Jodie Leigh Murray

I admit, I got lucky when I found my editor. I've mentioned it before in my blogs about the process that I followed to become self-published. There is an amazing website service called Reedsy that I went to find a developmental editor.

 

Now, there are different editors that you can hire for different services. It depends on your budget. I don't have a large budget, so I hired solely for developmental editing, which is a MUST for self- publishing. There is no way around this when you self-publish. As the writer, there is no way you can't be subjective with your own writing. Hire for this, unless you have a buddy that's willing to do it for you, but they should have a background in it and experience.

 

Here are editing services you can hire for, in order of how you would do them:

 

Developmental Editing: Start with developmental editing once you've written, self-edited, and received feedback from beta readers. You don't have to hire someone to do this, but I think it is not wise not to if you are self-publishing. That's my opinion, though. A developmental editor is going to do a fully review of your book, including structure, plot, characters, pacing, etc. 

 

Copy Editing: Copy editing comes after you've done developmental editing, and made changes suggested to improve your manuscript. Remember, just because the developmental editor has suggested a change to your book does not mean you have to take said advice. It is your book. Copy editing will check for grammar, spelling, usage and consistency, correct punctuation and language usage.

 

Line Editing: Line editing is the third round of editing by a line editor. They suggest changes to make sentences sharp, take out any redundancies and address verb issues. A line editor may also identify awkward sentences and fix structures of sentences and paragraphs.

 

Proofreading: This is the final editing before publication. This is the confirmation that there are no incorrect spellings, formatting errors, widows and orphans, etc. This is the final polish on your art.

 

The good thing about Reedsy is you can decide what you want to hire for and you can get up to five quotes from professionals you are looking to hire. Every professional has a resume of their experience and projects, as well as reviews. You can hire for Developmental Editing, Copy Editing (which also includes Line Editing, I believe) and Proofreading. I can't tell you how much these services cost because I have only hired for developmental editing and the cost for my editor may be more or less than for others. There are other variables as well–What genre is it? What is the word count? What is your budget? All you can do is put your information out there and collect some quotes. You do not commit unless you accept an offer and your collaboration begins.

 

Everything flows through Reedsy–files, messages and payment all go through this website. I've worked with my developmental editor on two books and we can work together outside of Reedsy. But we haven't discussed anything beyond messaging.

There are other ways of finding an editor. Google. I follow several other website resources, such as Writer's Digest, Jane Friedman, and Writer Beware. I talk about Reedsy because I've been through it, and I'm comfortable with it.

 

Besides Reedsy Marketplace, there is also Reedsy Blog that has some great articles for helping you as well. Remember, before you get to the first editing stage–you'll want to edit your own work!! There's help for this out there! I have my own methods for editing. It's not a pleasant process, but I'm very organized when it gets to the editing phase. I've learned enough to know that by the time it gets to my editor–I don't want her to have to read through a bunch of misspellings and unfinished sentences. So take the time before you hire any professional to do any of the first three to do your own form of editing, even if it isn't subjective. This is a learning process. Do what feels right for you!

We're creeping up on a new year to set goals. Man, that comes up fast. When do you start considering what your goals are for the new year? Do you set goals or let it ride? Personally, some years I've set goals and others I have not. Last year, believe it or not, I did not set goals.

 

My two most obvious goals for 2024 are two get the two books I'm working on published, which means I'll be starting on the next ones. Yes–for those of you curious, I already have the fifth one rolling around in my brain. However, if my second romantic suspense takes off as well as the first one did, I'm going to have to brainstorm a completely new idea. I did not intend to connect the first two romantic suspense books, but it worked out that way. I'm not sure if I can do it a third time.

 

Not to worry–I will not stop writing, and my goal every year is to put out stories worthy of my readers.

 

I need to get a solid schedule down. This entire year has been a learning experience, especially with publishing two books. I have spent almost all of my free time writing or doing art and craft fairs. We have done very little else this summer, including camping. We've only gone . . . twice so far, with one more trip scheduled. We have done hardly anything this summer other than work. Not that I'm complaining! I love writing, and this entire process has been fun. Marketing is hard work, but there is a trick to it, I'm sure.

 

My most obvious goal should be to sell more books and get more recognition, but I think that will come in time. That's all I have for goals at the moment. I try not to stress myself with new year's goals.

Why do you live where you live? People would have differing answers to this question. Some may live where they live to be close to family. Others might have reasoning because of income. And there are those that might have multiple reasons. Whatever your reasons, there is no wrong or right answer. I live in Minnesota for two reasons: family and the season changes. Yes, there are some seasons that are better than others.

 

For those of you that live in a place where there are distinct season changes, such as Minnesota or Wisconsin–what's your favorite season? Most people I know from these two states prefer summer, but some love winter more. My husband would be one of those people. If he had his way, we would move to Alaska. Alaska seems like a great place to visit, but I wouldn't want to live there because it's far from my family and has days with very little sunlight.

