Top Ten Bugbears of a Self-Published Book Editor
It’s time again. Cate Baum, SPR Editor is back to enlighten writers everywhere on how not to drive their editors up the wall.
Here, I have listed my top bugbears uncovered editing self-published works from around the world. Enjoy, learn, share. If you want to find out more about our editing services tailored to the needs of self-published authors, have a look here.
1. The word “OK”/Ok/Okay
The most overused word in most books I see today, especially from American writers. The most common spelling it seems, for some unknown reason (I’m blaming texting and tweeting) is “Ok”. I have […]
Jason Maxham, one of life’s polymaths, has put together a system to troubleshoot and fix just about any breakdown. Interviewing engineers, mechanics, mathematicians and IT experts, Maxham firstly philosophizes on the way things are put together and operate, and our expectations as an operator and how they relate, to form strategies on the best approach to identifying and solving an issue. Citing the most well-known troubleshooting question, “Is it plugged in?” he unravels his own industry experience with start-ups and baptisms of fire to distill knowledge into this engrossing study.
Mars – A Noah’s Ark of a civilization headed by Master Architect Janus, is a highly civilized race, making a last-ditch attempt to save Earth’s many species from extinction – more than sixty million years ago, as dinosaurs inhabit the Pale Blue Dot mankind now calls home. The Master Architects, a race something like mythological gods, are guardians of the planets known to exist in the Solar System, experimenting with terraforming the massive orbs that float around them. But when two planets collide and cause a disaster on an unimaginable scale, all is nearly lost.
Tell us something about your book. The basics: what’s it about?
At fifty-three years old, lifetime tennis pro Wally Wilson has shelved his ambition for a comfortable and happy life as a tennis instructor for the rich and richer of Silicon Valley, under the watch of the questionable benefactor 17-year-old Ashley Margincall.
A Specter’s Journey starts in the middle of a hellish gunfight, as our hero Jackie Clarke blasts his way through the streets to rescue his kidnapped wife, Melody. What a great beginning! Instead of the boring start many use, of their hero waking up in bed, or contemplating life over a coffee, Odabaş throws his readers into the action, immediately gripping his audience and seducing with language. Onomatopoeic writing employed at the off, Odabaş opens with a choice of phrase that colors reading in an unusual and sometimes exciting way.