BENEFITS OF STYLE SHEET

How an Editor's Style Sheet Can Help the Author

There's more to editing a manuscript than just fixing spelling, punctuation, and grammar. We copyeditors must keep track of a good many things in a manuscript to ensure that the finished book or article is consistent throughout and doesn't jar the reader by odd deviations from its intended structure, message, or voice. What are some of these? Proper spelling and capitalization of jargon, for a start. There's much more, such as chronological numbering of chapters and references, physical and personality traits of fictional characters, and how ranges of numbers are handled.

To do all of that, we create a document called a style sheet as part of the editing process. (Here are examples to download as PDFs: for a novel, for a book of literary criticism, for a medical textbook.) The style sheet then serves as a reference for anyone who deals with the manuscript later in the publishing process, including the author, the proofreader, the production editor, and the indexer.

Recently, several colleagues and I had a discussion on Facebook about an author's gratitude for my creation of a style sheet for her book. Editor and writer Patrick Inman offered an excellent explanation of the value of editors' style sheets for authors, and he has allowed me to share it here:

Authors are often too close to their material to consciously organize it. Also, for some writers at some points in the process, explicit sorting and categorizing may interfere with necessary ambiguity in thinking—ambiguity that has to be clarified in the writing but shouldn't be clarified too early in the development of a piece. When someone else provides that explicit organization in a style sheet, the suggestions it contains can be both supportive and freeing. The author can take the advice, or leave it, or, most likely, use what works and reject what doesn't.

Style sheets promote and enforce consistency. Just as important, they identify and catalog inconsistencies, and in so doing may point out where and how the editor has misunderstood the writer's intent. Clear points of misunderstanding are great signposts for authors. The editor's misapprehension shows the writer where readers may get lost. If the author believes the editor has managed to approach, read, and react to the text approximately as intended readers will, any text passages or patterns that the editor misidentifies or miscategorizes deserve close attention. The writer can figure out what he or she wants to happen at those junctures, and revise the text to make the trail clearer, or to make the puzzle more prominent, but in any case to create a more deliberate pattern that either gets to the point or creates purposeful confusion or questions in the reader's mind.

The most enjoyable and possibly headache-provoking editing gigs in the world must include continuity editing for the best mystery writers. I imagine those style sheets track what the reader knows when as part of their structure, including the misleading clues.

See the "Circuitry" section on pages 30–52 in Thomas McCormack, The Fiction Editor, the Novel, and the Novelist (Paul Dry Books, 2006) for more on this. McCormack describes, with intricate examples, what he judges to be two of three essential tasks of novel editing: the acts of discovering or inferring and then communicating to the writer, first, how the text overall and at each point affects its ideal appropriate audience (the editor must have the sensibility to experience the text as those readers would), and second, how the narrative causes those effects (the editor must have developed the craft to make informed guesses as to what may be causing undesired effects).

McCormack wants us to always be aware that the point of editing is to offer clues and tools to the writer that may guide the writer in generating, revising, cutting, and structuring the work to achieve the writer's purposes. We can also help the writer decide what those purposes are by demonstrating what the current draft accomplishes or seems close to accomplishing. That may or may not be what the writer wants.

7 Self Publishing Myths And The Truth Behind It All

You already have what it takes to self-publish your first book. And like other successful writers and authors turned publishers you can create or increase your passive income stream each month. Your competitors wish you would never discover the truth about these myths.
You may be asking "What if I don't have what it takes to self-publish?" You do. You've already accomplished the hard part of writing your book. Now it's time to publish it to the world. Believe it or not the world is waiting for your unique tips and solutions to their problems in YOUR FIELD. If you want to increase your present income or just get started now, read these seven myth busters and apply them.
Myth 1: The best book for a newbie to write is a novel.
Truth: Actually, non-fiction is your best route. Informative, how-to books sell well on the Internet. Also, they are overall easier to place in bookstores. The main reason for this; people who need information will buy it from any source as long as it looks reputable. After all, what do they stand to lose--a few dollars?
On the other hand, people looking for entertainment or an emotional experience from a book want to know what they're getting before they begin reading. An unknown author of fiction is an emotional risk. What if you don't deliver? I'm not saying there aren't any risk-takers among the reading public. There are; they're just not as plentiful as new writers might wish.
"Distribution has to do with the availability of books. POD books are distributed through Ingram and Baker and Taylor when the publisher prints through the Ingram print division (Lightning Source aka LSI). If the publisher is actually a printer, he may not use LSI and in that case he will not be able to offer distribution through Ingram. Most POD publishers do offer this distribution, but there are some who charge extra for it."
"Does it matter if you have Ingram distribution? I think it does. Without it, making your book available is going to be ever more difficult. It won't be listed on Amazon or with other booksellers unless you make those arrangements yourself. Potential readers won't be able to go into a bookstore and have the clerk find your book on their system. Without distribution, your book is virtually invisible. Not many, if anyone will be able to find it."
Myth 2: The only successful books are those published by big name writers or famous people.
Truth: Again, there are self published books that sell notably well and then were picked up by major publishers and made it even bigger. In general, most books make a small income for the author. As long as the book is good to begin with, the more it's promoted to its target audience, the better it will sell.
Myth 3: There is no distribution offered for POD published books.
Truth: Unlike traditional self-publishing, POD publishing often offers some distribution. Some POD publishers charge extra for this, but in reality, POD books are automatically set up to be distributed through Ingram and Baker & Taylor through LSI (the Ingram print on demand division).
Myth 4: All I have to do is write the book. I don't have anything to do with marketing and sales.
Truth: Consider this; there are over a million books in print. I must tell you if you want yours to stand out and sell, you should be prepared to work. Selling books is a business, and it takes hard work just like any other business.
Myth 5: Traditional publishers wouldn't expect me to market my own book.
Truth: Read what a Senior Editor at Harper Collins said: "I won't even look at a book unless the author is prepared to do a book tour and book signings... " There's no way around it; you must be prepared to be your best salesman-market your book.
Myth 6: Bookstores never stock POD published books.
Truth: Never say never; sometimes they will at a local level when dealing directly with the author. They also stock POD published books if they're returnable through Ingram. Otherwise, they probably won't, at least not at the time of this writing. However, this may change very soon when Ingram gets their new stocking/returnability policy up and running.
Myth 7: POD books can't be returned.
Truth: Most POD books are not returnable. Even so, at the time of this writing more and more POD publishers now offer returnability options in their packaged services.
SUMMARY
You can publish a book faster and easier than ever if you know how. People are daily looking for practical information and knowledge that you have. Don't let your ideas, knowledge and expertise fade away. Put it to work for you in your very own book. Remember, take the tips above and bust any self-publishing myths away that hold you back from your successful book.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/7151245