 

I love summer, but I think fall is my favorite. Not only the extraordinary display of colors but the smell of the air, the warmth of the days and the coolness of the nights, and above all . . . Halloween. It's my favorite holiday. I decorate the house entirely for Halloween with spider webs, Spooky Town villages, scary pictures…you name it. I haven't yet delved into decorating for the outside yet, and I'm not sure if I ever will, but it's the one holiday I will decorate for. Easter? Not so much. St. Patrick's Day? Nope. Christmas? Yes, but not nearly as much as I decorate for Halloween.

 

The weather, the colors, and the holiday are not the only things that hold my love for the season. Fall camping, soup season and cozy sweaters, are among other reasons. It's also a good time to air out the house before winter comes.

 

I like summer because it's warm; the trees are full of leaves, and I don't have to worry about slipping on ice. My favorite summer activities are barbeques, camping, traveling, and relaxing without worrying about snow.

 

Spring is not my favorite, but I like when the trees turn green and the birds come back. Days get warmer, and you truly have gratitude for the high temperature days following the burden of having to stay in for winter because the air hurts your face. When you know that summer is around the corner is a great feeling.

 

Winter never used to be such a miserable season for me. I loved seasons equally at one point. Snowmobiling, skiing, and even winter camping were things I used to do. But after last winter, I truly dislike it. I would likely move if it wasn't for the other seasons. Being a snowbird is not an option. As I stated, my husband would move to Alaska if he could, so going south for the winter wouldn't be an argument I'd win. Sigh. I'll just need to get used to being outside more. Last winter, as those that lived here would agree, was the worst. It didn't get sub-zero as much as it normally would, but the constant snowfalls and having to snow blow really got old after a while. There was one week I had to do it three times! There was so much snow, there was some anxiety that our basement would flood in the spring thaw. Fortunately for us, it didn't, but we bought an additional pump just in case, so now we have a spare if we ever need it. Many people were not as fortunate as we were and had water in their basements. It's the deal you make with mother nature. Something you always need to consider regardless of if you live on high ground or not. With that much snow, you always have a risk of getting water in.

 

Needless to say, I think I'll be sticking around the upper-midwest for a while.

Some of the essential tools that I use are on my computer, while others are not. I'm old school with office supplies. Notebooks, pens, paperclips, binder clips, three-ring binders, and flash drives. I am also extremely picky with my office supplies.

 

So let's talk about office supplies first…

 

Notebooks

Don't even think about getting me the cheap, crappy notebooks. My personality type is A, so everything has to be organized and neat. I use Yoobi notebooks from Amazon and label them with my label maker, using either the book title or Book # x if I haven't decided on the title yet. I labeled Book #4, but I'm keeping its title to myself for now, and the notebook is almost full. What do I put in the notebook, you ask? I start with the idea, then I expand on it. Usually the idea is the character. It always starts with the who and the what-the motivation and how the character reacts to it. I jot down character names, setting, and scenes that play through my head, dialogue, research, anything to get a jump on the book.

 

Pens

My awesome team at TASC (my day job for those who don't know me) bought me a beautifully engraved wooden case containing two top-of-the-line pens (also engraved). Boy, do they know me! Pens are along the same lines as notebooks. Do not even think about getting me the cheap pens that make blots of ink on the page. I'm so type-A that if the pen leaks on the page, I'll rip it out and start again.

 

Three-ring binders

I use 1/2 inch or 1-..inch binders for two things: Characters and Research. It's helpful to have information readily available while writing. That way, I don't need to look up the information on the computer in the middle of writing. I can just flip through the binder to locate.

 

Flash Drives

Each book I write has its own flash drive, also purchased from Amazon in 32GB drives. I have a specific folder format I use for each book:

Book Parts for Formal Formatting: This is where I keep the contents of each book. The dedication page, copyright page, acknowledgements, author bio, author's note (if there is one) and I also put my finals in here. The final formatted book (in PDF format and EPUB) and the final book covers.

• Characters: Every character has a profile. Main characters have more in-depth profiles than minor.
• Editing: I keep my developmental edits separate from my proofreading edits.
• Marketing Materials: Sell sheets, etc. Anything that has to do with the specific book marketing.
• Plotting: This may or may have a lot of information. It depends on how much I thought it through. Sometimes I do the plotting (and the plot twists) on the fly as I'm writing.
• Reviews: This is for my professional reviews.
• Research: I put any research I do and keep track of in here.
• Drafts: This is for my rough drafts and is in multiple versions.
• Scenes: I try to organize the scenes with as much information as I can before I start writing.
• Setting: Sometimes I need visuals for my settings, including pictures of houses or floor plans. Anything that helps me keep things straight.

I also back up the flash drive on my computer AND on another flash drive. I can never be too safe just in case I lose the flash drive! What a nightmare that would be to lose everything!

