As I mentioned in my previous post, iUniverse sent me the proofs for Imminent Danger last Thursday. As such, I have spent the entire weekend going through the proofs and making sure there aren’t any typos, odd formatting, random blank pages, etc.
I thought I’d share my proofreading method with you, since it worked out pretty well.
Step #1
Print out your book. Since this is your final proof before the book is printed, make sure you print it in its final format — e.g., two novel-sized pages printed on each 8.5×11 sheet.
The reasoning here, of course, is that if you just print out your book as a normal Word document, it doesn’t have the feel of a real book, plus you won’t be able to check that your novel formatting is correct.
Step #2
Get a red pen and a bunch of sticky notes.
Step #3 (this is the most important one)
Starting on the first page of your book, read backwards up each page, going paragraph by paragraph.
At the proof-reading stage, you’re no longer making big changes to the book. Everything is where it should be. Now you’re just looking for typos. And by reading the paragraphs backward, you’re removing yourself from the story and just concentrating on the text. I actually tried reading the entire book backwards, paragraph by paragraph, but flipping the pages was annoying so I started at the beginning instead.
Step #4
Whenever you find a typo, or just a small something you want to change, correct it with red pen and put a sticky note on that page. Then continue reading.
Step #5
Once you’re done reading the entire book, go back and look at your suggested changes. You might not agree with some of them once you’ve had a chance to think them through. Remove the sticky note from discarded changes pages so you aren’t confused later on.
Step #6
Open up your manuscript file and make those changes! Do a quick scroll through of the document to make sure you didn’t mess up any formatting by adding/deleting things.
I’m in a teaching mood today, so I have decided to share with you my thoughts on paragraph writing. And no, this sudden propensity for wisdom-dispensing has nothing to do with the fact that I have a project due and I don’t want to work on it. Stop judging me!
Paragraph Tip #1 — Long paragraph is loooooong
You know what’s super annoying to read? Really long paragraphs. I’ve picked up so many books that have paragraphs last a page or more, and when I see this, I can’t help but think, “Why? Why you do this?”
I’ll prove my point. Read the following paragraph:
They ran towards me, screaming that the building was going to collapse in mere minutes. I didn’t believe them. I knew for a fact that the donut library in the basement was built on extremely strong foundations that would stand up against even the harshest of earthquakes. Still, nothing is ever set in stone — well, except for the foundations of the donut library. Anyway, I decided that I should take the threat seriously, and considered my options. Flailing my arms and panicking seemed like a good choice. Then I remembered the sabre enthusiast club up on the fiftieth floor. They wouldn’t know about the evacuation. Someone had to help them. That someone, I decided, would be me. I raced for the elevator and hit the button. The doors slid open, and I stepped inside. When I reached the fiftieth floor, I emerged from the elevator and shouted for everyone to follow me down the ground floor. But I was ignored. Everyone was too busy swinging their sabres around to hear me. Desperate to get their attention, I seized a discarded sabre from the floor and leaped into the fray. Knocking aside sabres left and right, I bellowed for them to listen to me, to evacuate before they all perished. Finally, they listened. Like a mindless stampede they raced for the elevator, failing to understand that seventy people could not fit into a single elevator. “Don’t be fools!” I shouted, racing to cut them off before they started squishing each other to death. “We have time! Just wait your turn!” The herd calmed, and through my organizational efforts I managed to get them all safely down to the ground floor. As the last of the sabre enthusiasts tromped out the door, I realized that the building wasn’t collapsing. It wasn’t even shaking. All the panic had been for nothing. I shook my head at my own foolishness. Then I went down to the donut library and checked out a sprinkle donut and a chocolate glazed donut. They were delicious.
That was a stupidly long paragraph. If you managed to get all the way through it, then kudos. The only reason I got through it is because I wrote the darn thing.
In conclusion, keep your paragraphs short. Otherwise your readers will fall asleep and drool all over your book, and as everyone knows, drool stains are like crack for bookworms. And no one likes bookworms.
