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1. Perfect For You $.99 Sale!  To ring in the New Year, I've dropped the Kindle price of Perfect For You to $.99 through January 7th. If you're thinking of reading this book, grab your copy here now before the price goes back up.
   
2. Editing  My editing schedule is crazy booked. I'm talking no breaks whatsoever for me for three months. Someone send dark chocolate and lots of it, please.
3. Beth Fred's Blog  If you haven't checked out Beth Fred's blog yet, she's had some really helpful posts lately, including today. Check out her blog here.
4. Up In Flames  I'm finishing up edits on Up In Flames, book three in the Into the Fire Trilogy. Have I mentioned the covers for this series are GORGEOUS? I seriously can't get over how amazing they are. I'll keep you posted on the cover reveal dates.
5. Back to a Normal Schedule  Working with my daughter and husband home is…interesting. ;) They are both good about giving me time to work, but I still don't get the five and a half uninterrupted hours I have when they are at school and work. With all the edits on my plate this month, I need that time.
6. Pocono Writers Conference  I'll be attending the Pocono Writers Conference this Sunday. I can't wait. It's been too long since I've attended a conference.

1. Disconnecting/Enjoying the Holiday  I did something very rare for me. I disconnected to enjoy the holiday uninterrupted with my family. I'm behind on edits now, but not checking my email for days felt great.
2. Editing  I have two edits I have to finish before the end of the month. Eek! I'm also booked solid with edits through March.
3. Into the Fire Trilogy Covers  I got a great Christmas present in the form of seeing the drafts of my covers for the Into the Fire Trilogy and seriously they are GORGEOUS! I cried. I've been fortune with covers in the past, but these…I'm speechless. I can't wait until I can share them.
4. Reading  I'm working more reading time into my schedule. It isn't easy, but I loaded my Kindle over the break and I'm determined to get in some much needed reading for enjoyment.
5. Finished My First Adult Thriller  Last week I finished drafting my first adult thriller. It was a tough book to write, but I'm really glad I did.

• I had two young adult books published. The Darkness Within released in June and Our Little Secret released in September.
  
• I had three picture books published: A Lion's Song, Pepe Maurice Pierre Poodle Extraordinaire, and Fish Detectives.
  
• I wrote and published Looking For Love, the final novella in the Campus Crush series written as Ashelyn Drake. 
  
• I published Falling For You, a FREE prequel novella to Perfect For You, which I rereleased this year after separating from my former publisher. 
  
• I wrote three novellas and three novels.
• I was promoted to acquisitions editor at Leap Books Seek.
• I separated from one of my publishers. 
• I resold my Into the Fire series to Limitless Publishing. (This was a series I took back from the previous publisher.) 
  

1. Editing  I have a client edit and an edit for Leap to work on this week. I think I'll be getting edits on Up in Flames as well very soon. Eek!
2. Countdown to Christmas Giveaways!  I'll be counting down the last five days to Christmas by hosting a giveaway a day. Check my Instagram for more info. 
   
3. Reading  I've been forcing more reading time into my schedule. Yes, forcing. It's tough to find time to read for pleasure when you are constantly reading for your job. I'm doing it though. lol
4. Writing Fever  I've been editing a lot lately, and while I love editing, I miss writing. I was driving home last Friday and all I could think about was drafting. I really want to get back to my adult thriller that I've had to put aside several times now.
5. Into the Fire SWAG  I'm getting my SWAG together for the Into the Fire series, which will release in its entirety in February and March 2016! I'm so excited. I may have gotten some Bird on Fire Jamberry nail wraps for SWAG as well. ;)

1. Editing  I'm editing for a client this week. I did the first edit last week and now I'm on to round two, which is backward.
2. Working the Holiday Sale at My Daughter's School  Today and Wednesday I'll be helping out at my daughter's school with their Holiday Shop. It's cute to watch the kids shop for their family members.
3. My Birthday  I'm not big on birthdays, but mine is tomorrow. I guess getting older is inevitable.
4. Christmas shopping  Other than my daughter's gifts, I'm finished buying and wrapping gifts. Yay! I got some really great deals too, which makes me very happy.
5. Into the Fire  Into the Fire and Out of the Ashes are fully edited. Only one book in the trilogy left to finish, Up in Flames. I got to see my blurb for Into the Fire and now I'm dying to see my cover.

