11 books people will judge you for reading

The “Daily Life” blog has assembled a list of books it considered make a statement about the reader. I definitely don’t agree with some of the things they say, but it’s certainly an interesting concept that will make you think. Or laugh. Or possibly even argumentative. But anyway, here are some of their suggestions.

It’s no surprise to find “The DaVinci Code” and “Fifty Shades of Grey” on the list. Or possibly even “Twilight” but some of the others might surprise you. Just a warning, this is an Australian list and some overseas readers might not recognize one of the books.

The article is at:
http://www.dailylife.com.au/photogallery/news-and-views/dl-opinion/the-11-books-people-will-judge-you-for-reading-20130606-2nt7x.html

Helen Woodall
helen.woodall@gmail.com

Helen is available to line edit and/ or content edit fiction and non-fiction. Rates on application.

Happy New Year! Australia had it first!

Australia doesn’t just head into the New Year (and every new day) when most of the world is still asleep (sixteen hours ahead of US east coast, eleven hours ahead of London, UK) but it seems we’re much faster to pick up on new words as well.

The social media buzzword ‘‘selfie’’ is likely to be included in the Oxford English Dictionary after being picked as the ‘‘word of the year’’ for 2013. The first recognised use of the term - shorthand for a self-portrait photograph - was in 2002 on an Australian online forum.

“Selfie” pipped ‘‘twerking’’, ‘‘showrooming’’, ‘‘binge watch’’, ‘‘bitcoin’’ and ‘‘bedroom tax’’, to the top prize. Previous winners include ‘‘chav’’, ‘‘credit crunch’’ and ‘‘omnishambles’’.

Helen Woodall
helen.woodall@gmail.com

Helen is available to line edit and/ or content edit fiction and non-fiction. Rates on application.

The seasonally adjusted story

Christmas, or indeed any holiday, seems to bring out a bunch of authors determined to write the "perfect" seasonal story.
This is an old article, reprinted to remind authors of the main points of a holiday story.

Dearest Editor,
I know you will be wanting to buy some Christmas stories with Christmas just around the corner so I am sending you my latest masterpiece. I just know you will love it as much as I do.
Originally it was going to be about Halloween but life intervened – you know how it does – and I didn't get it finished but I just changed the pumpkin pie into mince pies so I am sure everything will be fine.
Love from,
Your Favorite Author.

Hello Author,
I am sorry to inform you your book is not acceptable as it is. You need to do some more revising.
I can quite understand that it may snow at Halloween and Christmas where you live, but you sent your hero and heroine off on vacation to Uncle Charlie’s in Australia – and December is summer there. They need sunscreen and flip flops, not coats and snow boots.
And in Australia chrysanthemums flower in May not December.
And birds do not fly south to escape the winter. South is the Antarctic. It is very cold there.
Your Editor.

Dearest Editor
Since it took you a whole month to read my book I am not going to be able to get it ready in time for Christmas now, so I have made it into a Valentine’s Day story. The pumpkin pie/mince pies are now jelly cakes in the shape of a heart – so very romantic.
I have changed the flowers and the birds. Did you know Begonias flower all year round – I can use them in every book I write and never have to worry again!!!
Love from,
Your Favorite Author.

Hello Author
Maybe because you have changed the dates of your story so much there is now nothing at all to make it a real Valentine’s Day story. Jelly cakes in the shape of a heart are indeed a lovely romantic gesture but they do not specifically say “Valentine’s Day”. Nor do Begonias.
Perhaps you should decide on a holiday and stick to it. Do some research specifically about that holiday and then weave those items into your story –spooky details for Halloween, maybe some carols for Christmas, and something unusually romantic for Valentine’s Day. Really the whole point about writing a holiday story is that the season is an integral focus of the plot – it brings the characters together for a reason or to a specific place or to do something different from normal.
If you send your characters to some special location you should use that location in the story. Uncle Charlie lives in Queensland – there is a very famous coral reef there that I am sure would make a wonderful background for a romantic scene.
I am sorry to inform you that your book is still not acceptable in its current form.
Your Editor.

Helen Woodall
helen.woodall@gmail.com

Helen is available to line edit and/ or content edit fiction and non-fiction. Rates on application.

The importance of using correct grammar at work

The Wall Street Journal has been running a discussion on grammar in the workplace and it’s fascinating reading. They complain about things like misusing is and are, me and I, and saying things like “I could care less” when you mean you could not care less. You don’t care at all.

