’re free to express opinions, but we must always do so respectfully, realizing that the person across from us with a very different opinion came to that opinion in his or her own reasoned way just as we did.

Being able to express ourselves is the very essence of freedom.

Has America had some very bad policies? Oh yeah. Have some presidents made some really bad decisions? Heck yes. Does America have some really big problems to work on? You bet.

But it has always been that way. Always. No country is perfect just as no person is perfect. We are all fallible and the best we can do is, when we see a problem, decide that we need to fix it. And we start to figure out how to do that. We need all of the voices in the conversation—but there is no conversation if everyone is offended or upset or name-calling. The way we get to the best decisions is when we sit down and hear one another.

It’s what the Founding Fathers did. It’s what helped build a country that has been unmatched around the world.

Thank you, veterans. We will attempt to honor your lives and sacrifices.

Guidelines for Quoting Bible Material: Part 2

lindaktaylor4 Comments

As noted in Part 1 of this topic, quoting material from the Bible (and indeed any source) can be tricky. Editors need to be sticklers when it comes to sacred texts (and indeed, with any quoted material).

I offered 5 guidelines in Part 1. Here are 6 more guidelines when quoting (and then copyediting) material from the Bible.

(6) Watch your punctuation.

In addition to the quotation marks noted in Part 1, watch for other types of punctuation. The style for typing a verse within the text of a manuscript is generally quotation followed by punctuation. Notice in the following example that there is no punctuation at the end of the verse itself; instead, the period follows the close parenthesis of the reference.

“In the beginning the Word already existed” (John 1:1 NLT).

If your verse ends in a question mark or exclamation point, put that inside the close quote and put a period after the close parenthesis.

“Who has a claim against me that I must pay?” (Job 41:11 NIV).

“And Abraham said to God, ‘If only Ishmael might live under your blessing!’” (Genesis 17:18 NIV).

Notice in the Genesis verse that I had to add the open and close quotation marks around the entire verse, which means I had to put single quotations marks around Abraham’s words. The exclamation point stays, and the period is placed after the close parenthesis.

However, note that when you have a text in a block, the punctuation closes out the block with the reference without punctuation following.

You saw me before I was born. Every day of my life was recorded in your book. Every moment was laid out before a single day had passed. How precious are your thoughts about me, O God. They cannot be numbered! I can’t even count them; they outnumber the grains of sand! And when I wake up, you are still with me! (Psalm 139:16–18 NLT)

(7) Watch how you use ellipses.

Most publishers are fine with quoting a portion of a verse without ellipses at the beginning or the end. That is, if you’re talking about Jesus and what he said, and you want to drop off the “Jesus said” at the beginning of the verse and just quote what he said, you don’t need to include ellipses to indicate that you dropped the words “Jesus said.” The same often goes if you’re quoting just the first part and not the end; you don’t necessarily have to include the ellipses trailing at the end. Of course, you must use ellipses if you’re dropping material from the middle of the verse, or dropping a verse from a series of verses, to indicate that material is missing.

However, I would advise you to make these kind of changes carefully. Always remember that you’re working with God’s Word. Be respectful of it for its own sake and for the sake of your readers. Be careful not to cause contextual problems with ellipses. Make sure that you are letting the verse say what it says, without causing confusion by dropping out parts of it.

(8) Follow consistency in references.

While it’s important to know what to do with the Bible book name throughout your references, you will need to make several other consistency decisions as well—or you might ask your publisher how they want you to do it by requesting their style guide. (You can also get advice from The Christian Writer’s Manual of Style.) This attention to consistency may seem like overkill, but trust me, if you make these decisions early on and are consistent, your manuscript will make so much more sense to an editor and ultimately to your readers. For instance, in the Christian Writer’s Manual of Style, you’ll find an alphabetized text that includes extensive word lists of Christian terms and suggested spellings and capitalizations, along with every other question you might have and want to look up (for example, “Clerical titles and clerical positions” and how to use them is in the section for the letter C).

If you’re going to be quoting several verses from the same chapter (say, you’re discussing the story of Daniel in the lions’ den and your readers know you’re in Daniel 6, but throughout the coming pages you’re working your way through different verses), decide how to handle each reference. It might look awkward to put the full book name or even the abbreviated book name and chapter in each reference after each quote. Maybe opt for saying (verse 6) and (verse 7) and (verses 8–9), or maybe even (v. 6) and (v. 7) and (vv. 8–9). Or maybe keep just the chapter without the book name (6:6), (6:7), (6:8–9). The most important consideration is clarity for your readers.

(9) Let readers know if you are using emphasis.

Perhaps you want to emphasize a portion of a verse you’re quoting. Do that by putting it in italics, but let your readers know that the emphasis is yours. (This rule is true for quoting from anything anywhere, not just Scripture.) After the reference, say something like “italics mine” or “emphasis mine.” If you want to focus on the word patience in these verses about the fruit of the Spirit, do this: “But the Holy Spirit produces this kind of fruit in our lives: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control” (Galatians 5:22–23 NLT, emphasis mine).

(10) Use brackets to indicate added material.

As we’ve established, quoting from anywhere is sacrosanct. Leave the quote exactly as it is rendered—and this rule is obviously extremely important in Scripture. But sometimes, you’re quoting and must give your readers some context. Indicate that you are editing the direct quote by putting the edited material in brackets.

For example, quoting Genesis 45:25, “So they went up out of Egypt and came to their father Jacob in the land of Canaan” (NIV). You might need to explain who “they” refers to. Revise the verse to explain who “they” is by replacing the word and putting the referent in brackets, as follows: “So [Joseph’s brothers] went up out of Egypt and came to their father Jacob in the land of Canaan.”

Don’t use parentheses, because parentheses could be part of the quote. The brackets make it clear that you have added the material.

(11) Stay true to the Bible version.

Take care to always use the place and people names as rendered in the version you’re using. For example: Is that son of Saul named Ishbosheth or Ish-bosheth or Ish-Bosheth or Ish Bosheth? It’s actually all of them, depending on the Bible version. Some versions have John the Baptist’s mother spelled with a z “Elizabeth,” some with an s “Elisabeth”; some have his father as Zechariah and some as Zacharias. In some, Esther is married to King Ahasuerus; in others, King Xerxes.

Did the Israelites wander for 40 years in the “desert” or in the “wilderness”? Depends. In some Bible versions, place names are rendered as two words, others hyphenate, others just run them together, and capitalizations vary: Baal Peor, Baalpeor, Baal-peor, or even Baal of Peor.

This is not an issue of error; it’s an issue of translation and sources and Greek and Hebrew—and I suppose, whatever the translation committee eventually agreed upon.

And then, of course, some versions include upper-case deity pronouns (such as the NKJV) and some do not. So in some cases God is Him, His, Himself; in others, him, his, himself.

Even if a publisher’s style guide says not to capitalize deity pronouns, if in that same book you quote from a Bible text that does capitalize those pronouns, then always quote the Bible text as it is.

I know it seems like a lot, but, as with anything, the more you do it the easier it will become.

When quoting anything from printed material, always be exact, always give the source, always double check yourself.

After all, if someone quotes you, you would want it to be your exact words.

Guidelines for Quoting Bible Material: Part 1

lindaktaylor21 Comments

Because I worked in Christian publishing for many years, I have learned a thing or two about copyediting and proofreading quotations of Scripture.

Authors have a tendency — no matter how careful they are — to inadvertently misquote the words of a verse, miss punctuation, or (often) give the wrong reference.

That’s where careful copyediting and proofreading comes in. (This post will focus on the technical details; it goes without saying that you as copy editor will want to make sure that your author is quoting the verse in context and correctly handling the word of truth, as noted in 2 Timothy 2:15.)

Some authors decide that they will quote just from one version of Scripture throughout their self-help book or devotional; others want to use a variety of versions. All versions read differently, and these authors may want to change up and quote different versions just because of the way it renders a passage. If you’re an author, please always tell your editor what version of the Bible you’re quoting.

If your author has quoted from only one version throughout the manuscript, there is no need to give the Bible version after all of the references. The line on the copyright page stating that “All Scripture quotations are taken from …” is sufficient. However, if the author at one point decided to quote from another version—even just one verse—at that verse reference the author will need to note the version, and then you as copy editor need to make sure that the correct copyright clause for that Bible version has been added to the copyright page.

Some publishers follow the Bible quoting and sourcing guidelines in the Chicago Manual of Style, others follow The Christian Writer’s Manual of Style.  In addition, all Christian publishers have their own style guides for how to abbreviate Bible book names (Deut., or Deu., or Dt.), how to write references (hyphen, comma or en-dash between verse spans), and the capitalizations of various scriptural words (temple or Temple; rapture or Rapture). Some publishers use the lowercase letters a or b to indicate in the reference that the author is using the first or second part of a verse (Psalm 139:14a); others don’t do that. If you are editing for a particular publisher, ask for their style guide. If not, make your decisions at this point and note them on your style sheet so that you’ll be consistent.

Over the years, I’ve gathered up a list of items important to remember when quoting from or otherwise using Scripture in writing. Following are the first five of ten key rules for quoting and sourcing Scripture (the other five will be in the next blog post).

(1) Know what version(s) you’re using—and quote it correctly.

“Be careful, for writing books is endless” (Ecclesiastes 12:12, NLT).

“Of making many books there is no end” (Ecclesiastes 12:12, NIV).

“There’s no end to the publishing of books” (Ecclesiastes 12:12 MSG).

Follow the various style guides or the style guide from the publisher for the details; barring that, be consistent. Use your style sheet to make note of how you write the references (1:3, 4 or 1:3-4 or 1:3–4) and whether you’re writing Bible book names out in full or abbreviating them (and how you abbreviate them). The moral of the story is, be consistent.

By far the most important key to quoting Scripture is to quote it accurately. I can’t stress enough: Read the verses carefully, word by word. If I had a nickel for every time I’ve seen typos in quoted verses … well, I’d have a lot of nickels. And if the author has copied verses from Bible Gateway or some other electronic Bible, still double check it. Do a comparison read, a phrase at a time—read aloud and read the punctuation as well. If you’re working with an electronic Bible, minimize both screens so that you can see the document and see the electronic page at the same time. That makes it much easier than trying to flip back and forth between screens.

(2) Be sure that “Lord” or “God” is small caps where appropriate.

Throughout the Old Testament (and in the New Testament when it’s quoting the Old), the word Lord will be rendered as LORD, with the “ORD” as small caps and, in a few cases, GOD is that way as well. (Note that my WordPress program isn’t allowing me to make those small caps, but take a look in your Old Testament and you’ll see what I mean.) When you see Lord in small caps, you’re seeing the translators using this special formatting to show that the word is the Hebrew word for the name of God, YHWH or Yahweh, as opposed to other names of God (Elohim or Adonai, for example). It is important that when you quote Bible verses that have small caps, you include those small caps.