1. Out of the Ashes Edits  I'm working on my edits for Out of the Ashes, the second book in the Into the Fire trilogy, which comes out in February. :)
2. Client edit  I have a new editing client and I'll be working on her book for the next two weeks.
3. Free Monthly Newsletter  My newsletter goes out tomorrow. If you aren't signed up to receive one but would like to, click here.
4. Jamberry FB Party  I'm hosting a Jamberry FB party this week. There are tons of nail wraps to be won. If you'd like to be added, let me know.
5. School Visit  I'll be visiting a fourth grade class on Friday to talk about how an idea becomes a book. I'm really looking forward to it.

1. Editing  I'm editing for Leap this week. I'm forcing myself to take breaks to give my poor eyes a rest and hopefully cut down on the eye strain and headaches.
2. Into the Fire Trilogy  I got my release schedule for the Into the Fire Trilogy and ALL 3 books will release in spring 2016! I couldn't be more excited about this. This means no waiting to read the next book. The entire trilogy will be in the readers' hands in a matter of weeks! Here's the official release schedule: 
1. INTO THE FIRE February 16, 2016
2. OUT OF THE ASHES February 23, 2016
3. UP IN FLAMES March 22, 2016
3. Jamberry Facebook Party  I'm hosting a Jamberry nail wrap party November 30th-December 7th. I fell in love with Jamberry last spring and now I'm addicted. If you'd like to party with me and possibly win free samples, let me know and I'll add you. No pressure to buy. Just come join the fun.
4. Drafting  As part of my attempt to save my poor eyes, I've decided to reinstate my balanced schedule of writing and editing each day. When I write, I don't stare intently at the screen like I do while I'm editing. So I'm drafting a few thousand words a day now on my WIP, which happens to be an adult thriller.
5. Fright Before Christmas  Have you pre-ordered your copy of Fright Before Christmas yet? It's only $1.99 right now on Kindle. It's a scary fun Christmas read for middle grade and up.
   
6. Happy Thanksgiving  I hope you all have a very happy and safe Thanksgiving. Be careful traveling, and if you go out on Black Friday PLEASE stay safe. People get crazy when there are sales. I'll be waiting for the much safer Cyber Monday. ;)

1. New Deal For Seek  Last Monday I told you I signed a new author to Leap Books Seek. Well, the announcement ran in Publisher's Weekly last Tuesday so I can share it now. I'm so excited to work with Sheri Larsen on Motley Education.
   
2. The Haunted Realm  Emilyann Girdner has a new book out. Check out The Haunted Realm. In this riveting continuation of the story, Araina again faces a series of seemingly impossible magical obstacles. As Araina and her friends search for answers about their Creators and their magical labyrinth world, their journey becomes rife with peril when Araina falls victim to illness. Despite heart-pricking losses in the labyrinth swamps, vengeful ghostly attackers in the Blinking Willows, and many other dangerous obstacles, Araina is determined to succeed. If Araina can’t solve the mysteries of the haunted realm and find a cure for her sickness, she and her friends may never escape the labyrinth, or even live to try.
   
3. Editing  I have two client edits and an edit for Leap on my plate this week. Eek!
4. Eye Strain  I've apparently been editing too much lately. My eyes are starting to really hurt from all the computer time. Sadly, I may need to scale back on all this editing. My eyes have always been an issue and I'm starting to worry that I'm doing damage to them.
5. Into the Fire  I've been hard at work editing Into the Fire. The book is so different now, and I love it. I can't wait to share it with you all.

1. Leap News  I've signed another author to Leap Books Seek. I'm so excited about this book and can't wait to share the news. I'm just waiting on the Publisher's Weekly announcement. :)
2. Editing  This week I'll be editing the new book I acquired. 
3. Drafting  I'm a little jealous of all the people writing away for NaNoWriMo, so I may attempt to get some words in on my adult thriller this week. I had to put it aside to edit for clients. And yes, you read that correctly. I'm writing an adult thriller.
4. Review Opportunity  I'm looking for a few more readers to review Our Little Secret. If you're willing to read the book and review it on Amazon, let me know in the comments, or email me at khashway(at)hotmail(dot)com and I'll send you a review copy.
5. Huge Multi-Author YA Giveaway  I'm teaming up with a bunch of amazing YA authors to bring you a huge giveaway. There are tons of prizes and tons of chances to win! Here's what's up for grab: 

