How Do You Spell Wi-Fi?

So many new vocabulary words in our language! The one I’ve seen spelled many different ways is Wi Fi. I’ve also seen Wifi, Wi-Fi, and wifi. Which is it? Spell check on Word tells me Wi-Fi (it’s on spell check already?)  Or maybe it doesn’t matter. My head is spinning!

As an author you always want to spell correctly. Readers notice misspellings and other grammatical errors which can interfere with their reading. Editors are always on the lookout, but some spellings can even slip by them.

With all these new words, it’s sometimes hard to find the correct way to spell them. One of them is apps. Should the word be capitalized? Google is always capital, right? So if I use it in a story, I have to say–He Googled it?

Tweeting and trending, hash tag and instagram are already part of our everyday vocabulary. They even made their way into the nightly news.

Who would have thought just a few years ago these words would be part of our daily lives. I try to keep up. I really do. I may even use some of them in my stories. But please, make up your mind on the spellings!

It seems to be the way of the future. New words, multiple spellings. Maybe spelling won’t matter anymore. I hope not. I’m still old school that way.

Free!

Free. We tend to see that word more and more these days in the book world. Self-published authors offer up their books for free in order to capture attention. I subscribe to Book Bub and they send me a daily list of free to low cost books. The books can be from top selling authors to self-published.

How does an author make a living on their books? I don’t think they can anymore with all the choices out there. Maybe the top 1% can, but not the rest of us. But the reason we write is not to make money. The story just has to get out there. The ideas are swirling in our heads. The characters are pounding on the door begging to get out.

Today I have the privilege of releasing a free short story. I love my publisher. She had the confidence in my series to create a cover, format the story and get it out there for free.

I never thought I’d be so excited about giving something away for free. But here is the link for “Taking Chances”, a short story from the Waiting for Dusk series. You didn’t have to  read the series to enjoy the story. The POV is from my male main character, Andrew. The reader will follow his day, the day he met the love of his life, Kate. Enjoy!

Find it here!

Taking Chances

POV from the other side- A Q&A with Read Around Sue

Today I would like to welcome Sue Gesing, aka Read Around Sue. Authors depend on reviews and are grateful to those people who love to read so much they create a blog! After having a summer of author tips, I thought readers would appreciate a look at books from the other side. Read on for my Q&A with Read Around Sue.

1. Tell us about yourself.

I’m a retired kindergarten teacher who has loved to read her entire life.  I have two grown children and a husband who support me in all my endeavors.  My latest is a cupcake company.

2. How many books can you read in a week?

It depends.  Sometimes if I am swamped I can read four or five.  I don’t like to do that though as I like to read as carefully as I can.  I’ve always been a speedy reader!

3. Why a review blog?

I knew a lot of independent and small publisher authors need all the support they can get so I decided to go for it and lend them a hand.

4. Favorite book genre?

I concentrate mostly on YA and NA but I’ll read anything if it captures my interest.

5. Will you review every book sent to you? If not, what won’t you read?

 No, I won’t read every book that is sent my way.  I never do horror or erotica, they are just not for me.

6. Did you always like to read? Favorite book as a child. As an adult.

You bet I have always loved to read!  My favorite as a kid was the Mrs. Piggle Wiggle Series by Betty MacDonald.  I don’t have a favorite book as an adult because I enjoy too many of them.  If I was forced to pick, I couldn’t do it!

7. Do you prefer print books or eReader?

Both are fine by me.

8. When you review a book, do typographical errors bother you? Would it affect your review?

Oh, you just caught my pet peeve.  I hate typos and misused language like their for there.  I don’t let it affect my review unless I know the author was the editor and no one else. Then I feel I have to speak up.  Some books I’ve read have been spoiled by too many errors.

9. I like the fact you will only give three stars or above to books you review. Sometimes you just can’t do that. How do you let an author know you won’t be reading their book after accepting it?

Well, that’s not an easy question.  I am sensitive to the fact that an author works hard and loves their book with a passion.  I usually just say, I’m sorry your book is not for me.  That’s about the kindest way I can think of to do it.

1. Do you take genre into consideration? Let’s say, it wasn’t for you, but was a good book.

I don’t really take genre into consideration unless it is in horror or erotica which I don’t read. If a book wasn’t for me but was well written I would give it the review I felt it deserved and try to put my personal feelings aside.

1. Can authors directly contact you or do they have to use a blog tour?

Authors can contact me on their own if they wish.  Just go to the submission page and follow the instructions.  Here is the blog site link again  http://readaroundsue.blogspot.com/

2. What services do you provide authors?

We can work out just about anything.  I have done giveaways, interviews, character interviews and guest blogs. 