If you’re not seeing a verse quoted with the small caps and it should be, you can quickly create small capitals by highlighting the “ord” (make sure that you start with the letters in lower case) and then pressing Control + Shift + K. You can also highlight the three letters, navigate to the Home ribbon and Font tab with the dropdown to open up the Font menu, and then click on the box for “Small caps.” Mac users, do Command + Shift + K.

(3) Don’t worry about italics.

Some Old Testament texts italicize words that have been added for readability in English but are not technically in their source texts. You may not see these on the electronic Bibles, but if you’re copying from your Bible, you may see various words italicized. Unless the words are italicized for other purposes (for example, in the New Testament where Jesus speaking in Aramaic), then don’t worry about copying the italics. Most publisher style guides specify not to do that.

For example, Genesis 1:10 in the King James Version reads, “And God called the dry land Earth; and the gathering together of the waters called the Seas: and God saw that it was good.” Notice the italics on “land” and “it was.” When you copy this verse into your manuscript, you don’t need to italicize those words. (However, note that you do need to maintain the capital letters beginning Earth and Seas.)

However, if you’re quoting Jesus as here in Matthew 27:46 in the New International Version (2011): “About three in the afternoon Jesus cried out in a loud voice, ‘Eli, Eli, lema sabachthani?‘ (which means ‘My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?’),” then preserve the italics because this verse is following the rule of putting foreign language words in italics.

(4) Use quotation marks accurately.

Generally, when you’re going to quote a verse, you will put it in quotation marks, as here, “But God showed his great love for us by sending Christ to die for us while we were still sinners” (Romans 5:8 NLT). However, if you’re quoting a passage with more than five lines, generally you’ll put that in a block, so then you will not use open and close quotes (this line-count rule applies to quoting any kind of block text—not only Scripture). For example:

We can rejoice, too, when we run into problems and trials, for we know that they help us develop endurance. And endurance develops strength of character, and character strengthens our confident hope of salvation. And this hope will not lead to disappointment. For we know how dearly God loves us, because he has given us the Holy Spirit to fill our hearts with his love. When we were utterly helpless, Christ came at just the right time and died for us sinners. (Romans 5:3–6 NLT)

If you’re running a quoted Scripture verse into your text that has a quote within it, you will need to change the double quotes to single quotes, such as, “Jesus told him, ‘I am the way, the truth, and the life’” (John 14:6 NLT). Notice that since I had to enclose the quote in quotation marks to quote it here in this paragraph, I needed to change the original double quotation marks around Jesus’ words to single quotation marks. Also, if you need to capitalize a letter at the beginning or lower case a letter because you’re folding the quote into a sentence you wrote, do so.

The exception is when you do a block (as above). Since there are no open or close quotes around a block of text, any internal quotation marks will remain as in the original.

(5) Don’t include verse numbers.

When you’re quoting more than one verse, either running into your text or in a block quote, you don’t need to include the verse numbers at each verse. These verse numbers may carry over from electronic Bible software if you copy a block of material, so be sure to remove them.

“Versification” refers to those Bibles where each verse starts in a new paragraph; that is, the verses are not run together to create paragraphs. When you’re copying from such Bibles, you do not need to keep the verses separate. That is simply a stylistic decision made by the Bible publisher. For your purposes when quoting, run the material together into one paragraph.

The same rule applies to quoting poetry in Scripture. You can preserve the poetic lines or type the poetry into paragraph form. Also note that when presenting poetry together into paragraph lines, you may need to lowercase some letters. The text may have capital letters at the beginning of each new line or verse, but when run together, these would be incorrect. Fix the capitalization to match sentence case.

I know! There’s a lot to keep track of!

So that gets us started! We need to be very careful as we work with material that quotes Scripture. Watch for rules 6-10 in an upcoming post.

Even Editors Need Editors

lindaktaylor1 Comment

Here she is. All 332 pages of her. I told you about this book contract and, well, after some weeks of imposter syndrome and some constant worry about if I could actually write this book … well. Ta-da.

The working title is Pathway to Publication. I’m still trying on some subtitles, such as “A publishing professional turned college prof leads the way” or “guides you.” Not sure yet. But we have a little time to hone that part.

The writing process has not been easy. I look at these pages and honestly am astounded.

But it wasn’t done alone. It took a team of people to help me get to this point (and I’m not even at the publisher yet!).

A dear publishing friend helped me see beyond the “this has already been written a million times” dilemma to look instead at my personal perspective on this publishing process. She helped me see that I could write this from the college professor angle — so the book is shaped by the college classes I teach in Professional Writing and is very hands-on, including worksheets to help readers go from the theoretical to the practical. (Thank you, Kim.)

Another publishing friend recommended that I revise my website to focus on the teaching angle and build on that. (Thank you, Rhonda.)

My sister has been talking to me about preparations for her thru-hike of the Appalachian Trail next year. The more she talked, the more I discovered a hook I could hang this book on — preparing for the months on the AT could be compared to preparing a book for publication. That metaphor helped me lay out the chapters. (Thank you, Carol.)

A former student who now has a business helping authors promote their books will help me create a pre-publication marketing strategy. (Thank you, Jori.)

A high schooler I met at our writers conference teen track, who is new to the publishing process, is reading some chapters to help me know if I’m answering her questions. (Thank you, Eliana.)

A current student and another writer friend are reading to see if I’m staying true to the content and my voice, writing clearly, and speaking in the right way to my target audience. (Thank you, Anna and Dave.)

And, finally, yet another student who has started his own freelance editing business just completed an astounding copyedit of the manuscript. He caught me in my wordiness and in my tics. He smoothed and refined and questioned and commented. And, as I taught him in editing class, he remembered to offer a few positive comments as well. And boy, did I need them! (Thank you, Kipp.)

And I’m thankful to the many publishing professionals I’ve learned from across my almost forty years in the industry. Their wisdom guided this book. I’ve added their titles to a recommended books list and quoted several of them throughout. Instead of feeling like “this is just another book on the same topic,” I simply feel humbled to add my voice to the many others who have a passion to help writers.

All of this to say, we writers need folks around us — some with publishing advice, some with writing advice, some with editorial skill, some with marketing skill, some acting as the target audience readers — to bring out the best in our manuscripts.

I still have a week to go with this pile of paper before it goes off to the publisher. That’s why I printed it. I always need to see it on physical paper to highlight and mark the final changes I need to make.

Then, of course, the editor at the publisher will tear it apart — but I already know that. I teach about this. (Thank you, Bold Vision Books.)

I’m ready. After all, even editors need editors.

Even Thomas Jefferson Had Editors

lindaktaylor5 Comments

Happy July 4th, everyone! Independence Day. This is one of my favorite holidays. I do love our country so much and, while we certainly have had and continue to have our problems, we are a great country with a great heritage.

Which is why the picnics and parades and fireworks on July 4.

As I write this on July 2, it was on July 2, 1776, that the Continental Congress formally declared independence. It was two days later, on July 4, that the Congress approved the final text of the Declaration.

It had taken a few weeks and several versions to get there.

Apparently, the 33-year-old Thomas Jefferson was known for having a way with words in his writing (you never know when and for what your writing skills might be called upon!). On June 11, Jefferson, along with four others, was commissioned to draft a statement justifying the colonies’ break from Great Britain — a Declaration of Independence. The Committee of Five included Jefferson (VA), Benjamin Franklin (PA), John Adams (MA), Robert Livingston (NY), and Roger Sherman (CT). Jefferson wrote the first draft, then Franklin and Adams acted as first readers, making some corrections that Jefferson incorporated before the Declaration was presented to the Continental Congress for approval.

The process of consideration and revision of Jefferson’s declaration (including Adams’ and Franklin’s corrections) continued on July 3 and into the late morning of July 4, during which Congress deleted and revised some one-fifth of its text. … The delegates made no changes to that key preamble, however, and the basic document remained Jefferson’s words. Congress officially adopted the Declaration of Independence later on the Fourth of July.

Source: History: Writing of Declaration of Independence

What was that one-fifth of the text that was revised or deleted? Constitutionfacts.com gives a little info:

Jefferson was quite unhappy about some of the edits made to his original draft of the Declaration of Independence. He had originally included language condemning the British promotion of the slave trade (even though Jefferson himself was a slave owner). This criticism of the slave trade was removed in spite of Jefferson’s objections.

Source: Constitutionfacts.com/Declaration of Independence

In addition, the Congress made 86 other changes before finally adopting the approximately 1,320-word Declaration.

Jefferson later wrote about the process in 1823:

… the other members of the committee “unanimously pressed on myself alone to undertake the draught [sic]. I consented; I drew it; but before I reported it to the committee I communicated it separately to Dr. Franklin and Mr. Adams requesting their corrections. … I then wrote a fair copy, reported it to the committee, and from them, unaltered to the Congress.”

Source: National Archives: America’s Founding Documents

The National Archives site quoted above goes on to explain, “Jefferson’s rough draft, however, with changes made by Franklin and Adams, as well as Jefferson’s own notes of changes by the Congress, is housed at the Library of Congress.”

This is every writer and editor’s dream. To see the actual text and edits of any great work. Well, we can take a look courtesy of the Library of Congress website, listed under “The Thomas Jefferson Papers at the Library of Congress,” and titled, “Thomas Jefferson, June 1776, Rough Draft of the Declaration of Independence.”

Screenshot of source: Library of Congress website, https://www.loc.gov/resource/mtj1.001_0545_0548/

In this link are photos of four hand-written pages with scratch outs and rewrites. You can see, for example, on page 1, how the words “a people” were changed to “one people.” You can see that the next entire line is scratched out, replaced with what did become the final words, “… dissolve the political bands which have connected them with another, and to assume …” And the first line of the next paragraph, to me one of the most beautifully written in all of literature, appears to have been edited several times to get it just right: “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.”

Note that “Life, Liberty, and the pursuit of Happiness” remained unedited.

Who knows what discussions occurred as those Continental Congress delegates edited by committee over those two days in 1776? (And if you’ve ever sat in on a meeting where an entire group is attempting to edit a document, you know how frustrating that can be.) Why did they make certain cuts? What were the compromises? Why didn’t they understand freedom truly for ALL people? What subtle wording changes occurred? Indeed, Robert Livingston, one of the Committee of Five, did not ultimately sign the Declaration, believing it was too soon to declare independence.

But on July 4, 1776, the Continental Congress finalized the document, then on August 2, 1776, 56 men signed it, knowing that they were putting their lives literally on the line by doing so. This group of men, as imperfect as they were, believed in freedom. They had the vision to create a nation with founding principles of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness — and the documents they created formed our United States of America.

Odd fact: Both Thomas Jefferson and John Adams died within hours of each other on July 4, 1826, the 50th anniversary of the Continental Congress’s approval of the Declaration of Independence.