1. I Signed a Three-Book Deal! I'm really excited to say that my young adult series, Into the Fire, has a new home. You may remember Into the Fire was released last year as an Ashelyn Drake title. Well, I've added to the book and decided it is most definitely a Kelly Hashway title. All three books in the series will release through Limitless Publishing. And yes, you read that correctly. Into the Fire will have NEW content, never before seen! Here's the Publisher's Marketplace announcement: 
   
2. Editing  I've been on an editing role lately. I'm even booking clients for 2016 already.
3. FREE Monthly Newsletter  My free monthly newsletter went out yesterday. If you didn't get a copy but would like one, you can sign up here.
4. Creepy Short Story on Lightning Quick Reads  Last week, the lovely bloggers over at Lightning Quick Reads posted my short story "House of Horrors." You can read it here.
5. Halloween Fun  I never post pictures of my daughter online. (Yes, I'm one of those paranoid mothers.) I do, however, post pictures of my dog, Hadley, and this was too cute not to share. I hope everyone had a safe and happy Halloween!
   
   
   
   That's it for me. What's on your mind today?

I don’t know what the product of other editors is, but I thought it might be of interest to you to see what one of my clients receives from me. The example screen captures are for different authors, both of them strong writers (one is also an editor). The samples below are typical of the annotated pages in the Word file I send of the edited manuscript.

Process:

I edit a manuscript in three passes.

1. On-screen, using Word’s Track Changes and Comment features, to give notes and coaching, and to make deletions and additions as I go. The primary objective is to learn the story and experience the characterization, but many typos and “opportunities” are noted along the way.
2. On paper. I print out a hard copy because the reading experience is so much different. I sometimes make as many notes on the hard copy as I did in the first on-screen look.
3. On-screen a third time after adding in all the notes and edits from the hard-copy edit. It sometimes amazes me at the many things I see in this third pass that I didn’t in the first two. I suspect the reason is that much of the stuff that got in the way of the narrative has been cleaned up and that lets the smaller, less apparent shortcomings show up.

Here’s an example of the edited first page of a client’s novel. You know how picky I am about first pages, so it should be no surprise that there are LOTS of notes (the mass of pink comment balloons to the right).

Below is a typical page deeper into a manuscript. There will be additions and deletions as well as a comment or two. My comments often deal with word choice or writing technique such as pointing out the use of a filter and a suggestion for avoiding it.

I also generate a several-page critique letter that digs into writing and storytelling issues in a novel manuscript, although the comments sprinkled throughout do that as well, but more specifically. Comments in a manuscript can run to fewer than 100 (the editor’s story) to 400 or 500, depending on the level of writing and story craft.

What's your experience? If you’ve had a professional edit, let me know what you received as a result.

Ray

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© 2015 Ray Rhamey

1. Happy Halloween!  I hope everyone has a safe and happy Halloween this Saturday. My daughter is being a Monster High character for the third year in a row (different character every year). She loves dressing up as them.
2. Editing  Last week I finished one client edit. This week I have another to finish, one to start, and a Leap Books Seek edit to get to.
3. Revising  I'm hoping to get some revision time for one of my own books by the end of the week.
4. Lightning Quick Reads Feature  Tomorrow (Tuesday, 10/27), I'll have a story up on Lightning Quick Reads. It's a spooky YA story that will hopefully get you in the mood for Halloween.
5. Christmas Shopping  I've done about 80% of my Christmas shopping already, and it feels good to have such a big jump on the holiday. Still waiting on a few things in hopes they will go down in price once the real sales begin.

1. My Bio Couldn't Be More True  The first line of my bio reads that I fully admit to being the most accident-prone person in the world. I truly am. Let me recap last week for you. Saturday evening (after YA Fest) I cut my hand on the rounded edge of my countertop. Yes, rounded edge. Sunday, I got hit in the head with the mega-sized plug from our giant air conditioning unit as my husband carried it up to the attic. I now have a bump on my forehead. Friday night I fell down the stairs and hurt my arm. The X-rays didn't show a break but because of the amount of swelling, the doctor thinks I may have a hairline fracture that only an MRI would see. Still, no need for a cast. So yeah, my bio is spot-on.
2. Good News I Can't Share Yet  In the midst of my awful week, I got good news. I can't share yet, but I'm very excited. :)
3. Editing  I have three books on my plate to edit over the next two weeks. And I'm typing one-handed because of my arm. Eek!
4. New Adult Scavenger Hunt  I'm (as Ashelyn Drake) on Team Blue for the New Adult Scavenger Hunt. Yay! These are always a lot of fun.
   