Manuscript Submission Guidelines

So, you are ready to submit your novel to perspective literary agents and publishers for their consideration. Putting together submission packages can be costly. While there are some literary agents and publishers who accept submissions by email, there are those who will only accept hard copies.
Literary agents and publishers have guidelines you must adhere to when submitting manuscripts. I suggest you stick to them or your work can end up being discarded.
I would not recommend submitting to more than six literary agents or publishers at a time. You should be aware that some literary agents will want to know if you have submitted your work elsewhere. Always keep a record of where you have submitted your work. You don't want to submit to the same agent twice.
You will often be asked for the first three chapters (usually no more than fifty pages) in most cases.
You will also want to include a query letter. You should find out the name of the literary agent or publisher to whom you are addressing the letter.
Your letter should be no more than a page long and should include your full contact details. List the name of your website or blog; I strongly recommend you have one.
The first paragraph should announce the fact that you are seeking representation for your novel. State the name of the novel, the word count (approx, not exact), genre and target audience e.g. adults, young adults, etc.
You should describe what your novel is about in no more than two short paragraphs. Think about the blurb you read at the back of a book.
If your style of work is similar to another author, represented by the Literary Agent to whom you are submitting, bring it to their attention.
Mention your current writing projects, your writing achievements and writers groups to which you belong. If your career is relevant to your writing, be sure to include it.
Do remember to use good quality A4 white paper. I recommend you use Times New Roman; font size 12 pt.
You will also want to include a one page synopsis. This should give a short version of your story from start to finish. Again, the Literary Agent or publisher will advise the length of the synopsis required. If they say a short synopsis, they usually mean one page. Never reduce the font size to fit their requirements or they may not take the time to read it.
Include a self-addressed envelope for the return of your manuscript and use elastic bands, not staples, to secure your work.

Every author and publisher needs a blog

As a writer and publisher, one of the most proven ways to expand your audience is to showcase your work through blogging.
Blogs are fairly easy to start thanks to the numerous blog tools and publishing platforms that you can use for free. Maintaining a blog is also a breeze and you don't need to be computer programmer to manage your content.
A Blog is a Form of Customer Service
A blog helps you sell your work and market yourself on the web. It allows you to get to know your market and build relationships with your readers. Writing is your own personal business and blogging is one way to create a good customer service. Aside from marketing your work, it also allows your readers to know more about you and what you can offer them.
A Blog Generates More Traffic to Your Books
Professional novelists often have their own websites where they talk about their old and upcoming books. While freelancers and eBook writers do not necessarily need a website, they create blogs to generate more traffic to the website where their eBooks and articles are published. You can also do this by writing a short blog post about your upcoming or newly published eBook and then posting an active link that directs your readers to the page where they can find and download your book. Utilize various social networking sites like Twitter and Facebook to link back to your blog.
A Blog Allows Self-Branding
By creating an "About the Author" page on your blog, you share personal information with your potential customers and existing readers. This will serve as your personal statement. However, not many writers understand the term "self-branding" or "personal branding", which is why they do not blog or fail trying. The term self branding can be misleading, and some new freelance writers literally make a product of themselves by just talking about their own good points. Although there is nothing wrong with promoting your name, do not forget that you are writing for your readers and not for yourself. Don't just write about your goals; consider your target niche as well. Even if you are just using a pen name, you can still brand yourself as a writer who knows his potential and what he can offer to his readers.
A blog is a freelancer's marketing tool. Like social networking sites, it is a way to communicate with your readers and promote yourself and your work better to the rest of the world.