So celebrate today! Wave your flag and thank the founders of the Declaration of Independence for their vision. It laid the foundation that we should continue to cherish, even as we as a nation have been adjusting and changing over the last 246 years. Let us celebrate our freedom.

Sources:

The Franklin Institute: Benjamin Franklin and the Declaration of Independence)

History: Writing of Declaration of Independence

National Archives: America’s Founding Documents

Thomas Jefferson, June 1776, Rough Draft of the Declaration of Independence

Writers Need Thick Skin, Part 1: Dealing with Rejection

lindaktaylor7 Comments

I tell my students this all the time: “You want to be a writer? You want to get published? You want to get your writing into the hands of readers? Then develop a thick skin.”

Sounds tough, I know. But it’s 100 percent true.

And this theme is a key element of my upcoming book, which has no title yet but is right now affectionately called, “So you’ve finished your manuscript? You want to get published? Here is everything you need to know, prepare, do, and plan for.” I know, too long. But that’s basically what it’s about.

And there’s a whole chapter on the idea of having a thick skin. Because writers need it.

We need it before we get published, and we need it after (which I will discuss in a later post as Part 2).

First, the BEFORE. Anyone who has been writing and submitting for more than a week has discovered that rejection is simply a part of the process. Writers need thick skin to be ready to handle those inevitable rounds of rejection and maintain personal mental health. No matter how many years you’ve been at it, no matter how many pieces you have or have not published, those four simple words “not right for us” hit right in the gut.

Every. Time.

Why does it hurt so much? Well, as a much-rejected writer, I believe it just comes down to how much of ourselves we put into every piece we write and how rejection feels like a rejection of us personally. Whether it’s a literary story, or a transparent memoir, or a how-to on keeping houseplants alive, we worked hard and put ourselves out there. So it is always with great fear and trembling that we send out the piece or the query or the proposal and anxiously await the response.

We fear that someone out there will laugh uproariously at our audacity to think we can write and that anyone would publish us, show it around so everyone else laughs at our expense, and then reply with the terse email, “Not right for us.”

Courtesy of memebetter.com meme generator (which I love!). Grumpy cat photo and meme created by Tabatha Bundesen.

Can I offer up a few facts to help keep those rejections in perspective?

However, first, I’m going to assume that you are a careful writer and researcher, that others have read and critiqued your work, that you’ve revised and revised to make it the best you can deliver. That is my assumption. (Please don’t be one of those writers who tries to send off the first draft or who dares to think that “God gave me the words” so therefore it’s perfect as is.) Good, solid writing takes time and care.

Beyond that, here are some thoughts from my own (and many others’) experiences:

  • Everyone gets rejected. Every single famous author started out right where you are — wallowing in the misery of the “not right for us.” If you don’t believe me, here’s an article about best-selling books that were initially rejected (often many times).
  • You have to understand how many pieces these editors are seeing every single day. Sometimes hundreds. You have a lot of competition when there are a couple hundred submissions for a single spot in a magazine, or when there are hundreds of book proposals for perhaps five publication slots at an imprint of your genre for the next publication season. So don’t take it personally.
  • It could be that, although your piece or proposal is stellar, someone got in right before you with something very similar. And yours gets rejected. There’s no way you could know that.
  • Acceptance is very subjective. The gatekeeper reading your query or literary piece or proposal needs to “feel it.” They need to resonate with your topic or your voice. And if they don’t, then it will be rejected. Not because you’re a terrible writer, but simply because this particular editor just didn’t have that gut reaction. And there’s no way you can control that.
  • Rejection is about the piece, the query, the proposal — it is not a rejection of you as a person or as a writer (no matter how much it feels that way).

So how can you handle rejection? Here are a few more thoughts:

  • Allow yourself to feel bad for a bit. It does hurt. (Give yourself a day to wallow, if needed. But no negative self-talk. Remember, it’s not a rejection of you.)
  • Pick yourself up, dust yourself off, and go back to your tracking system for the next place to submit. (You do have a tracking system, don’t you? If not, create one. Make a list of all the places you want to submit to on something like an Excel doc. More on that in a later post — oh, and also in my upcoming book. <just a teaser>). What I mean is that on such a list you can now mark down that XX publication or publisher rejected it, so now turn around and send it to YY. Of course you’ll have to revise your piece, and double check submission guidelines and word counts, but get it out there again. If you really believe in it, keep trying at other places. You might hit right at the moment when they DO need just your piece and the editor DOES resonate with it.
  • You could even take an optimistic approach, like this writer, on why you should aim for 100 rejections a year (pardon the swear word in the article — but the point is valid). The basic premise is that the more you’re submitting, yes, the more you’ll get rejected, but by the law of averages, it also means the more chances you’re giving yourself to eventually be published.
  • Stay classy, don’t burn bridges with any editor or publisher, and thicken that skin.

You writers out there who have experienced rejection, how do you handle it and keep your writing sanity?

Proud of my grads

lindaktaylor4 Comments

So excuse me while I get a little verklempt.

It happens to me every year, around May, you know … graduation. Every year, another set of students in whom I’ve invested for four years whatever knowledge I have to share, whatever words of wisdom I have to offer, and whatever encouragement I have to pour out on them — every year, another batch of them leaves. I wrote about this feeling back in 2015, about my annual heartache, and it has followed me every year since then.

Seriously, it feels like it did when I had to let my kids go. We parents know what it’s like to launch our children. To watch them drive away to that new job, or to hand them off in marriage, or to stand by and hold our breath as they learn the joys and frustrations of adulting.

I know these aren’t my kids, but they have definitely become a part of my life and the letting go still hurts my heart.

The Professional Writing 2022 seniors from Taylor University (oh, and me).

But here’s the deal. These folks are really special to me. They entered the Professional Writing program just as I was taking it over in the wake of some unexpected changes. They stuck with me. They offered thoughts and advice and encouragement as we worked to update the program to better prepare them (and future ProWrites) to successfully leave college and enter the work force.

And here’s another deal: They’re doing it! Four of them already have jobs in their field! I mean, job jobs. Jobs they have trained for. One of them is going on to graduate school for an MFA. The others are in interview processes that will land them shortly, I have no doubt.

They are ready.

I’m happy, I’m sad. I’m letting them go knowing that indeed that’s what I’m here for. To bring them in, train them as best I can, and send them on their way to whatever God has for them.

Seriously. I have the best job in the world.

Blessings to you Ellie, Kipp, Zach, Grant, Tarah, Alyssa, Katie, Lindsey. Go with God.

Finding Your Writing Rhythm

lindaktaylor4 Comments

I’ve been thinking about my writing rhythm as I’m working feverishly to meet my book deadline (mid-May). First was getting past my imposter syndrome that plagued the early writing.

Now is, you know . . . finishing the actual book.

In mid February, when the spring semester began and I worked up my weekly class schedule, I thought I would take advantage of a free hour here and there during my work days between classes to keep the momentum going. “One hour of writing,” I boldly declared to myself in the box on the weekly printed schedule.

It has yet to happen.

There is too much else needing my instant attention in those in-between hours — whether it’s emails or grading or prep for the next class or students wanting to meet or just plain taking a breather. (As a card-carrying introvert, being “on” all day long is exhausting. Sometimes I just need to recharge in my quiet office before venturing back out in front of the classroom.)

I’ve discovered that I just can’t work on my book in those in-between hours. It takes too much for me to get going, and then, once I get going, I don’t want to stop and then have to pick up later. A single hour just isn’t enough. But give me an entire Sunday afternoon or give me a free day during our college’s spring break, and I can write for five or six hours before looking up and realizing I should go get something to eat.

Allie Pleiter (creator of The Chunky Method — check it out, it’s cool!) would call me a “big chunk writer.” There are “little chunk writers,” those folks who can pick up and write in the cracks of time between other events. Some of my students fall into that category. In the few minutes between classes, they write. Others are like me and need to find a place and a time where uninterrupted hours allow for uninterrupted flow.

Indeed, famous writers past and present have very different types of rhythms. This article, The Daily Routine of 20 Famous Writers (and How You Can Use Them to Succeed) by Mayo Oshin, offers up the routines of twenty of them. Stephen King tries to write six pages a day, while John Steinbeck strove for one a day. Ernest Hemingway, Susan Sontag, and Maya Angelou wrote in the mornings (it seems that for many of them, mornings are key). Ray Bradbury wrote one short story a week, figuring that, with the law of averages, at least one out of 52 would have to be good. Mark Twain wrote all day from after breakfast until dinnertime. Charles Dickens always took a three-hour midday walk.

Some need music; some need silence (I’m a silence worker). Some write at the same time in the same spot every day. Some are compulsive about page or word count, others not so much.

The point is, no rhythm is right or wrong — you just need to find yours. And granted, I’m guessing you’re not making your living writing, so you probably have to work your writing time around job and family responsibilities. It’s a challenge.

Yes, it’s a challenge, but it will be worth it!

My senior capstone students are currently reading Andrew Peterson’s excellent book Adorning the Dark (if you haven’t read it, please do!). He writes, “If you wait until the conditions are perfect, you’ll never write a thing” (p. 40). And all of them resonated with that statement. (And, if they think it’s tough now while in college …).

So if you’re going to make your writing life work, you need to figure out a rhythm that works for your life right now in this season. Even then, a few months from now, your life routine may change and you’ll need to readjust. But figure out something that will work for you now.

  • Decide if you can make use of small chunks of time or you need long chunks of uninterrupted time.
  • Consider the time when you’re most productive (and have time to put into writing). If you’re a morning big chunk writer with a full-time job, maybe you’ll have to use Saturday mornings. If you’re a morning small chunk writer, maybe getting up a bit earlier and putting in an hour each morning will work for you.
  • Determine if you can work amidst chaos (will the kitchen table work while folks are moving around you, or a local coffee shop?) or if you need quiet. If you need a quiet space, can you set up a work table in a large closet, or the garage, or an attic? Is there a space you can set aside where you can work?
  • Can you do chaos but with earplugs or earphones? Does music help or hinder?

Find out what works for you. Just because someone says to write X number of words or pages a day doesn’t mean YOU have to do that. But if you’re going to keep moving ahead with your writing, you’ll have to find a rhythm that works best for you.

If you’ve found your writing rhythm, what does that look like? Share in the comments below.

3 Questions for Imposter Syndrome

lindaktaylor5 Comments

I feel it (almost) every day. “Imposter Syndrome.”

Defining terms:

An imposter, a fraud. Someone who pretends to be someone else in order to deceive.

A syndrome, a group of symptoms that occur together creating some kind of abnormality. Over at the U of Utah Health site, it says, “A disease usually has a defining cause, distinguishing symptoms and treatments. A syndrome, on the other hand, is a group of symptoms that might not always have a definite cause.”