Paragraph Tip #2 — Conversation: you’re doing it wrong
In this tip, we explore the glorious phenomenon that is an entire conversation between two people taking place in a single paragraph. Because I like writing examples, here’s one to illustrate what I’m talking about:
“Yo yo, G-skillet,” said Mary. “What up dawg?” said John. “Not a whole lot, my homey,” said Mary. “I dunno ’bout you, but I got a mad urge to go do assorted activities that people of our demographic enjoy.” “Dude, me too! We’re like, totally hip.” “Yo, fo sho,” said Mary.
My inability to capture the authentic dialogue patterns of today’s urban youth aside, the main problem with that horrendous excuse for writing is the fact that two different people were talking in the same paragraph. Do you know who was saying what? No? Of course not. That’s because you always, always, always start a new paragraph when someone new speaks.
Let’s apply liberal use of the Enter key and see if we can’t fix up that conversation, shall we?
“Yo yo, G-skillet,” said Mary.
“What up dawg?” said John.
“Not a whole lot, my homey,” said Mary. “I dunno ’bout you, but I got a mad urge to go do assorted activities that people of our demographic enjoy.”
“Dude, me too! We’re like, totally hip.”
“Yo, fo sho,” said Mary.
See how much better that is? Now we know that it’s John, and not Mary, who thinks that they’re totally hip. If we do some mental stretching, we might even deduce that Mary is far more self-aware than she appears to be. In fact, Mary is actually a hipster journalist who has infiltrated a street gang in order to uncover their secrets and write a biting exposé on their daily doings.
Isn’t it amazing what we can discover when we break up our dialogue properly?
Paragraph Tip #3 — In Soviet Russia, Topic Stays On You
For those of you unfamiliar with the In Soviet Russia meme, I am somewhat ineptly attempting to explain that every individual paragraph should have one topic. One topic. Not two topics. Not seventeen bajillion topics. One.
To illustrate:
Of all graceful and magnificent creatures on this great green earth, poodles are truly the most extraordinary. One need only catch a glimpse of their lustrous curly locks as they prance through the grasslands to reach that one, sublime truth: that poodles are physical embodiments of joy. The labrador retriever is the most popular dog in the continental United States. With their fancy footwork and stylish haircuts, poodles cut a striking image wherever they go. Little girls squeal at their approach. Grown men pretend nonchalance whilst secretly wishing they could be as graceful as these canine marvels. Poodles are not just our salvation; they are a way of life.
Did you catch the off-topic sentence? That’s right, it was the sentence about the labrador retriever. This paragraph is about the majesty of poodles, dammit! If the labs want to be praised, they can find their own damn paragraph.
What do you think?
Got any more paragraph-writing tips? Disagree with mine? Agree that poodles are the most glorious creatures in the universe? Sound off in the comments!
This post was inspired by a book review I read for City of Bones by Cassandra Clare. For those of you who haven’t read it, Jace is the bad-boy love interest who kicks ass, takes names, and is occasionally prone to fits of extreme melodrama. In the review, the reviewer explained that they could barely get through the book because of how much they hated Jace. They thought he was rude, controlling, and a terrible match for the protagonist. I, on the other hand, think he’s delightfully witty and — while at times in need of a sharp whack to the head — an all-around decent guy.
This brings to mind one of my favourite quotes from my mother: Different people are different.
It always baffles me that people can hate something I hold so dear. Thus, I posit this question: When is “bad” too bad?
The problem with this question is that everyone has a different definition of where “too bad” falls on the badness spectrum. I, for example, have a very high tolerance for some “bad” acts, and a low tolerance for others. I love reading about bad boys who have horrible, twisted, sordid pasts … so long as they’ve reformed and are trying to make amends. One of my favourite characters of all time is Anakin Skywalker — who, if you recall, did terrible things ranging from killing his own master to slaughtering dozens of Jedi younglings. And possibly causing his wife to kill herself? I never really understood that sub plot. Anyway, I’m totally cool with his various evil actions because I tend to forgive bad boys in books as long as they eventually seek redemption.
Others have a slightly lower tolerance for badness. I have a friend who, whenever a main character does something even remotely unkind, will get frustrated, say “That’s not pleasant”, and search for something else to read or watch.