 

Now let's get to the computer tools I use…

 

Microsoft Word

I use Microsoft Word for my drafts. This is what I use for my beta readers, submission to my editor, and for my professional reviews. It is not in book format by any means and it does not have all the parts of the formal formatted book. It is only the chapters with page numbers. Nothing fancy.

 

ProWritingAid

I pay for the ProWritingAid premium program for editing aids; however, after my first book proved it missed a lot of what it should have caught, I do not rely on it as much as I did the first time around. It still has its uses, however. The program is supposed to check grammar, style, proofread and help with rephrasing. It's fantastic with rephrasing suggestions, which is primarily what I use it for. Some suggestions I ignore, and do not rely on it for proofreading at all. Some people use Grammarly, some use Scribner, and there are free versions as well.

 

Natural Reader

This is a program I don't pay for, but you can pay for a premium membership. It reads whatever you upload into it back to you, which is outstanding to help listen for mistakes and for robot-like dialogue. I still do not rely on it for proofreading. Can you tell that I'm rather picky about proofreading now? LAUGH OUT LOUD. I will not make the same mistake twice.

 

Movavi Photo Editor

I have found that I can save myself almost $100 on my book covers for a $50 annual membership with Movavi Photo Editor. This photo editing program can help me fit my book cover into templates for Ingram and KDP. I can also add my bar code and a medallion if I get a 5-star book review. If I publish two books a year, this saves me $150! Yes, please.

 

DocuPub

I use this free program to convert my JPG cover into a PDF. While I use Ingram for my book building tool, it provides me with a PDF file for the interior to upload to KDP, but the cover also needs to be a PDF for upload to KDP. This program converts it into a PDF file for me. For free. I just upload my document and it spits out the PDF.

 

There are probably several other tools that I use, but these are the major ones that help me stay organized and keep focused. Being disorganized would hinder my progress. As it is, I have three books in different stages of the process–two of them actively being written at the same time. Shocked? Me, too. How I can pull this off amazes even me. Thanks for reading!

This was a tough one for me. I have read so many books through the years that have made an impression. Some of them were good, some of them terrible.

 

The Lake House by Kate Morton

Kate Morton is a fabulous writer. There is not a book that I have read of hers that did not plunge me into the story and leave me wondering when I put it down if there was a clue I had missed. The Lake House was the first book by Kate Morton that I read, and it was a good one to start with. The books that I have read have all taken place in England, which is a place I am fascinated with. I've never visited England, but someday I hope to. She weaves current day into history into her stories and when the story ends; it leaves a remarkable revelation. A few others that I have read by Kate Morton are The Clockmaker's Daughter, The Secret Keeper, and The Forgotten Garden. Most recently out is Homecoming, and I've picked it up but have not delved into it yet. I have high hopes that it's equally good as the other books I have read by this author.

 

Too Late by Colleen Hoover

This one shook me. It took me at least a week to unwind my brain from it. The book starts with a warning from Colleen Hoover about triggers. For people who have been through any type of psychological abuse, it could be a tough read. You can't help but to be drawn to the villain, even though his actions become increasingly frightening as he becomes more fixated on the main character. It is extremely graphic in some of her parts, some of which I could not get out of my head. To say it shook me may put it mildly. Although it was an excellent book, and a story, I would caution anyone who has been through a damaging relationship like she notes in the beginning. Reading it could be a trigger, but it was very well-written. I've read a lot of Hoover's books. They are quick and good reads. A few others that stuck with me are Layla, Verity, Without Merit, Confess, and Maybe Someday.

 

The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern

I have to admit that it has been quite a while since I have read The Night Circus, but this book is so colorful that you will want your own copy of it. A circus appears without warning and it contains two people who fall in love, but it isn't a romance novel. Read it. She just released The Starless Sea, which I also bought but have not read, either. It's in my big stack of books to read when I get to it.

 

Mudvein by Tarryn Fisher

This is possibly my favorite book, but I first read it on a Nook so I don't have a copy of it and it's been on my wishlist to buy ever since. If you like a good mystery, like Kate Morton, Mudvein would be a good one. It's about a novelist who wakes up on her birthday locked in a house in the middle of the snow with her kidnapper nowhere to be found. It will never end how you think it ends. You're probably thinking Misery by Stephen King, but you'd be wrong. It's nothing like it. As the author brings you through clues, you will not–I repeat–end how you think it ends.

 

These are the books that notably have left a lasting impression on me. There are countless other books and authors I have enjoyed thoroughly, and it would depend entirely on what genre or genres you like to read. I would like to think if you're reading my blog, you like romantic suspense and/or historical romance. I recommend Nora Roberts for romantic suspense. She's written quite a few memorable books that I have on my bookshelves. Historical romance is broad. It depends on how sappy or how much sex you want in your reading material. I would be remiss if I didn't mention Diana Gabaldon and her Outlander series, but those are very lengthy books. I take a long time to read just one. They are highly, highly detailed. Julia Quinn, Johanna Lindsey, Kathleen Woodiwiss, Connie Mason and Brenda Joyce are all good for historical romance. Happy reading!