Put together, one feels like a fraud because of some undefined group of symptoms with no definite cause.

The full definition, as noted by Psychology Today, is:

People who struggle with imposter syndrome believe that they are undeserving of their achievements and the high esteem in which they are, in fact, generally held. They feel that they aren’t as competent or intelligent as others might think—and that soon enough, people will discover the truth about them. 

It looks like me asking such questions:

“What am I doing teaching at a college? I never trained for this! Everyone else on faculty is so much more [academic, interesting, challenging, capable, professional, creative] than I am.”

“What am I doing writing a book about publishing? Everything has already been written. How can I possibly add anything new to the mix? All the other authors [are better writers, have deeper knowledge, have stronger writing voices, can promote their books better, are already on the circuit, are more fun to be around].”

Then basically choose any other task or role, and I’ll find a way to feel like either I shouldn’t try to do it or shouldn’t be there if I am doing it … because, you know, someone else could do it so much better.

I’m not alone. Again according to Psychology Today, 70 percent of adults may experience this at least once in their lifetime. But my imposter syndrome is less about me feeling undeserving of accolades or awards (don’t currently have any to speak of); instead, it’s more about me feeling like I’m merely acting a part and, yes, someone at some point is going to find out I’m not as competent as I pretend to be and they’ll call me out.

Photo courtesy Wikimedia Commons

Ever feel like that?

I don’t want to feel like an imposter, even as I humbly acknowledge my shortcomings in so many areas. So I’ve learned to ask myself three questions because, as a Christian, I look not just within but outside myself as well, to my heavenly Father, for help in dealing with this negative thinking and self-doubt.

(1) Did God call me to this job or give me this opportunity?

(2) Have I sensed his clear guidance and peace in pursuing it?

(3) Do I continue to sense his presence — whether things are going smoothly or not?

If I can say yes to these questions, then I can look imposter syndrome in the face and calmly explain that I am NOT a fraud. I am not perfect, I’m still learning, I’m still striving to improve, but I’m not going to let imposter syndrome cause me to do less than my best or refuse to take risks or try new opportunities. I won’t let it stifle me or God’s plan for my life.

(Well, at least I’m going to keep trying …)

What’s that verse we all love? “I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me” (Philippians 4:13, NKJV). When Christ is giving me strength to do a task he has clearly called me to, then who am I to feel like I’m just an imposter?

Have you ever been inflicted by imposter syndrome? What has helped you through it? Share in the comments!

To the Old Man Working at Starbucks

lindaktaylor5 Comments

You sort of stand out. Most Starbucks employees are pink-haired, nose-ringed youngsters happy to have a first job that isn’t sitting behind a desk. I can say this because my daughter used to work as a shift-manager at a Starbucks right out of college. She was not pink-haired and nose-ringed, but she was young and happy to have a job that wasn’t behind a desk. She loved that job, although a marriage and three daughters later, she has moved on to—you guessed it—a job behind a desk.

But you, sir, you’re tall and grey-haired with glasses. You’re very distinguished looking. You have on the green apron and the headset. I’m at the cash register getting my chai and watching you heat up my blueberry scone. You’re staring into the microwave window as the scone circles. There’s a lag in the activity, a rare quiet moment for you in the day of busy baristas. You’re looking in that window, but you’re not seeing anything.

Image courtesy of Annie’s Eats, Flickr

Why are you here amongst these young bouncy extroverts? Do you have this job because you have to or because you want to?

Is this a job to get you out of the house because a beloved wife passed away and being alone at home all day is just too much?

Is this a job to give you some money because social security just isn’t enough to live on?

Did you get hammered in the stock market? Did your mortgage get under water? Is the economy taking such a hit on you that you have to be here taking latté orders with a shot of this or that?

I’m sorry. I want to come around the counter and give you a hug.

I want to tell you it’s okay that it takes you a little longer to get my drink or to heat my scone. I want to tell the flurry of baristas to just slow down a little.

After all, I bet you have a story to tell. Are you a veteran? What have you seen?

Were you at the top of your game—a CEO or an academic?

Were you a solid and loyal employee for a company that repaid you by downsizing or moving away?

Why are you here?

I could ask but I just think that would be rude. But I want to hear your story.

Why are you here?

And then I think about how I’m suddenly seeing so many older people in jobs where they shouldn’t be—at the checkout line at Walmart, handing me my burger through the McDonald’s window, mopping the floor in the grocery store.

All of them are someone’s mom or dad, someone’s grandpa or grandma. What if you were my dad? What if an impatient punk lit into him for taking an extra ten seconds to gather his thoughts and count the right change? I’d wanna punch that kid.

I really hope you aren’t doing this because you have to, but I suspect that isn’t the case. I wish the economy wasn’t tanking and COVID wasn’t turning everything upside-down.

Sir, I’m not sure why you’re here. I don’t know what circumstances led you to put on the green apron and headset and heat up my scone for me.

But I appreciate you. Whatever your story is, I appreciate you.

Love Letter Legacy

lindaktaylor3 Comments

I won’t sugar-coat it. Christmas this year kind of sucked. I mean, it was good to be with family, but the gathering was because we knew my mom was not going to live much longer. My family and I arrived in the early hours of her 87th birthday, December 24, and that was the last day she was somewhat coherent and knew us (a blessing in itself). She breathed her last late in the evening of December 27th (although hospice confirmed it in the wee hours of the 28th, so that is her official death date). Her obituary is here. (Incidentally, this followed on the heels of losing my mother-in-law in October and brother-in-law in November.)

The blessing side was having family together to surround her. During those final days, she was never alone (whether she knew it or not). Between dad, my sister’s family, and my family, someone was always there to talk to her, read to her, sing hymns and carols to her. She died peacefully and entered heaven’s glory. What a blessing to know that fact and rejoice even in sorrow.

In the days following the funeral as we began to help my dad adjust to his new normal, he shared lots of fun stories. This one stands out and I simply have to share it, for it is the power of the written word and letters to begin a legacy of love that, for my parents, lasted for 67 years.

The power of the written word and letters begins a legacy of love that, for my parents, lasted for 67 years.

My dad shared the story that, home from college during his senior year, he went to the local roller rink for an evening. A lovely young woman caught his eye. He finally got a chance to skate with her and was able to get her name and city: “Reva Grover, Corry” (Corry, PA). Then she went home with another guy, saying he couldn’t take her home because she didn’t know him.

But dad couldn’t forget her. So from his dorm room at college 300 miles away, he wrote her a letter, telling us that the envelope had nothing more than her name, city, and state (this was pre-zip code days). He mailed it on the truly off chance that she would ever receive it.

And thank goodness for small towns, because the letter found its way to her.

The actual letter my dad sent with only my mom’s name and her city and state because that was all the information he had. Notice the cost of the stamp (3 cents!).

My daughter went to mom’s “hope chest,” which has been in their bedroom for my entire life. Sure enough, buried beneath various memories was a box of every letter she and my dad exchanged, starting with this one. We couldn’t believe we had the actual letter!

Of course, we wondered what in the world dad had said in this letter so, with his permission, we pulled it out and read it aloud. The letter began: “9/23/54 Hi, This is going to be a shot in the dark if I ever made one.”

Then, of course we wondered what she had said in return. Finding that letter, we pulled it out and read it aloud.

My dad, leaned back in his easy chair and said upon our finishing that letter, “Well, don’t stop now!”

So began an evening reading each back-and-forth letter as my parents, having only met once, began to learn about each other. They asked questions about family and about faith. There were local Corry football scores from mom; tales of fraternity life, final exams, and chorus travels from dad. The letters became more and more frequent with Thanksgiving being their next opportunity to meet. Clearly their first official date and time together went well, for the post-Thanksgiving pre-Christmas letters become more frequent, all the while both of them counting the days until Christmas when they would meet again (on her birthday, December 24).

Clearly, they had fallen in love over the Thanksgiving holiday and knew that Christmas was going to be very special.

Dad’s college photo on the left, mom’s high school photo on the right. Left bottom is the photo of mom pinning dad’s wings on him as he graduated Air Force ROTC from Colgate University in the spring of 1955.

Indeed, another set of letters from January to May surely lays out their future (we didn’t have time to get to those letters; dad said they were probably pretty mushy anyway). That next summer, after dad graduated from Colgate University, he proposed to mom and they were married in Corry, PA, on November 5, 1955.

Mom and Dad’s wedding photo.

Before she passed away, they’d had 66 years of marriage.

During those 66 years, they had also weathered a separation for eight months while my dad served his country in Viet Nam. Also buried in that hope chest are eight months’ of daily letters back and forth between them. A future task for me is to transcribe all of those letters, along with daily entries from my dad’s journal while he was there, as a legacy for our family.

I can’t help but feel that, in the future, we’ll be missing something of our heritage for our children and grandchildren and beyond without having physical letters. While I’m sure my dating parents would have been delighted by the technology of texts and phone calls without the prohibitive long-distance charges, I’m thankful they wrote (and my mom saved) these letters. It’s a window into their story.

A story that has become my own.

I Got a Book Contract!

lindaktaylor9 Comments

Hey writing friends! I just have to share some good news.

I got a contract for another book and I’m so excited.

I’ll be working again with Bold Vision Books, who published my last book titled Word by Word: An Editor Guides Writers in the Self-editing Process (you can read more about that book here).

This will be a revised and expanded version of that book–probably incorporating much of what is in the current book but then bringing in everything that a writer should be doing in the process of preparing for publication. After all, the actual writing of the manuscript is only part of the process.

So I began an outline. See what you think. What am I missing?

  • Seeking an agent
  • Seeking a publisher
  • Building (or enhancing) your social media presence
  • Self-editing your manuscript (that part I have)
  • Going to writers’ conference and what to expect
  • Writing the book proposal
  • Writing the one sheet
  • Perfecting your pitch
  • Preparing for book promotion
  • Being confident in your work
  • Handling rejection
  • Handling acceptance
  • Understanding contracts and rights

As I have attended and taught at many writers’ conferences, I have begun to realize how much knowledge of the industry I take for granted and how much most people simply don’t know. A one-stop basic book for writers just putting their toes into the publishing waters will offer them understanding and confidence as they move through the process of trying to get published.

There is a lot to unpack here. If you have thoughts about something newbie writers should know but don’t — in other words, topics I should address in the book — please comment below or write to me. I would love to hear from you.

Help me make this happen!

In Defense of Proofreader Marks

lindaktaylor2 Comments

I recall it vividly. I was just out of college at my first job working for a small publisher (ETA–Evangelical Training Association that does basic books about the Christian faith). The company hired me as an assistant editor. I was green, knew nothing about the publishing industry, and very little about editing and proofreading.

(Now, after forty years in the industry, I teach everything I didn’t know to my Professional Writing students so that they don’t have the same experience I did. I want them to hit the ground running in any new job with solid understanding of what’s needed.)

