Times they are A'changin'

Gone are the days when an author would write a book, submit it to a traditional publisher, then sit back and wait for the pennies to roll in. Times are definitely a'changin'!

With so many authors now able to self-publish, as well as hundreds of book publishers easily available around the world, the book industry has definitely changed. Millions of books are published every year, and to make yourself seen and heard is becoming more challenging - you now need to shout LOUD to be noticed.

The most important aspect of a successful book is to ensure that it is presented at its optimum potential. There are many ways in which to achieve this goal - a good editor, creative book cover, excellent and effective back cover blurb, a sound interesting story whether is be fiction or non-fiction, professional book publisher or sound knowledge of self publishing, and the will to get yourself 'out there' and promote yourself and your book.

Promoting yourself and your book is probably THE most important part of achieving book sales and becoming a well-known author. The days when the book publisher alone took on the advertising, promotion, and selling of the book is in the past, the author now has to become active and do their part with book signing, radio interviews, writers festivals, and other book events, or create their own events. Its a challenging road, one with some failures but also many successes if you keep going and do not give up!

With the internet so freely available, promoting yourself has never been easier. If you are not internet savvy - learn! If you don't, someone else will so give yourself a flying chance by just getting out there and doing it.

Next post: More ideas on how to promote yourself and your book!

Your Manuscript Edited

After a huge absence, The Book Edit it back! We are working in conjunction with Aurora House Publishing and looking after the manuscript editing.

Our new role offers many opportunities for authors, who can have their book appraised for publishing - free of charge!

We also have new editors who are experienced and looking forward to working with you to bring your manuscript to its highest potential.

Our policy is that we always work with the author on their manuscript, to ensure a happy client and a book as perfect as possible.

Manuscript editing is one of the most important aspects on the publishing process - a badly edited book can mean disaster for sales when published. If  you went to a ball in jeans and teeshirt, how would you feel? Your book will feel the same way if it is not professionally edited.

If you have a book you have written and are not sure if it is right for publishing, send it along You have nothing to loose and everything to gain!

We look forward to connecting with you.

The Book Edit Team

FREE Manuscript Appraisal

Further to my previous Free manuscript appraisal offer, it is a brand new year and I think everyone ought to be able to take advantage of having their manuscript appraised. This being the case, you can now send in your manuscript for me to appraise.

Please do not send the whole manuscript, but only three chapters. The first chapter, and any other two of your choice. From these chapters, I will be able to assess what level of editing your manuscript will require, and if your story is suitable for publication.

If you would like to have a Full Assessment Report to give you a clear picture of your manuscript, or your manuscript edited, please see Manuscript Submission on the menu bar for full details and address for snail mail submissions.

Send your manuscript for appraisal TODAY - it's FREE!

 Please email to: thebookedit@gmail.com 

New Manuscripts Being Accepted for Appraisal

I am taking new manuscripts for appraisal and editing.

If you have a written a book and unsure what your next step will be, an appraisal will guide you.

A short synopsis and the first three chapters is all I need to assess your manuscript. This service is free of charge.

Or, if you would like a full report, I can accept the whole manuscript. Please read the Manuscript section for full information. All manuscripts are totally confidential.

Genre accepted: Fiction, Non-Fiction, Speculative Fiction, Self-Help, Crafts, Spiritual (not religion), Young Adult.

Email to thebookedit@gmail.com

Interview with author Ronelle Smith

ENCOUNTER

by Ronelle Smith

Ronelle Smith is author of ENCOUNTER, the first book in a series of five about 13-year-old Jonathon Newman-Smith, who is gifted with unusual talents.

After reading the book, and being totally enthralled by the adventure, I decided to find out more as to what initiated the story.

I will let her tell you, in her own words, why and how she came to write this excellent story. It is aimed at young adults, teenagers who may be able to connect with her words and see themselves in Jonathon, although it is compelling reading for any age group and she hopes many people will benefit from the positive messages contained throughout the book.

What drove you to write “Encounter”?