5. Alien MG Submissions for Seek  I got some great alien MG submissions during my open Twitter pitch last week. It's going to be tough picking just one out of these.

1. MG Alien Twitter Pitches  Okay, MG authors, Leap Books Seek and I are looking for your Twitter pitch for middle grade alien books. Tweet me @kellyhashway with your MG alien pitch. If I'm interested, I'll reply with where to send sample pages. I'll be taking pitches today through Friday.
2. Drafting  I'm attempting to draft a book between edits—well, I should say around edits because I'm still editing. Last Friday, I managed to get in 10,000 words and it felt amazing!
3. Branding?  You know that draft I just mentioned? Well, it's an adult thriller. Apparently, I'm refusing to let Kelly Hashway be branded as a YA paranormal author. I can't help but write the stories that come to me, no matter what they are.
4. Reading  I spend a lot of time reading. Between the books I edit for clients and the submissions for Seek, I read constantly. Of course that means I don't get to read a lot of new releases though. I'm going to attempt to change that. Wish me luck—and a few extra hours in my day.
5. YA Fest  I attended YA Fest on Saturday and got to spend some time with readers and fellow authors. I had a great time. Here are some pictures from the event. 

   My table. (I signed the Touch of Death trilogy, The Monster Within duology, and Our Little Secret.)

   
   

   Lisa Amowitz, Martina Boone, and me

   
   

   The very awesome Brooke Watts DelVecchio and me

1. Our Little Secret Feature and Review Opportunity  Limitless Books is organizing a feature and review opportunity for bloggers. We're looking for people to feature the book and possibly review it on November 6th. If that's you, sign up here.
2. Editing  I'm editing for Seek this week. I have two books on my plate and both are amazing.
3. Revising  I have an emotional hangover from revising an Ashelyn Drake new adult title last week. Seriously all the feels! This week, I'll be revising another Ashelyn title, and it's adult. I'm still getting used to the fact that I wrote for adults.
4. Reminder to All Readers  I want to remind everyone to please, please, pretty please review the books you read. I'm so grateful for every review that pops up on Amazon. Yes, even the not-so-stellar ones. Why? Because reviews get Amazon's attention and then Amazon makes the book more visible to readers. So please, if you love books, help the book community by posting a review.
5. The Case of the Washed-Up Warlock  I'm so excited to announce that the first book I edited for Leap will releases today! It's a great middle grade book by Patrice Lyle and it's absolutely gorgeous too. up tomorrow. Order it here.
   
   
   
   That's it for me. What's on your mind today?

More writers are hiring editors these days, whether they’re going indie or just making sure the manuscript is polished before submitting to agents and publishers. If you’re a newer writer, unpublished, here are some things I think you should do before spending your hard-earned money on a freelance editor.

(1) Get objective feedback.

It’s best to have a critique group or partner, if possible. Try to get the most honest feedback you can—not on grammar and punctuation, but on the overall content of your book. Are readers finding the book engaging? Are they reading to the end? Are they confused?

(2) Edit & revise your book using reputable sources.

Find fiction resources HERE. My favorites for the revision phase are Self Editing for Fiction Writers by Browne & King, and Revision and Self-Editing for Publication by James Scott Bell.

Non-fiction resources HERE. Writing a memoir or personal story? Click HERE.

(3) Understand and follow 3-act structure.

This is for fiction and memoir. PLEASE don’t underestimate the importance of story structure. (Tweet this.) If your editor has to spend the bulk of their time fixing your structure and educating you about it, you won’t get the best value for your editing money. You can learn structure on your own—and seriously, your book won’t work without it. A couple of helpful resources are Structuring Your Novel by K.M. Weiland, and Plot & Structure by James Scott Bell.

(4) Read your book out loud to catch awkwardness and poor phrasing.

This is especially helpful to make sure fiction dialogue is snappy and believable. But it helps with any kind of writing. Often when you read it aloud, you’ll catch problems you’d never spot by reading silently. (Tweet this.)

(5) Make sure your editor has edited published books.

It’s difficult to verify the legitimacy and credentials of each editor. So do your best to verify that they’ve edited books that have been published by traditional publishers. It’s your best bet for getting a good edit.

Here are some freelance editors. There are a lot more out there in internet-land! Do your research.

Have you used a freelance editor? Tell us about your experience. Comment below, or by clicking: (Click to Tweet.)

The post 5 Things To Do Before Hiring a Freelance Editor appeared first on Rachelle Gardner.

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