But I digress.

Mind you, this was the mid-1980s. No computers and fancy Microsoft Word programs. No fun little “comments” added to Word documents. No squiggly lines on a document pointing out misspellings and potential grammatical problems.

No. This was printed galleys (long printed pages of a book on big sheets of paper) and red pens.

This was where I learned on the job.

As I began proofreading our galleys, revising a sentence to update it meant dutifully crossing out the offending sentence and then writing the revision neatly in the margin. (Thankfully, I have neat writing.) So far so good.

Deleting a stray comma meant marking out the comma, running the red line across to the margin, and writing “delete comma.”

Removing a word meant crossing out the word, running the red line across to the margin, and writing “delete word.”

Capitalizing a currently uncapitalized word meant circling the offending letter, running the red line across to the margin, and writing “capitalize.”

Two words that should be one meant circling the word, running the red line across to the margin, and explaining that “the two words should be one word.”

I’m sure you’re seeing a theme … lots and lots of red lines, lots of explanatory words.

Here’s what I remember vividly. After I had been working on my first set of galleys for several days, the office manager / editor / person-who-knew-more-than-me stepped into my office with a sheet of paper. She had seen my proofreading pages and was coming to the rescue.

She handed me a sheet of paper neatly laid out with what I came to discover were proofreading marks. A squiggle to delete. Three lines to capitalize. Carets from above or below for insertions. Sideways parentheses to close up the space between words or letters. A hashtag symbol to insert a space. She patiently explained to me that these magical marks would replace my explanatory scribbles.

Smooth, clean, easy.

I’m attaching a sheet with proofreader marks that I use in my classes. It’s free for you to download here.

proofreading-marksDownload

And yes, I still teach my students how to read and use proofreader marks. Is that a waste of time? I don’t think so for a couple reasons:

  • Not everything is copyedited or proofread electronically (either as Word documents or PDFs). Knowing proofreader marks allows you to quickly and easily show what needs to be done if you’re handed physical copy to work with.
  • Sometimes you’ll be working with older folks who know these markings and maybe not the Microsoft Word tools. If you’re handed a physical copy with these markings all over it and it’s your responsibility to incorporate them, you’ll know exactly what to do. (I once had a student message me in a panic. He was at his internship and his boss had done just that — handed him a proofread piece all done with proofreader marks, and it was his job to incorporate the corrections into the Word document on his computer. “Can you send me that sheet of symbols?” he asked. I like to think I saved the day.)

And if you’re interested in a little fun, enjoy these “lesser-known editing symbols” courtesy of Brian A. Klems. The photo below is from his post. (And seriously, sometimes these are just what a proofreader needs.)

All credit to Brian A. Klems

So yes, I still think proofreader marks are valuable to know and valuable training for anyone who seeks to become an editor.

Let’s Get Tech-y: How to Create Style Tags

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Hey you guys! I did a thing! I created a YouTube video on my very own YouTube channel that now has exactly ONE video!

It’s taken a while, but YES, YouTube!

In many of my previous tech-y posts, I’ve talked about how to work in Microsoft Word in order to prepare a manuscript to the industry standards. Agents and acquisitions editors are pleased when clients understand some of these basics and can put together a manuscript that has the key elements (as I noted in this post and various posts thereafter).

A feature of Microsoft Word that is somewhat unknown is style tagging. Word has a powerful way of either messing up your documents (despite your best-laid plans) or making them consistent and beautiful. You just need to know the process.

The purpose of this video came from my designer/typesetter friend who has been trying to explain to his clients why style tags are so necessary in the process of designing and typesetting books. He knows this is my wheelhouse, so he wrote and asked me to “please find a way to explain the why and how of style tagging!”

This can be helpful whether you’re a college student writing papers and trying to have consistent subheads or an author preparing your manuscript to be typeset.

(Note that this is sort of a step beyond what most people need to know. If you do all of the steps I’ve outlined in previous posts, you’ll be good to go.)

If, however, you’re considering self-publishing your book and creating it yourself, or if you hope to work in the publishing industry one day, understanding this part of the process of prepping manuscripts for typesetting (flowing the Word document into an InDesign program, for example), will show that you really know your stuff.

I teach style tagging to my Professional Writing students for that very reason.

And this process is much more complex than my previous posts where I could do screenshots; hence, the video. If this part of the process intrigues you, well here you go.

As I have time, I’ll go back through all of my tech-y posts and add an accompanying video.

Do you have any particular issues with Microsoft Word or with creating a manuscript that you have questions about? I’m happy to help, or at least try to find the answer for you. Let me know in the comments below, or write me through the contact form.

Let’s Get Tech-y: Ordering Your Front Matter

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After you’ve created your title page, copyright page, and table of contents (as explained in the linked previous blog posts), you may have other pieces that you will need or want to include in the front matter. Here is Chicago Manual of Style’s order of front matter.

  • Title page (must have)
  • Copyright page (must have)
  • Dedication
  • Table of Contents (standard in nonfiction; optional if fiction)
  • Foreword
  • Preface
  • Acknowledgments (if not part of the Preface or in the back matter)
  • Introduction (if not part of the text)
  • Prologue

In this article I want to focus on everything on this list except title page, copyright page, and table of contents.

Dedication

If you want to include a dedication, this should be placed after the copyright page and before the table of contents. Create a new page, then center the material vertically and horizontally. Choose your dedication carefully, and word it carefully. Remember that this is an honor to the person or people to whom you are dedicating your book and will remain as a memorial—even long after your book goes out of print. It can be touching or funny, but remember that it is also timeless. You aren’t required to include a dedication. This is totally up to you.

Foreword

A foreword (not a “forward”) is written by someone else. This person might be a celebrity or someone well known in the field about which you’re writing. This person tells your audience why your book is valuable and worth their time to read. It amounts to an endorsement.

Preface

A preface is written by you to acquaint your readers with some interesting information about you, how you came to write the book, or other interesting circumstances surrounding the book’s creation. This could also include information such as “How to Use This Book” if that is necessary. However, realize that many times your readers will skip both the foreword and the preface. Don’t give any significant issues regarding the content. If you need to do that, then do it in the introduction, or do an introduction instead of a preface.

Introduction

An introduction gets into the content of your book (and may be used instead of a preface). You want readers to read it because it sets them up for what is to come. If your potential reader is standing in the bookstore and has lifted your book from the shelf, he or she is going to look at the cover, read the back cover copy, and then open to the introduction. You want to explain to the reader exactly what the book is offering. The introduction should provide information that leads right into the first chapter.

Prologue

A prologue is similar to an introduction and can do the same thing as the introduction—except that if you have a prologue at the beginning, you also need an epilogue at the end. So think both ways: If you think your book will include an epilogue to provide information to the story after the official end of the book, then you’ll need to include a prologue in the front matter. The prologue and epilogue are like bookends.

Your editor will thank you if you take the time to both understand and create the front matter material in your manuscript. Stay tuned for more on creating your back matter.

Let’s Get Tech-y: Building Your Table of Contents

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If you’re writing nonfiction, you will definitely need a Table of Contents (TOC). If your book is fiction, you may or may not include one.

You can prepare a TOC a couple of ways. While Microsoft Word does offer an automated feature, it can be a bit cumbersome to use if you don’t understand how to add style tags and use them on chapter titles. (I will be making a video on style tags next, and will also then show how to build a TOC this way.)

For now, if you want to not be overly tech-y and still get the job done without jumping back and forth in your manuscript, you can make use of the “Split Screen” feature. After the copyright page (or the dedication page if you included one), insert a page break, start at the top line and type “Contents” or “Table of Contents.” Insert a return. Place your cursor where you want to type the next entry that appears in the book (such as Acknowledgements, Introduction, Prologue, or Chapter 1, along with the name of the chapter if it has one).

Now you need to split the screen. Navigate to the “View” tab. On that ribbon, you’ll see a button about halfway across that says “Split.” If you click that, a bar will appear that splits your screen.

The split screen allows you to scroll in one part of the screen while leaving the other part in place. Thus, you can keep the TOC page intact to keep typing and adding to while you scroll through your manuscript, stopping at each chapter and including the chapter title. This also helps make sure your TOC matches the actual titles in the manuscript itself. (I can’t begin to tell you how many times these don’t match in books I’ve proofread.)

So keep the top window intact and viewing the TOC page, while you use the bottom window to scroll through the document. Scroll to the start of the first item that should go in your TOC (as I have below, Acknowledgements). Type the title into your TOC. Start the next line in the TOC, and drop to the bottom screen and continue to scroll until you have included all the front matter pieces and all the chapters. Also include any back matter pieces (such as an Index, Bibliography, etc.).

When you’re finished, hit that same button (which now says “Remove Split”), and the split will disappear.

You can include the page numbers from the manuscript in your TOC as you go, or you can include only the chapter titles. (Realize that page numbers really mean nothing because when the book is typeset, the page numbers will need to be readjusted to match the actual book pages.) But if you want your manuscript TOC to reflect the page numbers in the manuscript, just include the numbers from each page right after each TOC entry. Place your cursor in the bottom half of the screen, then read which page number you’re on by looking at the bottom left. This will tell you which page. In the photo below, the bottom half of the screen is page 10, so I put the number 10 in my TOC page beside that chapter name. (You have to be sure that your cursor is in that bottom half of the screen to give you the correct page number.)

There you have it! After your TOC is completed, do another page break before the next page (which would be the first entry in your TOC) and you’re good to go.

Watch next time for an understanding of the various other front matter pieces you can include and the differences among them. And watch for notification of the style tagging video, soon to come!

(This article, without visuals, originally appeared in The Christian Communicator magazine.)

Thank You, Dr. Leax, for Your Inspiration (part 2)

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I am recently inspired by a book that I randomly picked up in a dusty resale shop in Marion, Indiana. You know how it goes — at least if you’re a reader or writer — the first stop is in the back where castoffs unsold at garage sales or lugged from overflowing home libraries rest precariously on makeshift bookshelves or in unorganized piles.

I’m usually looking for classics, memoirs, or books about writing, although our own overflowing bookshelves force me to try to be selective. But that day, I found a treasure. In Season and Out is a book by John Leax, my writing professor from Houghton College, whom I’ve written about before. A bonus is that the lovely illustrations are by a dear family friend, Roselyn Danner, now in heaven.

The book is simple, beautiful, lyrical. Divided into four seasons beginning with summer, the entries are dated and chronicle Dr. Leax’s woodcutting, vegetable gardening, teaching, and small town living. This passage, in particular, resonated with me:

Last night while walking Poon, I suddenly realized I had walked past nine houses within one quarter mile and did not know the occupants of any of them. I can rationalize my ignorance. The generation gap accounts for part of it, most of the houses are occupied by elderly couples or widows who keep to themselves. The cultural gap figures in it too; college English profs are not easily assimilated into the daily life of a small rural town. And the inevitable knowledge gap between old and new residents finishes it off; I’ve only been in this town nine years — I’ll never possess the local knowledge of those who go back generations.