In today’s changing world, society is not as it used to be when family units were strong and family values were held dear. Because of this, many of our youth are floundering in a society of double standards, where two-parent role models are almost a thing of the past and future stability in the home is not guaranteed. The consequent lack of security takes its toll on their self-confidence and often their innate gifts and talents fall victim and fail to develop. In some cases this can lead to a deep sense of loss and even depression. The emerging young adult may feel lonely and isolated with no true understanding of their place in the world or their purpose in life.

From my 40 years of teaching high school students I have come to recognize the causes of self-destructive behaviour as expressed by individual teenagers. In some instances unsettled home situations frequently trigger anti-social activities and resentment for any form of authority. With an unwillingness to comply with rules and regulations and general lack of cooperation the teenagers find themselves in greater difficulty with an accompanying defeatist attitude. From my interviews with these specific young people I have learnt two things of paramount importance. Firstly, they feel desperately lonely and yearn for support of some kind, and secondly they hunger for help to achieve their goals. Yes! THEY DO HAVE GOALS. In spite of what the media would have us believe about our wayward teens. They have dreams of achievement, some so secret, they have difficulty expressing them to a listening adult.

“Encounter” is written to gently encourage young people to believe in themselves and reach for their goals no matter what their circumstances. Life presents lessons from which we are to learn and grow. How much we learn or, for that matter, completely ignore, is entirely up to the individual choices made along the way.

We are all capable of far more than we ever realise!

How long did it take you to write the book and was much research involved?

Encounter took me about six months to write, with research starting well before I took pen to paper, so to speak. Because of certain aspects of the book, I had to ensure my facts were correct, so many hours were spent on research. Believe it or not, one of the villains in the work is an incredibly small, but potentially dangerous plant. I had to check my facts very carefully regarding this tiny algae. Local geography also had to be well researched as some of the action occurs in our ruggedly beautiful Snowy Mountains. An understanding of the topography of Turkey was also necessary as several characters fulfill their mission in that country.

What is “Encounter” about?

TRYSTARON

The book reveals the amazing story of 13 year-old Jonathan Newman-Smith, a lonely boy who has spent most of his life in boarding school due to his father’s numerous absences overseas. On his 13th birthday, Jonathon, a typical ‘Tall Poppy’ who is bullied at school, has a paranormal experience which changes his life. He discovers he has been ‘gifted’ with several amazing abilities. His encounter with a collective of spiritual beings known as TRYSTARON leaves him with a choice of pursuing his destiny of becoming a world peace-maker or continuing his life as normal. Choosing the former, he battles to understand this phenomenon and come to terms with his new abilities, sometimes resulting in a humorous scenario. While this is happening, his father and stepmother, both secret service agents from a select division of ASIO, become involved in a terrorist plot that could have a devastating effect on a major Australian city. Jonathon is kidnapped by the perpetrators and threatened with death. He manages to escape and the adventure draws him more deeply into his parents’ world of espionage.

As a world traveller, I chose the settings carefully. For intrigue and suspense, Istanbul in Turkey was perfect with its colourful society and romantic history. This charismatic city adds vigour to the story, while to give “Encounter” the Australian flavour, I chose a small town on the South Coast of New South Wales for Jonathon’s home, with Canberra, the nation’s capital, and Kosciusko National Park for home-grown action.

Encounter creates an atmosphere of possibilities. Incredible scenarios become absolutely believable as the story evolves. It is a fast-paced, exciting novel that will appeal not just to young adults, but also a much wider readership.

What benefit can the reader expect out of the book?

There are several messages hidden within the chapters of the book for those who are ready to discover them. It can help those who need extra support to build, or re-build their confidence. It can develop awareness that ‘Life’ is the teacher presenting challenging lessons from which we gain knowledge, learn and mature. No one escapes these lessons as difficult as they may be. In due course we realize we are never alone and can call for assistance from our spiritual guides whenever we need it.

