Posts Tagged With: author

Quick Editing Tip: An Easy and Effective Way to Proofread

Posted on December 16, 2012 by Michelle Proulx

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.

Voila! My foolproof proofreading method.

Unrelated image of the day:

Source: http://imgur.com/a/5bU0g

Click here for more guinea pig hybrids: http://imgur.com/a/5bU0g

Categories: Self Publishing, Writing | Tags: author, editing, editing tips, guinea pig, imminent danger, proofread, proofreading, self-publish, writing, writing tips | 35 Comments

Help me figure out my Back Cover Text!

Posted on December 14, 2012 by Michelle Proulx

So to get the big news out of the way, iUniverse sent me my book proofs yesterday. These would be electronic proofs — don’t do physical proofs for some bizarre reason.

Anyway, here are my initial thoughts on the cover/interior:

The Good:

title looks super cool
spine looks super cool
back cover looks professional
interior is freaking awesome

The Bad:

they randomly stretched my author photo sideways so I look oddly disproportionate
the back cover text they tweaked from the original version I gave them is poorly written
the silhouettes on the front cover are terrible – the girl is fine, but the guy looks like an overweight balding man – plus he randomly has a shiny silver pistol (this is a sci-fi story, people! they don’t have pistols!)

As you can guess, I am fairly concerned about “The Bad”. Most important to fix are the silhouettes, obviously, since they are on the front cover, but most annoying to me is that they stretched my author photo. What could possibly possess them to do that? If they needed it to fit a certain width, they could have just cropped the top and bottom. It makes no sense. Did they think no one would notice?

Anyway, this is just the first draft (I get one more), so I will make up a list of all my revisions and send it to them. And then the cover will be perfect! Or else!

Moving on to the real reason I called you here …

So as I mentioned above, the back cover text they “revised” is mediocre at best, so I had to re-write it. I’m going to share with you my version of the back cover text, so please let me know what you think! I haven’t sent it in yet, so changes can definitely be made if you find something you don’t like.

High school junior Eris Miller thinks she’s having a bad day when her roommate’s boyfriend catches her stepping out of the shower wearing nothing but a towel. Then she gets abducted by aliens, and her day suddenly gets a whole lot worse.

After being forced to drink a vial of glowing blue liquid, Eris is knocked unconscious. When she awakens, she discovers that she is imprisoned on a spaceship. Her abductors are menacing six-armed reptiles with a strange fondness for the color blue, and their captain is straight out of Eris’s nightmares. Her only solace is in her fellow captive, a wise, fluffy-haired alien named Miguri. But just as Eris begins to fear she will never see her home again, fate lands her in the arms of Varrin, a handsome space pirate who promises to deliver her safely back to Earth. He claims to have her best interests at heart, but Eris soon discovers that her rescuer has a devious hidden agenda.

Join Eris on her thrilling journey across the galaxy as she struggles to save her planet, her life, and her heart from the clutches of imminent danger.

Thoughts? Opinions? Comments?

Unrelated image of the day:

Source: http://imgur.com/j6izS

Categories: Self Publishing | Tags: author, book cover, books, design, ebooks, imminent danger, iuniverse, self-publish | 48 Comments

Imminent Danger — Official Book Trailer #1

Posted on December 13, 2012 by Michelle Proulx

I was getting caught up on reading blogs today, and about halfway through reading a random post I had a ridiculous idea for a book trailer. At first I thought, “No, that’s just silly. You can’t make a book trailer like that.” And then I thought, “But there are so many bad book trailers out there — how can this idea possibly be worse?” And then I thought, “Screw it, I’m making it.”

Thus without further ado, I present to you the first (more to come) official book trailer for Imminent Danger And How to Fly Straight into It:

(here’s a link in case that didn’t work)

Hahahaha. Oh man. I crack up every time I watch that. What a ridiculous trailer, especially with the super cheesy music.

*wipes tears from eyes*

Anyway, let me know what you think! And if you want to steal my awesome trailer idea and make one of your own, make sure you credit meeeeeee! (Or not. Whatever floats your virtual boat.)

Categories: Self Publishing | Tags: aliens, author, book trailer, books, ebooks, funny, imminent danger, michelle proulx, space, Trailer, youtube | 36 Comments

Super Awesome News!

Posted on December 10, 2012 by Michelle Proulx

Before we get to the super awesome news, I want you to do two things for me:

Find the latest version of your current WIP.
Email it to yourself.

I ask this because I just read this post, in which my blogger friend explains that she lost her manuscript. Lost, as in, her computer crashed, the files have mysteriously disappeared from her flash drive, and the only hard copy she has is about ten revisions back from where she is now. That SUCKS. Seriously. Drop by her blog and wish her luck, because as you can imagine, she’s not exactly thrilled at the moment.

And now … the SUPER AWESOME NEWS!

Well, I think it’s super awesome — and it’s my blog, my rules, so get on the excitement train or get left behind in the dusty wastelands of … not excitement …

Anyway. Remember how I was all psyched and stuff because Imminent Danger won the Editor’s Choice award? Remember how I mentioned that the next award up for grabs is Rising Star? Well …

I WON IT! WOOOOOO!

But Michelle, you ask, what is Rising Star? To which I reply: beats the potatoes out of me. Let me look it up.