(In Season and Out, Zondervan, 1985, p. 41)

My husband and I take a twilight walk. We’ve been in this tiny country town for almost exactly three years, slowly remodeling our 110-year-old house. We don’t know most of the 986 occupants of Swayzee. Fortunately, we do know most of our direct neighbors along our street, but any conversation quickly uncovers the truth that no matter how long we live here, we will always be newcomers who will “never possess the local knowledge of those who go back generations.” Folks here grew up together, went to school together, and lived around one another as they married, had children, worked, and grew older.

As much as I love our small town, I mourn the boarded-up and vacant buildings, the cafe someone bought to remodel and never finished, the houses unkempt or uncared for, the closed-up hardware store still full of supplies, the empty downtown building that fell (literally fell) because of neglect. At one time, this was a vibrant town — now the biggest news is that we watch a field outside of town slowly transform into a Dollar General.

But there is splendor here, splendor in the ordinary. The open fields, the sunsets, people’s care for one another, the annual rummage sales, the tractor day parade, the parks, the elementary school kids lugging their backpacks, the fresh wind bringing the scent of a new harvest.

Dr. Leax’s book inspired me to spend my summer writing about my small town, our butterfly gardens, our slow remodeling progress, our attempt at growing vegetables, my preparation for fall classes — all of which he touches on. I want to celebrate my very ordinary life, capturing its splendor as best I can.

I am not trying to get this published. I am writing to sharpen my skills and voice, to keep doing what I teach my students to do.

I owe it to my old prof, forty years later. Once again, Dr. Leax, thank you for your inspiration.

Let’s Get Tech-y: Adding the Copyright Page

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As I noted in this previous post, the key must-haves in your manuscript include your title page, your copyright page, and your Table of Contents (standard in nonfiction; optional in fiction). That previous post covered creating your title page; now let’s talk about creating the copyright page.

Copyright page

After you’ve finished the title page, insert a page break (go to the Insert tab, and on the far left in the Pages menu is a button to click called Page Break). Now begin your copyright page. On the first line, type the word Copyright and then “parenthesis C parenthesis.” By default, the program may automatically give you the © symbol.

If it doesn’t, navigate to the Insert tab, and on the far right of that ribbon is the Symbol button. Click on the down arrow. That will open a series of possible symbols. (you can actually see that the copyright symbol for me is right there on the second row. I could just click and it would insert).

If you don’t see the copyright symbol there, click on More Symbols. That will bring up another couple menus. Click on Special Characters, and then the copyright symbol.

After you have entered that symbol, put the current year and your name, like this:

Copyright © 2021 by Linda K. Taylor

One quick note: Don’t put this information on the cover or title page. It is understood in the industry that the very fact that you created this piece protects it with copyright. You need not worry about someone stealing your work if you don’t put a copyright symbol on the cover page (in fact, if you DO put it there, you’re going to look like an amateur—like you don’t really understand the industry. Don’t do that).

Instead, I’m having you create this copyright page for your manuscript because the publishing house will add it anyway, but you can add the material for the sources you used.

For example, on this copyright page you include the copyright lines of material from which you have (or obtained) permission to quote or use artwork or illustrations (this could be any number of sources depending on what you’re writing). Often, for Christian writers, this may include Bible versions. And while you don’t need to request permission to quote verses from Bibles, you still need to include the copyright lines of all the Bible versions you quote throughout the text.

As you wrote your document, you kept track of your source(s) for Bible verses—that is, what Bible version you were quoting from (you did, didn’t you?). Perhaps you just typed the verses from your well-worn Bible. Or maybe you quoted from several different Bible versions because you liked the nuances of the way various versions translate your key verses.

For the copyright lines for your copyright page, look at the copyright page in the Bible from which you’re quoting. For example, in my New Living Translation, it says: “When the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, is quoted, one of the following credit lines must appear on the copyright page or title page of the work.” Then follow three options. The first is used if all of the verses you quoted were from the New Living Translation. In this case, the NLT says to write the following on your copyright page:

Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2007, 2013 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.

If the NLT is your default and the only version you used, you would type the above exact line onto your copyright page.

Perhaps the NLT was the main one you used, but you sprinkled in a couple other versions, such as the King James Version. In that case, you do need to make sure that KJV is noted at that reference. “The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want” (Psalm 23:1 KJV), and on your copyright page, you will choose this line from that NLT copyright page:

Unless otherwise indicated, all Scripture quotations are taken from . . . (etc.)

and then you’ll also include a copyright line from the KJV Bible.

Scripture quotations marked KJV are taken from the King James Version . . . (etc., with the copyright line from your Bible)

If you used a variety of versions, make sure that after every reference throughout your entire manuscript that you note the Bible version—for example: (Genesis 1:1 NIV) and (Romans 5:8 NLT) and (Philippians 1:5 KJV). Then, on the copyright page, you need to include the copyright lines as noted on the copyright page of each Bible.

If you’re using a source such as Bible Gateway for your Bible verses, note that the copyright line for any version you choose is given to you, as here:

If you use other Bible software, look around for the copyright information on the Bible versions.

After you have put in the copyright material for Bible versions, also include some standard information such as this:

All rights reserved. This book or any portion thereof may not be reproduced or used in any manner whatsoever without the express written permission of the publisher except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.

This is for your manuscript submission. When your book is published, the publisher will take care of adding their boilerplate copyright page information, their Library of Congress information, the printing numbers, etc. You just need to provide these basics.

If you’re self-publishing, you need to include this page as part of your book. Here are a couple of article links to help you create a copyright page when self publishing. Here’s a how-to guide and another guide with helpful info.

Great work! Next we’ll talk about creating your TOC (Table of Contents).

(This article, without visuals, originally appeared in The Christian Communicator magazine, May-June 2018.)

Let’s Get Tech-y: Creating Your Title Page

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Part of delivering a pristine manuscript is to make sure all the pieces are in place. This includes your book’s front and back matter. Whether you’re delivering your book to an editor or preparing to self-publish it, make sure all of the front and back matter (referring to material that comes before and after the text itself) is included and in the correct order.

In case you wondered, there is a certain order for all those pieces as determined by the Chicago Manual of Style. You generally won’t have all of these items in your front matter. The only two you must have are the title page and copyright page. A nonfiction book will generally also need a table of contents; you may or may not have that in a fiction book.

Front matter can include:

  • Title page (must have)
  • Copyright page (must have)
  • Dedication
  • Table of Contents (standard in nonfiction; optional in fiction)
  • Foreword
  • Preface
  • Acknowledgments (if not part of the Preface or in the back matter)
  • Introduction (if not part of the text)

In this article I want focus on the first piece of the front matter—the title page.

Creating your title page

If you so desire, you can use one of the Cover Page options that Microsoft Word gives you. Click at the start of your manuscript, probably at your first chapter number or title (if you haven’t done any of the front matter yet–in any case, at the very top of your manuscript), and click Insert on the ribbon, then the dropdown arrow in the top far left corner that says Cover Page.

This will open up a window of several design options for the cover page of your manuscript. Scroll to see all of them. Keep in mind that some of these are created to be for academic papers or for other purposes. Don’t be overly fancy. And it’s best not to use one that has a lot of deep color (such as the full page of blue or black) because if your manuscript is being printed by various readers, using all that ink makes them annoyed. (Just sayin’.) When you click on one, that design of the cover page will be inserted. You can then add your title and name.

You can also just do this old school and very simply without using one of the templates. Go to the top of your manuscript and hit Insert and then Blank Page (the Blank Page option appears right below that Cover Page option in the visual above). You can then type in your title and your name by just visually centering the material vertically (go to your View tab and in the Zoom menu click on One Page so you can see the entire page). You can then do return-return-return to scoot the title down to be basically near the center of the page. (I know I told you not to do this between chapters in this earlier post, but since this is the title page and nothing will come before it, it’s okay.)

If your title and name are appearing flush left on your page, you want them to be centered, so use the centering button (Home ribbon, Paragraph menu) to center your lines horizontally. You can see there that you have buttons for flush left, centered, flush right, and justified (meaning straight edges both left and right). Highlight the words on this page, then click on the centering button to center everything horizontally. You can play with your returns to make sure all of the material looks good when you see it in single page view.

On the title page, include your title, subtitle, and your name (as you want them to appear). Do not type a copyright symbol with your name on the cover page; it is not necessary to “protect yourself,” and you’ll look amateurish if you include it.

If you are submitting to an agent or a publisher, look carefully at their submission guidelines. They may ask that you also include your address and other contact information on the title page as well. Be sure to follow whatever guidelines they give you.

Next time, we’ll talk about other pieces of the front matter.

(This article, without visuals, originally appeared in The Christian Communicator magazine, May-June 2018.)

Let’s Get Tech-y: Adding Page Breaks

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The next piece from our bulleted list of creating solid manuscript submissions (see the post here) to send to publishers is to put a page break between chapters (and everywhere that you need to start a new page). Fortunately, Microsoft Word makes this easy.

First of all, here’s what not to do. DON’T get to the end of your page or chapter and then do return-return-return-return-return (etc.) until you get to a new page. If you turn on the Show/Hide button, it will look like this. And if you would continue to do those returns until that chapter 2 finally jumps to the next page, then you’re doing it wrong. (Sorry not sorry.)

A key problem is that those returns will stay in place and, if you continue to edit the section above, those returns will then end up wreaking havoc on the rest of your manuscript. Instead, let’s do it the easy way, creating a page break that stays in place, no matter how much material you add or remove above it.

Position your cursor in front of the words that should be moved to a new page (in the case of my example, at the numeral 2). You can do one of two things:

  • You can simply push Ctrl + Enter and that will insert a page break.
  • OR you can go to the Insert tab and then click on the Page Break button.

Now you have a nice clean break between chapters. To see what this actually looks like, turn on the Show/Hide button again (on the Home tab), then go to the View tab and click on Draft. (You may or may not see that column that I have to the left. That’s a discussion for another day.) Most likely you’ll have just the main page where you’re typing, and you’ll see that there are none of those returns showing up; instead, you can see the clearly marked Page Break.

Now, if you were to go back and remove or add material from above the break, the break will stay in place, always separating that next chapter.

Do this between every chapter and every time that you need to start a new page in your manuscript.

If you need to remove a page break, just position your cursor at the break and push Delete.

Stay tuned next time when we’ll use the Page Break command and get our front matter created!

Let’s Get Tech-y: Removing Double Spaces between Sentences

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It’s a difficult habit to break. If you learned to type on a typewriter (as I did), you were taught to put a double space between sentences. Now, however, that’s incorrect and will be problematic when you send in that submission. Editors expect that you won’t do this.

