Archive for March 2025
4 Critical Book Editing Options
A recent newsletter I received from Ally Machate, who runs a editing and marketing firm, mentioned three costly mistakes authors make when publishing. The first mistake is rushing to publish without proper editing. “Skipping professional editing might save time (and money in the short term),” she writes, “but it often lead to … negative reviews.”…
Read MoreWhy a Woman Con Artist is 1 Great Story
Ninth in an occasional series about compelling stories and ideas worth telling. Have you ever been in a relationship with a con artist? Did you lose a lot of money? Did you try to get him or her back, against your better judgment? Did that con artist try to kill you? Did you survive and…
Read MoreCritical Thinking and 1 Author’s Voice
Last week, I wrote about the importance of critical thinking in book editing. Read it here. Buried in the 11th paragraph of that piece was this sentence: Are my edits removing the author’s voice? Too often, one editor takes a manuscript and butchers it in such a way that the author no longer recognizes it.…
Read MoreCritical Thinking is 1 Critical Skill in Book Editing
I have long believed that critical thinking is a skill that is lost among much of the population. People who can think critically can evaluate information and decide if it’s true, false, necessary, or unnecessary. They can take that information and make better judgments and hold well-informed opinions. That seems to be disappearing in society,…
Read MoreWhy Stories Make 1 Speech Better
Here’s a story about stories. I recently gave a speech at a networking group of which I have been a member for eight years (and am quitting this month, but that’s not important right now). I had 10 minutes to talk about ghostwriting, since we were expected to talk about our business. I had previously…
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