Hi. I’m Jill and I’m an editor. I enable writers. I mainline books like a junkie. I free base text into prose. I’m always jonesing for a good story. Yes, I’m hooked on grammar. I get a tremendous high when one of my writer’s books gets a starred review in Kirkus, featured in the New York Times or pops up as a question on Jeopardy. What a rush. Almost eight years ago I invented this job as a free-lance developmental book editor right at the time when publishers downsized editorial staff and expected authors to hire their own editors. One of the rewards of my job is learning new things from my writers. Did you know on Mars the duration of a solar day is called a “sol” and takes 24 hours, 39 minutes, and 35.244 seconds? I didn’t. Who knew that Confederate soldiers burned the town and sacked the banks in St. Albans, Vermont? Not me. Or letters found in an antique shop in Stillwater, Minnesota, were written by a French catholic metalworker the Nazis conscripted to work in a Daimler factory? Writers come to me looking for a midwife to help them give birth to their books. If they’ve got a compelling story, I’ll help turn a good idea into a great book. But that’s not always possible. The most difficult part of my job is when I have to deliver bad news. No, your manuscript is not ready for publication. Hey, doctors sometimes have to tell a…
Check your facts. You might not be Brian Williams. Maybe you don’t plan to write a memoir about your experience in the war against terrorism, cancer, death, or addiction. If you are a professional writer, you need to know facts still matter. Especially to your readers. If you write nonfiction, your credibility as an author depends on it. Corroborate your facts with additional documentation. Immerse… [Read More]
Filed Under: accuracy, Brian Williams, credibility, Fact-checking, LMGTFY, reliability, validity
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Writers need nurturing. They need time, space, sunlight, and fresh air. They need quiet. And, once in a while, they even need to eat. Writer’s retreats provide an opportunity to develop your skills, receive feedback if desired, make progress on a particular project, or recharge creative energies. There are many varieties of retreats; natural settings, rustic cabins or artistic colonies, instructional, or isolated. If you… [Read More]
Filed Under: Elsewhere Studios, MacDowell, Martha's Vineyard, Millay, Norman Mailer, Ragdale, Writing Retreats
Now that the new year has begun I have been asked repeatedly whether I’ll lead any winter workshops for writers. Since we live where it’s snowy and cold I’ve decided it’s too difficult for me, and likely for you, too. With all the snow in the past week, I am ready for a road trip. I’m headed to Tampa tomorrow where I’ll offer an intensive… [Read More]
Today I’m going to share my top 10 digital tools for the business of being an author. Most of these are free and all of them are easy to use. I recommend them to you because I use them and find them valuable and think you will too. (1) WordPress for website and blogging – Hands down there is no better platform for authors… [Read More]
Passive voice weakens your writing. It obscures responsibility for action. Those who learn English as a second language struggle to make sense of the many ways in which Americans use passive verb constructions in everyday speech. It often finds its way into our writing. Rarely is the writer conscious of this problem in their writing. Passive voice is used by victims. Instead of actors, they… [Read More]