Image courtesy of litreactor.com via Google images.

Why did we (ahem, old folks) learn to do it this way? Well, letters on typewriters are monospaced, meaning that every letter takes up the same amount of space or width in a word (like the Courier font you still have as an option on your computer). Thus, a “w” takes up the same amount of space as an “i.” This made it very difficult to then distinguish between sentences on a typewritten page. With the advent of some electric typewriters and especially computers came proportional type, which means that a “w” takes up more horizontal space than an “i.” With proportional spacing, it’s easier to distinguish between sentences. Hence, a single space is now sufficient.

However, I have excellent news for you! You don’t have to retrain that ingrained habit. You can simply fix your manuscript after the fact and before you submit.

So don’t stress. Go ahead and type those double spaces to your heart’s content. Here’s how to fix it.

After you’re finished, go back to the beginning and set your cursor there. Then, on the Home ribbon, in the Paragraph section, click the Show/Hide button (it looks like a backward P). This will show hidden characters like paragraph returns, tabs, and spaces (every space will appear as a dot). You can see below the two dots between each sentence, showing the double spaces between sentences.

You don’t have to go through and individually fix every single location. Instead, let’s do it all at once. Here’s how:

On the Home tab, in the Editing section, click on the Replace button. This will bring up the dialogue box. All you need to do is put your cursor in the Find What line and type in two spaces (you won’t see anything except your cursor will move over). Then place your cursor in the Replace With line and type in one space. Then click Replace All.

You’ll get another dialogue box that tells you how many double spaces were changed to single spaces. If you have a long manuscript and an ingrained habit, you may have it report thousands. For good measure, you might click OK and then click the Replace All button again. (If you randomly had triple spaces anywhere, you’ll need one more pass to clean it all up.) Keep going until there are 0 replacements.

When I do any editing, my first task (after taking the manuscript and moving it onto my template, as noted in an earlier post) is to run this quick fix to clean up those double spaces.

For good measure, I use this same technique to find and replace all the quotation marks and apostrophes so that they are all smart (curly) and not straight (again, this is part of the industry standard). Just put a quotation mark in the Find What space and a quotation mark in the Replace With space and Replace all. Do the same with apostrophes.

Image created by Russell Harper

This quick cleanup takes just a few seconds and helps bring your manuscript up to expected industry standards.

Questions? Feel free to contact me!

Submitting in 2021: Get It Done!

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I’ve been watching Twitter feeds in the #writingcommunity hashtag and seeing lots of folks post that 2021 is the year they will finally submit — to magazines or literary magazines or a book publisher. I say, YAY. GO FOR IT! You pour yourself into those words and you have something to say into the world.

In order to do that, you’ll need to submit to gatekeepers at these various publications. Let’s make sure you do everything you can to get read! Following are a few tips as you make 2021 your year for submitting!

1. Follow the submission guidelines.

I can’t stress this enough. Read those submission guidelines — don’t just send off your piece. Not following the guidelines will assure that your submission will be rejected before it’s even read. Remember that editors and agents receive hundreds of submissions. They will immediately toss or delete anything that isn’t submitted per the guidelines.

You can find submissions guidelines on most publication or publisher websites (same for literary agents). You might need to scroll to the fine print at the bottom of the home page, or locate the contact page, but generally they will be there. You can also find information in Writer’s Market (or Christian Writer’s Market Guide if you’re writing for the Christian market).

For instance, if you’re going to submit to Grit magazine, navigate to their submission guidelines and follow them to the letter. Here’s the link as an example. Notice on the Grit submissions page that it tells you:

  • what they publish and what they don’t
  • the fact that you can’t send anything unsolicited; you must send a query letter first
  • where and how to send the query (even what to put in the subject line of your email)
  • word counts
  • where and how to send your submission

Or check out the submission guidelines for the Chicken Soup for the Soul series of books here. Notice again:

  • how to write your submission (even how the first paragraph should read)
  • how NOT to write your submission
  • that you must submit through their website

That basic information will get you a long way toward getting your piece in front of an editor’s eyes. Of course, you still need to write well, have a compelling piece, and fit the editor’s desires or needs (which, of course, you have no idea about necessarily). But you could have all of that but will lose the opportunity if you don’t follow the submission guidelines to the letter. So make that a resolution!

2. Proofread your submission and have someone else (who knows what they’re doing) proofread as well.

Have your proofreader double check your submission along with the submission guidelines. (They might see something you missed.) Make it a joint effort. Don’t be in such a hurry to meet your goals of submitting that you hurt yourself. And proofreading by yourself is never a good idea. You’ve read the piece so many times your mind will automatically correct words or fill in missing words. I have previously noted some tips and tricks to help you proofread.

3. Don’t take rejection personally.

You’re going to get rejection letters. The more you submit, the more you’ll get rejected. That’s just the way it is. But also, the more you submit, the more opportunity you have to get published. It might help to do as this writer did and actually set a goal for rejections — the point being, of course, that eventually out of all those submissions will come publication. Sort of takes the sting out of it . . . a little . . .

Image courtesy of writers.write.co.za

4. Keep good records of your submissions.

Do this now if you haven’t already. Create a document or an Excel sheet or some kind of system whereby you track where you send what. Trust me, over time, you’ll forget. Whether you’re writing articles or seeking an agent/publisher for your book, you want to capture:

  • the name of the publication/publisher/agent
  • website link
  • submission guidelines general information
  • title of the article/book you queried (or sent)
  • date sent (so that if it says they’ll respond in one month, you know when that month has elapsed and you can follow up)

In addition, you can keep a running list of various places that you want to query. In my Freelancing class (in the Professional Writing program at Taylor University), where we focus on writing articles, the students create a tracking system listing at least 10 possible magazines they can submit to, a separate page for literary magazines, and then another page with their various article ideas or WIPs captured. If they hope to one day get a book published, a new page can begin to capture potential agents or book publishers for the genre of their book. For every piece they write, they have to write an accompanying query letter, and then actually send three of those letters during the semester. Learning to have the discipline of creating solid query letters, tracking where they’re sent, and having a list of potential publications means that they can keep writing.

For example, you send out the query, you receive a rejection. Instead of letting that stop you, you go to your tracking list and mark down the rejection (so you don’t accidentally send the same query to them again). Then you look on your list for another publication that might like that same article or that article with a slightly different slant or focus or word count. You revise your query letter and send it to that publication. I know some writers who have such a system that, when a rejection arrives, they have that same article pitched somewhere else within 24 hours.

The same goes for book publishers. Find the agents and publishers that accept what you’re writing, create a solid query to them, and send it on. When a rejection arrives, move on to someone else.

The point is, keep going, dear #writingcommunity. Make 2021 your year!

Let’s Get Tech-y: Adding Page Numbers to Your Manuscript

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Do them once, and they will appear on every page. The magic of Microsoft Word makes it fairly simple to add page numbers — but there’s always something that could be confusing.

Last week you created a template. Open that template and give it a title. Push “Save As” and then decide where on your computer you want to save it and the name of the piece you’re writing. OR simply open your work in progress (WIP) that doesn’t have page numbers on it.

Now, let’s insert page numbers.

(1) Navigate to the Insert tab. Look across to the Header & Footer box.

(2) Click the dropdown arrow beside “Page Number.”

(3) At the first dropdown box, you can choose the placement of the page number. You can click where you want the page number to be—top or bottom of the page. For our purposes, choose Top of Page. That then will open up another menu that will allow you to choose where at the top of the page you want the number to appear — top left, top center, top right. Again, for our purposes, click on the top right choice. (There are dozens of other options you’re welcome to play with; for now, I’m sticking with the basics.)

(4) Voila! Once you click it, a header will appear on every page with a page number.

Perhaps you want to include more information in the header besides just the page number.

(1) Click into the header area with your cursor beside the page number. Now you can simply type in other information such as your name or the title, which will then appear on every subsequent page. When you are working with numbers that are flush right, as here, put your cursor beside the number and type. The letters will work their way to the left.

Note: Follow submission guidelines for where you submit. Various publishers ask for various renderings of page numbers and what information they want in headers or footers. They usually have submission guidelines on their websites. If you’re not sure, at least include your last name and page numbers in the headers or footers on your manuscript.

Now to answer some reader questions:

I tried to format page numbers with my name/book title/page number at the top right. Each time the page number got bumped to the line below my name/book title. And then the title page ended up with a 0 on it, not what I wanted at all.

How to fix page numbers moving down to a separate line

Let’s deal with the first question about why the page number got bumped. I think it has to do with a tab setting. Click into your header. If you see a tab setting right there in the center, grab it and slide it off to your left (or right depending on where you’re putting your page numbers). You should then have the space across the entire header. My guess is that your name/book title/page number is quite long. It was going past that tab, and thus bumping the page number to the next line. If that doesn’t answer your question about that, let me know.

How to remove a page number from the title page

Now let’s deal with the title page having a 0 on it. If your document has a title page, you don’t want a number on it at all, and page number 1 should actually be your second page. So we want to do something different with the first page. This gets a little complex, so bear with me.

(1) First, you’re going to need to make a section break (not just a page break) between the title page and the first page of your manuscript. If you already have a page break there, remove it so that your copy runs right below your title.

See below that I have run chapter 1 into my title page. Now I need to separate the title page from my chapter 1 with a different kind of break. With my cursor set right before the word “Chapter,” I then click on the Layout tab, then Breaks. Under Section Breaks, click Next Page.

My title page is now on its own page with Chapter 1 starting on a new page. But the header is still appearing on my title page along with the page number 1, so here’s what to do:

(2) Now make sure you click with your cursor into the header section on the title page (or footer if that’s where your page numbers are). Then click on the Design tab and put a click in the box labeled Different First Page. (Note that Show Document Text is already clicked; leave it as is.)

The header on your first page will disappear, but page 2 still says page 2. Let’s fix that so it will be page 1.

(3) Click with your cursor into the header area on page 2. Then go to the Insert tab, back over to Page Numbers, then click Format Page Numbers. It will give you another dialog box.

In the Page Number Format dialog box, you’ll see a section called Page numbering, and then a bullet that says Start at. Click that bullet and put a number 1 in the box, then say okay.

The header on page 2 should now read page 1, and there should be no longer a header on your title page.

Your document may have a lot more complexity, and this is simply a way to set page numbers and separate out a title page.

As always, let me know if you have questions and I’ll research the answers. More to come!

Let’s Get Tech-y: Formatting Your Manuscript

lindaktaylor8 Comments

I write on this blog often about the joys and pains of writing–of just getting those words on the pages. I also write often about editing those words (in fact, I wrote a book about it). I also teach it in the Professional Writing major at Taylor University.

But there comes a time when all writers have to understand that those carefully wrought words need to show up in a well-formatted manuscript, set to industry standards. And this is where things can become very frustrating.

