Book Review: Revision & Self -Editing

Recently finished a book that I wanted to share with other writers out there: Revision & Self-Editing by James Scott Bell.
The book is very well done. It was one of those times when I wish I would've come across this earlier. Mr. Bell has done a wonderful job of bringing all the various sources, books, & articles around editing that I've come across into one useful volume. Every chapter gives you exercises on how to apply the techniques outlined--very effective & easy exercises.
More than just a technical manual on editing, Mr. Bell provides deep insight & expert advice on how to be a better writer & build a better story that will keep readers glued to the pages. He reviews everything from description & setting, plot & structure, to character development.
I came away with a whole list of to-dos & new ideas on how to make my book better. Now I have to get to work.
Revision & Self-Editing is definitely a 5-star rating & a must read for all writers out there!

Congratulations, it's a brand new baby . . . book!

After 5 years, umpteen different versions, combing 2 books into one, and a freaking lot of frustration, I finally finished it and have a draft I'm happy with. Granted, I think a lot of that time had to do with the issues I was having with the world and problems with breaking my own rules, but now that I figured all that out, things went smoother.

I took a day ignoring the book (titled The Resurrected), everything really—it was some evil hour in the morning when I finished, and if it hadn't been for the dog, I probably would've never gotten out of bed the next day. And then, started a read-through to see just how bad it is?

Turns out, I'm actually happy with what I'm reading so far. There's some holes that need filling, some research to do, but the story's there. As usual, the action is too. Can't really explain it, but I do love letting the monsters run free and have their bloodshed. Makes for some good reading.

My goal, since it's always nice to have goals, is to have a final copy I feel ready to submit to agents by July. Then, on to the next one. Tentative title is Faolan, but we'll just have to see how it turns out. Good thing is that I already have the first two chapters and the outline done, so it should go easy.

Mission & Vision

I was recently "relieved" of my day job. After a moment of panic, I decided to turn my aspirations of writing into aspirations of a writing paycheck. It was already a goal for 2012 to get things going and continue focusing on the writing side of my life, but now I'm taking advantage of the sudden onset of a-lot-of-time-on-my-hands and launch a freelance writing/copyediting business.

The first part I needed was to finalize my mission and vision statements. After a lot of hard work and even more editing, I've finally came up with them. In the end, I created two sets; one for me as a writer, and one for my new freelance writing/copyediting business. Here they are for your viewing pleasure.

• My Writing Mission:
  To conjure wonderful, spellbinding stories and compelling characters that help readers escape reality and lose themselves between the pages. To have every story be an improvement to the craft and to be a leader and member of a supportive writing community, through blogs, critiques, and social networking. To create a body of novel-length works and collected stories that crosses genre boundaries to reach a wide audience.
• My Writing Vision:
  I am a prolific writer with a wide body of work and a cult-like following that allows me the success of living the dream of the craft.
• My Freelance Mission:
  Leveraging my unique point-of-view and experience in communications, I work with clients to develop compelling and powerful copy through customized content creation and careful editing.
• My Freelance Vision:
  I am the freelance writer/copyeditor of choice for the clients I serve and am the leader in customer value.

The next part, is to get my name and mission out there and start the search for clients. I've even drafted a schedule to maximize productivity and not fall into the laziness cycle with the newfound overabundance of time. Tomorrow, I start the project of updating and finishing my website. It's been woefully "under construction" for too long now. The "incident" with my last host that caused the complete loss of my previous site (including all its content) really set a daunting mountain to climb that I've avoided thus far. But, cannot have a freelance business without a site and online presence. (It all seems to keep coming back to that.)

Stay on the look out for more news in the coming days!

BuzzNet Tags: Mission,Vision,Writing,Copyediting,Freelance,Website