What do you think? What’s that tipping point for you, where you say, “Okay, this character is now irredeemable to me”?
“BAD” ACTIVITY TIME!
List these characters in order of “badness”: (explanations are welcome and encouraged)
Severus Snape (Harry Potter)
Anakin Skywalker (Star Wars)
Gollum (Lord of the Rings)
Christian Grey (50 Shades)
Edward Cullen (Twilight)
President Snow (Hunger Games)
Unrelated video of the day:
Prepare to have your mind boggled by the insanity.
So yesterday afternoon I submitted my Rising Star Marketing Evaluation to iUniverse. Assuming they like my marketing plan, they’ll approve me for the Rising Star Award, which nets me a variety of benefits.
In the evaluation, they basically ask you how you plan to market your book. Easy enough, right? WRONG! I trawled the internet for hours, coming up with a list of marketing ideas that I’m now going to share with my awesome readers because that’s how much I love you guys.
Thus, my list of marketing ideas, in no particular order:
Create a book trailer
Hold a blog tour
Press release for local newspapers
Enter book into literary contests
Include link to your website on every article you post, every email you send, etc.
Connect with fellow self-published authors and ask for a book review exchange
Donate books to the library, accompanied by a book reading and a press release
Donate books to local middle and high schools, accompanied by a book reading or lecture on writing/self-publishing and a press release
Free book giveaways hosted through blog/Facebook/Twitter
Free bookplates (signed labels that you can paste into a book in lieu of an in-person author signature) for fans who’ve bought the book
Sell themed merchandise (bags, mugs, t-shirts, etc.) on Zazzle.com
Leave bookmarks and posters in key strategic locations – library, cafes, local stores, etc.
Connect with other local self-published authors and set up an author’s panel/publicity event
Set up an online newsletter to keep subscribers informed on upcoming events, special promotions, new releases, etc.
Write guest posts on other blogs to build your following
Create a “freebie” available exclusively on your website – e.g., a short story based on the book
Release excerpts and snippets of upcoming works to build interest on blog/Facebook/Twitter
Record an audio book version of the novel
Got more ideas? Tell me in the comments. We self-published types have to stick together!
On the verge of a nervous breakdown, Christie reacts by running away, emotionally and physically. Down to her last twenty dollars, she’s determined to fulfill her dead sister’s last wish — to locate their sister Judith, who left home twenty years before. Her quest brings her into the lives of Garrett, Judith’s husband, and the emotionally fragile Hannah, Judith’s daughter. Christie is devastated to learn Judith died two years before. When Christie insists on getting to know her niece, Garrett agrees on the condition she doesn’t reveal her identity. He hires her to work at his horse farm but what he doesn’t count on is the turmoil and hope Christie brings into their lives.
The Review
I love a good romance, and this was definitely a good romance! I wasn’t a huge fan of the setting — the whole Western, horse ranch, cowboy thing has just never intrigued me, for some reason — but I was able to ignore that in favour of the really adorable romance between Christie and Garrett. It was wonderful to watch two emotionally troubled people come together and help each other heal. And I just love that Garrett’s dog is named Bo Peep!
The plot was solid, with good amounts of backstory, intrigue, etc. I could have used a bit more danger, but there were still sufficient life-threatening moments to keep me interested. And I would have liked more twists as well, but then, this is a romance novel, not Game of Thrones! Speaking of the romance, it was very fun to watch unfold, and it progressed at an entirely believable pace. I also really enjoyed Garrett’s interactions with his adopted daughter Hannah, especially how he makes sure to factor her into his potential love life.
If you’re looking for a heartfelt cowboy romance, I’d definitely recommend checking this out!
I finished going over my copy-edit this evening. All the changes are made, the manuscript has been sent back to iUniverse so they can do God knows what with it (hopefully publish it, lol), and I officially have nothing more to do with the book until they send me cover proofs and final print proofs. Woo! Talk about a weight off your chest. Now I can focus on other things, like my job, and not living in a forest of cardboard boxes.
But you don’t care about that. You came here for the list!