So I’m here to show you how, along with a little help from other editor friends. I’m going to begin a series of posts to help you deal with some of those technical parts of prepping your manuscript–one step at a time.

Longtime author and editor Andy Scheer (andyscheer.com) one day posted on Facebook how thrilled he was to receive a correctly formatted manuscript. I dropped him a note to ask, from his perspective, what constituted a manuscript that is “formatted correctly.” Here’s the list he sent me. The manuscript should be:

  • Manuscript is .doc or .docx
  • 12-pt Times New Roman
  • Double-spaced copy
  • No extra space between paragraphs
  • 1-inch margins
  • Paragraphs indented—but NOT with tabs or spacing
  • No double spaces between sentences
  • Page headers with page numbers
  • Page break between chapters
  • Front matter completed (title page, copyright page, table of contents if needed)
  • Copyright page includes copyright info for all Bible versions quoted, especially the default Bible translation

In coming weeks, I’m going to walk through each of these bullet points individually. I’ll help out with the basics and offer some technical tips, screen shots, and more. BUT FIRST, we can deal with several of those issues by creating a template that you use as your base for every piece of writing you plan to submit. So let’s start there. (Note that the following uses a PC; if you have a Mac, stay tuned. I’ll work to get the information you need as we go.)

How to Build Your Template

Having a template that has all of the settings you need already embedded will be a huge help to you. (Just FYI that this is technically simply a blank Word document, but it will have embedded in it all of the settings you need to create a perfectly formatted document and save you trying to redo it every time.)

The following the instructions will walk you through the steps in Microsoft Word. Doing that, you will create a template that will give you the first 6 bullets above: the .doc or .docx extension, 12-pt Times New Roman, double-spaced copy with no extra space between paragraphs, no extra space between paragraphs, 1-inch margins, and indents not with tabs or all those spaces.

(1) Open a new blank Word document.
(2) It most likely defaults to one-inch margins, but to check, click on the “Layout” button to give you that ribbon. On the far left is a button called “Margins.” Click it. You should see a “Normal” setting that defaults to all one-inch margins. If that is not clicked, click it.

(3) Now go back to the Home tab to give you that ribbon. Above the “Styles,” box, you’ll see a series of styles that are common to this document. You’ll probably see Normal and some various heading styles. Most everything you type will default to the style called “Normal,” so let’s make sure that “Normal” is the normal that we want for our template. Click on the little down arrow at the bottom right of the Styles box that will drop down a menu of styles (your menu may look different from mine, but you should be able to find Normal).

Locate Normal, click on the down arrow to its right, then click Modify.

This will open a dialog box with lots of options.
(4) About halfway down on the left, you’ll see “Formatting.” Make sure that the first box says Times New Roman and the second box says 12. If they don’t, click on the dropdown arrow and choose those options.

(5) Next, below that, you’ll see buttons with lines in them. The first set on the left is giving you the options to have your copy flush left and ragged right, centered, flush right, or justified (straight on both sides). You want to choose the first button for flush left and ragged right.
(6) The next three buttons show lines really close (single spacing), sort of close (1.5 spacing), and far apart (double spacing). You want to click on the third button for double spacing.

Wait, you’re not done yet! Let’s deal with the other issues:

(7) In that same box, bottom left is a button that says “Format.” Push it, and then click on “Paragraph.” Yet another dialog box pops up!

(8) In this box, halfway down on the right side, you’ll see the word “Special.” In the box should be the words “First line.” If not (it probably says “None”), click on the dropdown arrow and choose “First line.” In the box beside that, you can set how far the indent should be. It’s probably best to put .5 there. This will automatically indent your new paragraphs so you don’t have to add a tab each time.
(9) Keep going, there are a few more boxes on the left below that under “Spacing” with “Before” and “After” choices. Make sure that those read 0. (The default often has 10 in the After slot, which is creating extra space between the paragraphs. You want it to say 0—so change it. And don’t use “Auto.”)
(10) Since you already set this to double spacing on the previous menu, you should see the word “Double” under “Line Spacing.”
(11) Now click OK. This will take you back to that previous dialog box. Do one more thing here to seal the deal and help you not have to do this again:

(12) At the very bottom, right above that format button, are a couple of choices. Put a dot in the circle that says “New documents based on this template.” Now click OK.
(13) This will take you back to your blank document. Now do a “Save As” and save this document as your own personal template for doing all of your writing. Calling it “Mytemplate” should work. Store it on your desktop and you’ll always have a template ready to go when inspiration strikes. So now you have:

  • Manuscript is .doc or .docx
  • 12-pt Times New Roman
  • Double-spaced copy
  • No extra space between paragraphs
  • 1-inch margins
  • Paragraphs indented—but NOT with tabs or spacing

Every time you start a new book or a new story, open this template, do another “Save As” to save that piece of writing with whatever title you want to give it. That way you’ll always preserve the settings you created in your template and won’t have to redo them every time for every piece of writing.

We’ll continue our tech-y talks in coming weeks to help make sure you’re submitting your documents the way the publishers want them.

If you have some other tech-y questions, write them below and I’ll see what I can help you with in future posts.

Thank You, Veterans

lindaktaylor2 Comments

<Note from author: I wrote this in 2016, reposted in 2017, and am sharing again on Veterans Day 2020. As of this date, November 11, 2020, our nation is struggling with an undecided election because of allegations of voter fraud. We all should care so much about this that any kind of fraud is unacceptable–whether we’re on the winning side or not. If we cannot trust our voting system, we are destroying the very foundation of our nation and the freedom that our veterans fought for and our military protects. To me, that’s what matters most.>

Today is Veterans Day. Today we honor the men and women who are part of our American military.

I know that so many people wish that we just didn’t need you—that there were no wars to be fought. That we could all just get along.

One day, yes. But that’s a description of heaven. That’s not what we have here on this imperfect planet. Have there been unjust wars? Yes. Have wars been fought for stupid reasons? Yes. Is war terrible? Yes.

We could get into a big discussion about that here. But I’m not going to.

I’m also not here to talk about the merits of various wars. I’m not here to honor or condemn any particular commander-in-chief.

I’m here to thank the men and women who swore to protect our freedoms. I’m here to thank the men and women who, answerable to their commander-in-chief (for anyone who might not know, that’s the president of the United States), do what they are called to do. I’m here to honor the men and women who take that job seriously, who are compassionate when they need to be and deadly when they need to be. I’m here to thank the people who fight for freedom.

I wish that we didn’t need you, that everyone in the world could just get along. Unfortunately, that is just not a reality. The best way to preserve freedom is for our country to have a strong enough military that says, “Don’t mess with us.” You who go into harm’s way to help preserve that freedom, who protect us, who help the rest of the world know that to mess with us is to bring the greatest nation in the world down on them—thank you.

I wish that more people understood the sacrifices you make—in families separated for long stretches and, when not separated, in families uprooted and moved to new places; in facing enemy fire; in PTSD and things you can’t unsee when you close your eyes to sleep; in doing all of this for pathetic pay.

You make these sacrifices because you believe in America.

Thank you.

dad
My dad, Col. Philip Chaffee (USAF-Ret.) circa 1967 while serving in Vietnam.

We just came out of a very divisive election. The country is split. But you know what? That’s what voting is all about. Some win; some lose. I have cried my eyes out over a few elections; I’ve sighed with relief at others. To those of you out there protesting that the new president is not yours, look around for two seconds and realize that you are allowed to do this. You are allowed to feel this way. No one’s going to put you in jail for your opinion (unless you start doing something illegal). You live in the greatest country in the world. You’re FREE!

You’re FREE!

And here’s the bottom line: One election cannot destroy a free people.

Take a look at our history to see what we’ve survived.

This is what you thank a veteran for. Too many people just don’t seem to understand that freedom isn’t free. It has to be protected.

But here’s the other side of the coin. With freedom comes a huge amount of responsibility. We’re free—but not to hurt one another. Not to make fun of one another. Not to badmouth those who disagree with us. We’re free to express opinions, but we must always do so respectfully, realizing that the person across from us with a very different opinion came to that opinion in his or her own reasoned way just as we did.

Has America had some very bad policies? Oh yeah. Have some presidents made some really bad decisions? Heck yes. Does America have some really big problems to work on? You bet.

But it has always been that way. Always. No country is perfect just as no person is perfect. We are all fallible and the best we can do is, when we see a problem, decide that we need to fix it. And we start to figure out how to do that.

We need all of the voices in the conversation—but there is no conversation if everyone is offended or upset or name-calling. The way we get to the best decisions is when we sit down and hear one another.

dad
He’s my hero; he’s my dad.

And for everyone upset about this election, realize that for the rest of your life, you’ll win some, you’ll lose some. Also, realize that most voters look at a way larger picture and take into account way more things—especially those of us who are older and try to look at the office and the nation and the future, which are way bigger than a single man or woman. And take a quick look at history. This country swings back and forth between Democrat and Republican presidents and Congress. If we don’t like what we have, we are able to vote them out next time around.

That’s what you thank a vet for. Helping preserve that freedom for the last 240 years.

Many of the greatest changes that happened in our country have not been top-down decisions from a president. That’s the genius of our system of government—a system people have fought and died for. Change happens when FREE people voice their opinions and work for change and vote in the lawmakers who could make the changes happen. In at least one case in particular, we fought a horrifying war on our own soil because of those differing opinions.

And if those lawmakers don’t win? Then stand strong on your principles, keep your respectful voice being heard, and keep working for the change you feel needs to happen.

Thank a vet for that.

Thank a vet that we are still a free country where we can have vastly different opinions and live together, work together, serve together, worship together.

dad2

The best way we can honor our veterans is being worthy of their sacrifices.

So instead of letting our opinions divide us, instead of being angry that there are actually people who think differently than we do, why don’t we instead find ways to make positive change—in our personal lives, in our families, in our communities and workplaces, in our world? Why don’t we now take a deep breath, listen to one another, learn from one another, understand the very deep feelings on both sides, and work together to make whatever needs to be improved better?

Our country has made a lot of mistakes, but I can say without hesitation that the United States is the greatest country in the world. But FREEDOM is a privilege that must be handled with great appreciation and great care. We have come a long way. We still have a long way to go. We will always have a long way to go. There will always be huge new problems to face. But we won’t face them down by refusing to listen to one another or refusing to learn from our own history.

Today, I thank my Uncle Howard (who has passed away) for his sacrifice in World War II, and I thank my dad, who bravely flew a hundred missions over North Vietnam and faced enemy fire.

Thank you, Dad, for serving our country. Thank you, Mom, for providing a haven wherever we moved, for making each new house a home.

So why should you thank a vet? Because these men and women sacrifice for an ideal—the ideal of freedom.

So you can be FREE.

Thank you, veterans, for serving and preserving this great country. May the rest of us learn from your example.