Through the help of my physician, I am on a small weight loss program. I asked for this, because this is the first time my cholesterol was found to be high. I am usually abnormally low. I also had high blood sugar for the first time. Since my roommate suffered a major heart attack, it gave me a wake up call. I have cut out all junk food and started eating healthy. I am also exercising and hope to start running distance again. I will show the before and after pics when I get down under 210lbs. Just this week alone, I have dropped 9 pounds: from 230lbs to 221lbs. This is radical for a week, but it is funny what your body can do if you have strong discipline and willpower. I write a lot about this in a new book I am authoring. Other than the Atlanta GA heatwave zapping my energy, I feel better physically and mentally.
Category Archives: The Little Book of Change
Time for the editor
I have now contacted an editor and asked if she is still interested in editing my book. If you write a book, look for an editor with credentials. Ask for the credentials, if you don’t see them. If both of you are in need and are willing to make a trade, make sure you feel good about your editor. I asked the first editor for her credentials, and she replied, “I edited a law school text book”. She also sent me the link, and she was a the top of the credits. I guess if someone can edit a law book, then they can edit just about anything.
You are looking for someone who can clean up your spelling and grammar, without taking away your voice. There are many ways to say things. The first editor would send me notes saying, “I know you are trying to say this. So I properly rewrote the sentence to reflect it. Will this work for you?” I gave a thumbs up or a thumbs down. That way we were in good communication and she made sure I had the final “sign off”.
Filed under The Little Book of Change
Revision 26? (The Little Book of Change)
Can I even call it revision 26? I mean I have been writing this thing for 4 years. For all I know, I am into hundreds of revisions. 26 is the revision that I decided to use as my first printed manuscript. Wow, was it a mess. I don’t know if it was the conversion to a .pdf format or the author, but I found a lot of errors. I am going with both. As I backed away for the first time, I couldn’t believe the errors within the first 10 pages. But that is OK. That is why you call it a first revision.
This isn’t my first book. I learned some hard lessons during my first trip across the galaxy. I thought that I could be the editor and take the short cut, but I got busted. I had my proof printed out and proudly showed to the guys at work. They started to read it and were finding errors left and right. I was embarrassed. I was so proud to finally make a book and it was bad.
So, I hired an editor. It took about 12 edits to get it right and I still think we missed a word or two.
If you want to self publish, don’t take the easy and cheap way out. Spend the money or trade for an editor and graphic artist. I promise that you will miss something. At least this never happened to me, but I am sure it hits other authors hard. I look at books on Amazon and the first thing I look at are the reviews. Nothing irritates a reader more than being caught up in a book, only to get bumped out of their world by a spelling error and error in grammar. Your reader will forgive you if your character development isn’t that good. You reader will forgive you if your narrative is lacking luster, but they hate errors!
Don’t believe me? Read the book reviews.
Filed under The Little Book of Change