9 Things I Learned From My Copy-Edit
1. The first paragraph at the start of a chapter is not indented. The same goes for the first paragraph after a scene break.
2. According to American publishing standard, when indicating possession, this — Chris’ — is not correct. This — Chris’s — is correct.
3. A list of adjectives do not require as many commas as you might think. This — fluffy, white hair — is not correct. This — fluffy white hair — is correct.
4. Once you’ve defined a foreign word in italics, you don’t have to italicize it any more. I’m given to understand that you can still italicize it if you want to, but it’s not necessary.
5. Instead of using italics to put emphasis on a certain word, try to let the sentence structure emphasize for you.
6. Ship names are italicized, but a class/type of ship is not italicized. E.g. The Enterprise v.s. Boeing 747.
7. The following dialogue tags — “she panicked”, “she laughed”, “she sighed”, “she smiled” — are not actually dialogue tags. They are verbs that should not be applied to dialogue.
8. Percentage should be written as XX percent — e.g., 97 percent.
9. The correct phrasing is “Far be it from me to say”, not “Far be it for me to say”.
Also, having finished reviewing the copy-edit, I can now officially pass judgement on my copy-editor. Ready?
Was the copy-edit worth $1900?
No. I definitely did not get $1900 worth of editing done to that manuscript. Not by a long shot. On the plus side, I did learn several things (see the above list), so it certainly wasn’t a complete waste of money.
How was the quality of the copy-editor?
He seemed fairly competent. I caught five mistakes overall — four typos, and one word that was randomly bolded. He had a weird obsession with semicolons that I didn’t agree with, and he also seemed to have a vendetta against commas, so I had to add a handful back in. He also failed to notice that some of the chapter titles were misaligned. To be fair, I didn’t notice that either, but still!
Overall judgement?
Not worth the money, but I did learn many new things, so we’ll call it a draw and move on.
You may have noticed that I’ve been suspiciously absent from WordPress for the last fortnight. You may not have noticed. Either way, I’m back, and I’m psyched to be here. Specifically, I’m psyched not to be sitting in a freezing cold office highlighting endless paperwork. Anyhoo …
I spent the last three hours trying to catch up on all the blog posts I’ve missed over the last two weeks. Do you people have any idea how much you write? Good grief. I had to restrict myself to reading 1 out of every 6 posts, or I would still be scrolling through my Blogs I Follow list tomorrow morning. So if I missed a major update in anyone’s life due to my extreme skippery, I apologize.
My temp job is officially over, and I have about $1600 and no life to show for it. Still, an interesting experience was had, and I extracted several promises from my co-workers that they would buy my book when it comes out. So … call it a win?
Speaking of my book … nah, just messing with you. The Michelle Proulx Official Life Update isn’t over yet. Patience, my young padawans.
This month I also moved apartments, which I think I may have mentioned, and we’re officially settled into our new place. It’s smaller and cheaper than the last place, but the location is way better (right beside the mall), plus the heating is centrally controlled, so my mother can’t turn down the heat whenever she gets too hot. Muahahahahahaha.
Okay, now we’re actually going to speak about my book. The major news is that I got my Copy-Edit back! As I expected, the edits are all minor things — commas moved around, dashes added, etc. The editor seems to have some sort of weird addiction to semicolons, because he’s added about a dozen. Interesting. Right now I’m going through the edited manuscript — basically re-reading the book – to make sure the editor didn’t do anything crazy. He seems fairly sane thus far (Chapter 18, baby!), so I have high hopes.
Once I finish my review, the manuscript goes back to the editorial folks at iUniverse, and the design process begins. Woo! I’m really excited. I sent them cover design ideas a few weeks ago, but I haven’t heard anything back yet, so I have no idea what the design team has done with them. Hopefully something epic.
I really need to get dressed and unpack/review my book, so I think that’s all for now. I have great plans to make another vlog episode, which may or may not succeed depending on how my showering/unpacking/book reviewing goes.
Hope you’ve all had a great two weeks, and I look forward to reading about your lives/accomplishments on a more regular basis.