This book is written with ‘tomorrow’s’ generation in mind, showing clearly that life is an adventure and it can, with a little help, be bountiful, beautiful and full of promise. “Encounter” is a melting pot of action adventure, intrigue, love and mystery. The reader can expect all of this, and more.

Are you planning more books?

Yes. Encounter is the first book in a series of five. Book two is written and ready to be published, which will be happening very soon. Each book is a stage in Jonathon’s life as he grows, matures, and explores his gifts and abilities and learns how best to use them.

Where will you go from here?

At the moment, I am still working on the series but I intend for the books to reach all levels of readership, in schools, bookstores and libraries. In this way, it will help the future generation to know they are not alone, encourage them to become the best they can be and realise that it’s up to each and every one of us to do our part to create a peaceful world.

---------------------------------

We will be hearing more from Ronelle as her books find their way to the people who desire to read them. Encounter is available in printed form and will soon be available as an eBook, extending the range of reach and readership.

Ronelle's website contains excerpts to whet the appetite for more. Be curious!

Why Use a Professional Editor?

That's easy! No matter how many times a writer or author goes through their own work, they can never pick up all the errors - they are simply too close to the writing.

After completing the manuscript, and going through it umpteen times checking over the story, the writer can easily miss errors - typo's, punctuation, correct position of words in a sentence, the flow of a paragraph, lost characters. These are only a few points that could diminish the quality of a good story and ruin the chance of publication.

This is where the professional editor comes in.

The editor works with the author to ensure the manuscript will achieve that polished status, ready for the consumer to purchase and read.

There have been a few instances over the years that I've picked up a book, which has supposedly been edited, only to put it down again as unreadable due to misspelt words, incorrect punctuation, or the story gets 'lost' half way through. One book comes to mind; it was a mass of words on paper - no paragraphs, no scene changes, no breaks, making it totally unreadable. I felt sorry for the author who had put all that hard work into it, as it would never be read.

There are three types of editing - Substantive, Copy editing and Proofreading. All are essential for producing a good-quality publication, although they may be performed at different times during the process and usually more than once. The levels can overlap and a editor can perform a part substantive edit when engaged to copyedit.

Substantive edit - also called content or structural editing. This process checks the content, style, language, presentation and structure. It also covers any rewriting, tailoring the work to its audience and ensures the authors 'voice' is clear.

Copyediting - does not involve structural problems, but works on consistency, accuracy and clarity. It checks for punctuation and spelling accuracy. It can overlap with substantive editing.

Proofreading - is the last edit of the process. It's usually performed after the first draft print run to check for any typo's, punctuation, page numbering, chapter numbering, that all deletions have been carried out and the allotted 'style' has been followed.

Bearing all of this in mind, an author writes. An editor edits. Both have their specific parts to play in the whole process.

A well-trained editor is worth their weight in gold and will polish the author's work to the high level required for publication, ensuring the finished book is a pleasure to read.

A Little on Book Editing

Now that I have created a brand new place for my 'book work', it's time to start filling the pages. Where does one start? A little about me maybe?

How did it come about? As with most things - a change of lifestyle. When this happened I decided that I needed something I could get my teeth into and searched within myself for what I love. Books jumped to the forefront. I have always loved books and right from a very young age they attracted me. Books have a way of making you feel alive, of taking you to places only dreamed of, making you aware that anything is possible, of encouraging you to take that next step...

I enrolled in an editing course and in due time received my Diploma. I've been a book editor for a number of years and thoroughly enjoy helping authors 'get their words out' into the world. It is very satisfying to see an author with a huge smile on their face and happy with the final result. It also gives them confidence to 'go forth' and let their book be seen by millions of people around the world.

The editing process is probably the most important process in the 'manuscript to published book' link. An author always needs an editor to polish their work. Without this, it can hold up all that hard work. Words are the most important aspect of language. Without them, there would be no language and therefore, no books.

Do contact me if you would like to add your book to my blog for extra exposure, or enquire about the next step to take in the publishing process. I look forward to hearing from you...