ChatGPT: The Race to the Bottom
An artificial intelligence (AI) software service called ChatGPT made its debut in November, 2022. The service is able to produce text that is grammatically correct and designed to respond to a prompt or question. For example, if you say to … Continue reading
Line Editing or Copy Editing? Is There a Difference?
Creating a book manuscript involves many steps, from the initial concept to the final proofreading before publication. To a new author, these steps can seem bewildering – especially when we’re talking about editing. If you go online to learn about … Continue reading
Self-Help Authors: Take Your Reader by the Hand….
Self-help books are all about solving a problem for the reader. The problem faced by the reader could be anything: how to lose weight, get a better job, be happier, invest their money better. When they buy the book, they … Continue reading
“One Thousand and One Arabian Nights”
I may be a little late to the game…. but recently I picked up a copy of the Oxford University Press paperback edition of “One Thousand and One Arabian Nights,” newly interpreted by Geraldine McCaughrean, a highly regarded British author … Continue reading
Avoid Repetition in Your Writing!
As an editor, on of the most common problems I see in the writing of my valued clients is needless repetition. This manifests itself in either of two ways: Repeating the same idea more than once, or repeating words that … Continue reading
“The Peaceful Man” by Brad Mewhort
Congratulations to Brad Mewhort on the publication of his new book, “The Peaceful Man: Heal Within Yourself the Personal Effects and Historic Patterns of Male-on-Male Violence.” The author, who grew up experiencing family and neighborhood male-on-male violence, and who himself … Continue reading
The Importance of the Topic Sentence
Writing is a form of communication. Its structure is linear, like a path. That means the reader intakes the first word, remembers it, and then intakes the next word. As the reader progresses through the words, sentences, and paragraphs, the … Continue reading
Developmental Editing: It’s All About Baby Steps!
Clients will often send me a finished manuscript of 40,000 or 60,000 words, which, for various reasons, they’re not happy with. A non-fiction manuscript may be outdated, not well organized, incomplete in its arguments, or just plain boring. A novel … Continue reading
Self-Help Books: Solve Your Reader’s Problem
At least half of my ghostwriting and book development business centers around self-help books. A self-help book is defined as one that instructs or inspires its reader to solve a particular personal problem and make their life better. The genre … Continue reading