Oh yeah, and before I forget — I gave up on NaNo. No time + no energy + packing/moving/job/other job/copy-edit review = no NaNo. Le sigh.
Unrelated media of the day:
What if Aladdin always looked like that?
Hehehe. And here’s another ridiculous K-Pop video to brighten your day:
My temp job continues, netting me sweet, sweet cash, and further inhibiting my ability to meet my NaNo word count. When last we chatted, I was 483 words into NaNo. Now, I’m pleased to announce that I’ve been a busy little beaver these last few days, and I have officially brought my word count up to … wait for it … drum roll …
5,455 words
Woo!!! Broke the 5k mark! PARTAY!
Okay, to be perfectly honest, that’s actually a pretty pathetic word count. You’re supposed to finish 1667 words a day, so by Day 7 I should be at 11,669 words. I’m a little short. And by a little, I mean I need to double my word count. I might have to cancel my partay …
However, I’m not letting that stop me. I WILL PREVAIL! It won’t be easy, however, because my boss has projected that he’ll need me to keep temping well into next week, and possibly longer, as the job is much bigger than they thought and we’re nowhere near done. So, yay for my bank account, and boo for my story. Oh, and we’re also moving apartments on the 17th, so there goes most of the weekend. But still, I WILL PREVAIL! If I say it enough times, it’ll come true, right? RIGHT?
I don’t understand science, so bear with me. Basically, tacyons move backwards through time. So when my brother Jesse (you might remember him from Vlog #2) heard that we were having our Halloween party after Halloween, he decided that we were having a Tacyon Halloween. Does the title make sense now? No? Welcome to my world.
Anyway, I thought I’d share some photos from our party, mostly because I’m super happy with my costume (German bar wench) and wanted to share them with you. Scroll past the photos for an update on my horrendous attempts at NaNoWriMo thus far.
Pumpkin ale and cupcakes.
Mother and brother.
Me, with my friend apparently trying to behead me.
Me trying to behead my friend.
NaNoWriMo Update:
So we’re 3 days into NaNo, and it’s going just plain awful. I am 483 words in, and I shouldn’t even be that far because I need to do actual work for my real job and instead I’m writing — and writing slowly, at that. Le sigh.
I’ve discovered the ultimate cure for writer’s block. And it’s the simplest thing in the world. Ready?
The Ultimate Cure for Writer’s Block
Keep a notebook and pen in your bathroom.
The Writer’s Block
I’ve been working on the sequel to Imminent Danger for awhile now, and it’s been going … not so well. My problem is that, according to my beta reader, there isn’t enough plot in the second half of the book. Fair enough. What I essentially have right now is tons of plot up to the middle of the story, tons of plot at the end … but for the second half, the characters mostly just traipse around and do irrelevant stuff.
So, obviously I need to change that. And I’ve been making extremely slow progress, but it’s been tough going because I just don’t have any inspiration for it, and I can’t bring myself to sit down and write if I don’t have inspiration. Thus, nothing gets done.
And then I brought a notebook into the bathroom.
The Solution
The first step is to get that notebook and pen into the bathroom. The second step is to take out everything else that could possibly interest you. That includes books, magazines, sudoku puzzles, tablets, etc.
This means that, when you sit down for your daily … let’s call it “relief”, you have absolutely nothing to occupy yourself with other than the notebook. And when a writer has nothing but a notebook and a pen, what else can we do but write?
It’s worked amazingly well. My characters are getting out and doing things, meeting cyborgs, dancing to the alien version of dubstep, etc. Will all of my scribbling make it into the final version of the book? Probably not. But at least I’m writing again! What else can a writer ask for?
Unrelated post of the day
I can’t remember which WordPress blogger directed me to this post, but it was really interesting, and I thought I’d share it here. It’s written by Cassandra Clare, a popular YA author, and she talks about dealing with hate blogs. I didn’t even know there were hate blogs. Clearly I live in a fairyland of butterflies and ice cream mountains. Anyway, here’s the link.
Unrelated video of the day
For those of you who’ve never experienced the genius of College Humor, here’s a link. And here is one of my favourite comedy sketches/songs by them:
Michelle Proulx - Author 