Aha! Click here for details.

Basically, I get a swanky cover design, they give me some sort of marketing direction, I get to stick the Rising Star award sticker on the back of my book, and — here’s the best part — the iUniverse reps will present my books to major retailers. Now, I’m not sure what this entails. I imagine the reps go to book fairs, shove my book into various people’s hands, and say “Look! Book!”. Presumably they will be more eloquent than that (although points to them for rhyming).

So this means they can finally get the book cover design going. I got my friend Paul to do up a cover for me back in May, which I sent to iUniverse. According to my “Publishing Services Associate (PSA)”, they really like the design, but will be basically re-making it with stock photography and something something something I don’t remember.

Anyway, I’m really psyched. So close to publication! Ahhh!

Unrelated videos of the day:

Japan, why you so crazy?

Categories: iUniverse, Self Publishing | Tags: author, books, imminent danger, iuniverse, japan, marketing, music, rising star, save, self-publish, writing | 41 Comments

18 Marketing Ideas for the Self-Published Author

Posted on December 6, 2012 by Michelle Proulx

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!

Unrelated media of the day:

Source: http://imgur.com/0AJpY

Categories: iUniverse, Self Publishing, Writing | Tags: advertising, author, books, ebooks, florence and the machine, imminent danger, iuniverse, japanese, marketing, marketing tips, self-publish, writing | 33 Comments

Returning the favour (ft. Tania L Ramos)

Posted on November 30, 2012 by Michelle Proulx

One of my favourite WordPress Authors, Tania L Ramos (and yes, when I say her name, I do say the entire thing and roll the R), has been sweet enough to plug my as-of-yet unpublished book on her blog! I thought it was only fair to plug her book back on mine.

So first of all, go check out her blog. Secondly, listen to me ramble about her book for a second.

I read Be Still (her book) over the summer, and I really enjoyed it. I had some trouble getting into it at first, because it’s a romantic drama, and my usual genre is, well, hardcore fantasy. But I fell in love with the characters, the ending was heart-warming and fantastic, and I was even able to overlook the fact that there weren’t any dragons. So props to Tania L Ramos for that. (I even roll the R in my head! I need to stop doing that.)

Be Still also holds the distinction of being the first (and thus far, only) book I’ve reviewed where the author actually sent me a physical, signed copy of the book. That was a really cool feeling — that someone is so invested in getting my opinion that they’re willing to send me one of their books that they’ve bought and paid for themselves. It was like Christmas in July. It was awesome.

If you’re interested in reading Be Still in the next little while, I’m given to understand that you might even be able to get it for free! The ebook version, that is, not the print version. Only I am special enough for this honour! Muahahahaha. Anyway, here’s a quote on the subject from Tania L Ramos’s blog:

And to ring in this holiday season, please visit my website www.BeStillNovel.com to receive a free Kindle download of Be Still. Or contact me to receive a signed paperback copy of my book for $10 plus $3.95 shipping, or buy two books and get one free. Don’t forget, books make great holiday gifts.

And that’s about all the time I have for cross-promotion, as I have a project due today and I’ve already spent the last hour blogging instead of working. Bad Michelle!

Oh yeah, and since I’m talking about other bloggers and how awesome they are, I should mention Andrew Toynbee, who invented an award — The Most Helpful Blogger Award — and nominated me for it. Woo!

Unrelated image of the day:

Source: https://i0.wp.com/i.imgur.com/zPtT2.jpg

Source: http://i.imgur.com/zPtT2.jpg

Unrelated video of the day:

This is a … really weird video. It’s painfully catchy and adorable, and yet at the same time horribly depressing. So … enjoy?

Categories: Blog-related, Self Publishing | Tags: andrew toynbee, author, be still, books, dumb ways to die, giveaway, imminent danger, self-publish, tania l ramos, writing | 15 Comments

Enter Vlog the Fourth! + MAJOR UPDATES!

Posted on November 29, 2012 by Michelle Proulx

I just spent way more time than I should have making this vlog:

To give you the overview, in case you don’t want to watch the whole thing, here are the MAJOR UPDATES I referred to in the title:

Copy-edit is finished and manuscript is submitted to Editorial Review Board!
Editorial Review Board has finished looking over the manuscript!
I’m officially in the Editor’s Choice Program!
Which means I qualify for Rising Star! See this link for details!
Current publication date = January 2013!

That was an excessive use of exclamation marks. I really need to calm down and do something useful, like finish my project due tomorrow.

Le sigh.

Categories: Blog-related, iUniverse, Self Publishing | Tags: author, books, copy-edit, ebooks, editor's choice, imminent danger, iuniverse, rising star, self-publish, vlog | 16 Comments

9 Things I Learned From My Copy-Edit

Posted on November 25, 2012 by Michelle Proulx

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.

Unrelated media of the day:

Categories: iUniverse, Self Publishing, Writing | Tags: author, books, cardboard, college humor, copy-edit, ebooks, editing, editing tips, grammar, imminent danger, iuniverse, mario, self-publish, writing, writing tips, zelda | 68 Comments

Yes, I’m still alive (more or less) + Copy-Edit news!

Posted on November 24, 2012 by Michelle Proulx

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?