3. And finally, did you ever write a book or want to be an author?

Yes, I wrote a book. It is not for publication but I learned a lot doing it.  My dreams of being an author are over and I’m happy to be a reviewer.

 

Thanks, Nancy for having me today.  I enjoyed answering your questions.  I am open for submissions at http://readaroundsue.blogspot.com/ if any of your readers are interested.  Again, thanks for the opportunity to share my thoughts.

RAS

Summer Writing Series: Be Your Own Editor

Refresh your skills! Think you remember what you learned in grade school? High school? Think again. Does a comma need to be placed before “and” or “but”? Quotation marks or Italics for songs, names, titles?

One of the first things I realized after writing my first book, I wasn’t a good editor. I set out to fix that problem right away.

I know Word is very good at recognizing spelling errors, incomplete sentences and capitals. If you use a homonym (similar words like too, to, two) it won’t pick up on those mistakes. Only rely on Word as your first line of defense.

Use names sparingly when characters speak to each other. I learned that from my publisher. Think of how you talk. Do you repeat your friend’s name over and over again? Read your dialogue aloud. Does the wording sound realistic?

Read other blogs about editing. You can learn so much. I recently read a post that discussed the word “it”. The topic “What is it?” was the only thing discussed. Reading through my stories, I found many times I could have used a better word or rephrased so that word wasn’t used. “It” was easy to use; formulating a new sentence was harder. After trying it, I liked it much better. Oops! I just used that word…twice in that sentence! Sometimes it’s okay to do so, but let’s try again. How about this:

After trying it, I liked it much better. That was my original sentence.

Changed to:

After experimenting with a few sentences, I liked the new statement much better. This new sentence took away any question of what I was trying to say.

I could bore you about hyphens and numbers and a list of grammar lessons, but they are easy to look up. Don’t guess, double-check is my suggestion. (And after reading that back, a new slogan has been born.)

My last word of advice is to wait a few weeks after finishing a new manuscript. Look at the words with a fresh eye. If you begin to reread as soon as you finish, you’re too close to the story. You’ll miss mistakes.

Remember, you are the alpha reader of your story. You should enlist beta readers after you feel you’ve done your best. You don’t have to hire someone. There are groups who exchange services, family members and friends may volunteer. Be open to constructive criticism because in the end, you want your book to be error free and ready to be released to the world.

 

Summer Writing Series: Ready, Set, Go!

Today my guest author is Val Clarizio. I’m always happy to find out another author knows the beginning and end of their novel, but the story will evolve as they begin to write. Also those challenging blurbs and creating a title get to me, too! Can I borrow that friend, Val? Read on to find out how Val’s writing process works.

Where do I Begin and how do I get to the Finish Line?

Usually, what happens to get me started is I have some sort of bizarre dream with a crazy scenario for my characters to endure. After I bounce the main idea around in my head a bit I simply start typing. I know how I’m going to start, and most times I have a clear idea about how I’m going to end the story, but getting from point ‘A’ to point ‘B’ is a mystery for me until my fingers hit the keyboard. It’s then, my characters come to life and tell me how it’s going to be. Sometimes my characters are quiet and mellow about it, and other times they yell at me in the middle of the night, wanting to be heard. I love when they yell, my fingers can’t move fast enough on the keyboard to suit their needs, and I get a lot accomplished on those days. Unfortunately, when my characters are quiet, I may have to step away from the project for a bit, but they always tend to come back around to help me complete the book.

BUT WAIT, THERE’S MORE!

After two published novellas and two published books, I can honestly say that writing the story is the easy part, it’s naming the books and writing the blurbs that I can’t seem to handle. That said, I call on my friends and beta readers to help me out. We spend days emailing back and forth trying to hone in on a name. As for the blurb, I usually write one that includes all the points I want to make and then a good friend of mine pares it down for me. She can write blurbs but not books, and I can write books but not blurbs. We’re quite the duo.

WE’RE NOT DONE YET!

Now that everything is in order I have to go through the terrifying process of querying my publishers to see if any of them will contract for the book.  Will I get the dreaded rejection letter or will I find myself doing the happy dance?  In the event of the happy dance, a new phase of work begins….Edits, cover, and promo!  In the meantime, my fingers are itching to hit the keyboard to start the next project.  As a whole, writing is a never ending process, and I absolutely love it.

Find Val here:

Melange Books                                                 

Website: http://valclarizio.wordpress.com/