Well these people certainly care about grammar. One company will no longer hire anyone at all who fails their spelling and grammar test. Several other companies are running in-house grammar training sessions. Another company insists that every outgoing email is proofread by a resident grammar guru before it’s sent.

In a survey of 430 employers taken earlier this year, a stunning 45% said they planned to increase training programs to improve employees’ use of grammar and other skills.

For authors, this is just another reason to make sure their book is polished before it’s published. If the wheel is turning back to insistence on good grammar, it’s smart to stay ahead of the curve. And for everyone else, maybe it’s time to ensure any important business documents are proofread before they’re sent out into the world. You never know if your project will be read by a grammar Nazi or not, and for the sake of your next pay rise, it’s better to err on the side of grammatical correctness.

Helen Woodall
helen.woodall@gmail.com

Helen is available to line edit and/ or content edit fiction and non-fiction. Rates on application.

Don’t Feed the Trolls

Every now and then a reader or an author’s friends take a dislike to a certain author and/or her book/s. This dislike typically takes the form of posting negative reviews on the various public forums distressing the maligned author. Often the reviewers attack the author, not the book. Sometimes they give away key parts of the plot, spoiling it for any future readers. Sometimes the “reviewer” hasn’t even read the book, but their friend “told” them it was bad so they give it a 1 star rating anyway.

The worst possible thing the author can do is reply to the troll trying to explain about the book or berating the troll for publishing spoilers. Just as bad is the author asking other people to reply on her behalf.

This is called “feeding” the troll. The troll becomes even more angry with every counter argument and the fight escalates.

The best thing an aggrieved author can do is ignore the review and hope that the excitement dies down quickly and everyone forgets about it.

Even better is for an author to ignore every review, good or bad, and never get involved in public discussions about personal opinions. A treasured 5 star review is celebrated in private or with trusted friends, and a poor review is also only read in private and never ever commented on publicly.

Helen Woodall
helen.woodall@gmail.com

Helen is available to line edit and/ or content edit fiction and non-fiction. Rates on application.

Tips for a great book cover

“The worst thing an author can do is consider their cover design like a blank canvas and add whatever they want, wherever they want,” says Derek Murphy on the Creative Indi website.

Authors want their book to stand out and he says the secret is contrast between the main focus of the cover and the background. He says many authors want far too many elements included on the cover which makes it look too busy.

Murphy says that non-fiction appeals to the brain, whereas fiction appeals to the heart, so fiction covers should be bursting with color, vibrancy, and action. They should be beautiful. The art alone should make the reader feel something like longing or loss or passion immediately. He suggests adding a subtitle, a teaser or even a review can help the book sell.

Regarding fonts, he suggests buying one because it will be much less used, therefore more noticeable. The same with photos. He says if a stock photo is really good it will be used on many covers and suggests hiring a friend to do a photoshoot so the pictures used are different. But he warns that if the book requires many highly detailed items on the cover it’d be better to go with something really simple instead.

Finally he points out that text placement can be a form of branding, so is well worth considering.

For the full article with pictures see: http://www.creativindie.com/8-cover-design-secrets-publishers-use-to-manipulate-readers-into-buying-books/


Helen Woodall
helen.woodall@gmail.com

Helen is available to line edit and/ or content edit fiction and non-fiction. Rates on application.

Old fashioned words we need to reanimate

I came across a list of old words that have been forgotten yet are a lot of fun. Obviously I’m older than I thought, because I clearly remember some of them, including my dear friend snollygoster, the subject of a previous post. http://helenwoodallfreelanceediting.blogspot.com.au/2013/11/snollygoster.html

Does anyone else recognize scurrilous, thrice, or blithering? My dad used to call people “a blithering idiot”.

Uglyography is easy enough to guess. But how about ultracrepidarianism? For those of you who love words, go to: http://www.news.com.au/lifestyle/health/oldfashioned-words-that-should-be-brought-back-into-modern-language/story-fniym874-1226768577929
and see if there are some old friends you remember, or new friends you could add to your vocabulary. After all, I’m sure some of you are confirmed librocubularists.


Helen Woodall
helen.woodall@gmail.com

Helen is available to line edit and/ or content edit fiction and non-fiction. Rates on application.