Beyond Grammarly – How a Pro Editor Will Elevate Your Book Above the Ordinary
In the past few years, various software applications have emerged that automatically correct basic issues of spelling, punctuation, and grammar. The most popular is Grammarly, an online grammar checking, spell checking, and plagiarism detection platform developed by Grammarly, Inc. First … Continue reading
Character Development in Thrillers
I ghostwrite a lot of thrillers for my valued clients. (Surprised? Don’t be!) Naturally they often ask questions about the writing process and the relative importance of various elements including character development. Generally in thrillers you don’t spend much time … Continue reading
Should Your Editor Take One of Those Online Grammar Tests?
On the job site Upwork, I recently saw a job posting by a gentleman from France. As part of the qualifications to bid on his book project – which he did not describe in any detail – he wanted all bidders to take the Upwork “English sentence structure” … Continue reading
Write Cleanly and Clear Out Those Unnecessary Words!
I do a lot of book editing for my clients. Typically, my job is to clean up the text and make the emotions more vivid or (in the case of business books) the arguments more persuasive. I help my authors organize … Continue reading
The Vexing Problem of Numbers – Advice From Thomas Hauck, Author and Ghostwriter
In the English language, we have an alphabet of twenty-six letters. We use these letters to form words and sentences. Each letter is unique; generally, for any given word formed of letters, you can’t substitute other letters without changing the … Continue reading
Giving Writers Straight Talk: Sometimes They Want the Sugarcoated Version
My valued clients hire me because of my expertise as a ghostwriter and book editor. They value my opinion and experience, and depend on me to tell them the truth, at least as I see it. But some writers don’t want to … Continue reading
“How to Make a Skinny Book Seem Fatter” by Thomas Hauck, Ghostwriter and Book Editor
Advice from a Professional Ghostwriter and Book Editor Many of my valued clients want to publish their books in paperback form, which is good, but they worry that their book will seem too skinny. They ask me if there are … Continue reading
Tough Love from Professional Book Editor and Ghostwriter Thomas Hauck
Advice from Professional Ghostwriter Thomas Hauck Many of my valued clients ask me for advice on various aspects of their book project. They ask about developmental editing issues, their voice, the cover design – you name it. I’m more than … Continue reading
Verb Tenses: Simple Past and Past Perfect – By Thomas Hauck, Author and Editor
One of the useful tools that can help you tell your story–most often as a novelist, but sometimes as a self-help author–is that you can take the reader backwards and forwards in time. Nothing is quite so boring as simply … Continue reading