The Motivational Editor

Helping Writers Go from Unpublished to Published

Debra

I have a message to share, but where do I start?

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Getting your message organizedMany of us write because we believe we have a message God wants us to share. In fact, our first book is often about lessons learned from a personal experience that we believe will help others. We want to convey information that will help others navigate and conquer a similar problem.

That was certainly the case for my first book, Help! My Husband Has Sexually Abused Our Daughter (updated, revised, and retitled Carried by Grace in 2014). [Read more…] about I have a message to share, but where do I start?

The 2 P’s Every Writer Needs: Patience and Perseverance

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Every writer needs to develop patience and perseverance.

You submitted your manuscript to several publishers simultaneously. But that was 3 months ago and you haven’t heard a word.

You submitted your book to a contest, but winners won’t be announced for another 6 months.

Then after all that waiting you get nothing but rejection letters and your contest entry didn’t even make the short list.

Disappointing to say the least… [Read more…] about The 2 P’s Every Writer Needs: Patience and Perseverance

How to Format Small Caps in MS Word and Scrivener

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You’re quoting the Bible in your book and many of the verses use LORD in small caps. But you don’t know how to get those little capitals so you type LORD in your manuscript.

Or maybe you missed the fact completely that Lord was in all caps. I see that often in the nonfiction manuscripts I edit.

If you fail to use all caps, you are misquoting the verse. Lord and LORD represent different Hebrew words.

If you’ve made this mistake, don’t worry. Creating them is simple, both in MS Word and in Scrivener (but not on the web!). [Read more…] about How to Format Small Caps in MS Word and Scrivener

Using text stats to help with SEO

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Search engine optimization. Otherwise known as SEO. If you’ve been writing for the web, more than likely you’ve heard this term even if you don’t understand it.

I recently had my admin assistant do a Google search for several keywords, among them were editor and freelance editor.

Ahhh!

My website didn’t turn up anywhere in the first 6 pages of the search results—we stopped looking at that point. Not a good thing for a person who runs a freelance editing business. To fix this I need to ensure editor or freelance editor appear more often on my services page.

Why do I need search engine optimization?

[Read more…] about Using text stats to help with SEO

Leaning on God for His Direction for Your Book

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Leaning on God for His Direction for Your BookWelcome to this month’s Friday Feature Author Interview. Today I’m visiting with Dr. Stephanie M. Carter. She is an author, bible teacher, ordained minister, and women’s life coach of a ministry called Grace to Live Coaching. Her journey of God’s direction in writing this book is inspiring.

Grab your java or tea and then let’s dive in.

How do you keep yourself motivated to write? [Read more…] about Leaning on God for His Direction for Your Book

Two Ways for Tracking Important Elements of Your Story

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You’re writing your story in multiple point of view. How do you keep track of how many scenes you have in each POV?

Your story has a specific time frame. How do you track your scenes to ensure you follow that timeline?

Maybe your story takes place in 5 different cities. How can you ensure you’re in the right place?

Today, I’m going to look at 2 ways for tracking important elements of your story and how you can see them at a glance. [Read more…] about Two Ways for Tracking Important Elements of Your Story

7 Ways to Overcome Discouragement

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I can do this! With God, all things are possible.

You want to get published.

You want to get your book to the best seller lists.

Maybe you’d just like to see your book sales adding up and receive a decent royalty check every month.

But it isn’t happening. Instead you find yourself in a daily battle with the big D—discouragement.

So what do you do? I’m well acquainted with the emotion and have developed a few weapons to wield… [Read more…] about 7 Ways to Overcome Discouragement

The Major Plot Events of a Novel and When They Occur

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building blocks, an analogy of plot eventsThis month’s last post on plotting concerns the major plot events, or building blocks, of your story.

Most writers understand all fiction has a climatic scene, aka the climax. They also know it occurs very near the end of the story.

However, many writers miss several other plot events essential to their story. [Read more…] about The Major Plot Events of a Novel and When They Occur