australian editors are better

Why are Australian Editors Better than Those Overseas?

Reason Why 1: Best PracticesBecause editing involves reviewing and correcting material before publication, it is important to keep up an editor’s knowledge in many areas. Sometimes the author’s reputation rests on the skills and experience of the editor. In Australia, book editors often belong to an editor society or the Institute of Professional Editors (IPEd Australia). They have sometimes done a Graduate Certificate in editing and professional publishing or, like myself, gotten the experience through document editing and writing completed over many decades. This is in addition to formal learning through courses. While editors in other countries may have their own set of best practices and education, it is harder to verify these before you hire one.  In addition, there is a difficulty in finding a book editor who can modify some of their rules for your country’s particular form…
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Brisbane editors
Book Editing

Why Trained Editors Make Your Book Sing

As the latest edition of OffPress (from Queensland Society of Editors) says:  “The work of a good editor is often invisible.”  That is, without it, you would surely notice topic jumps, inconsistencies or a change in point of view, but with it, you are drawn into the story or work.  I go on to explain why Brisbane editors are on par with the best. What do Editors Do? In our editor bag of tricks are these tools: removing redundant words (called tautology) checking for consistency — in people’s names, acronyms, and verbs in bulleted lists. reviewing tone and clarity of language — at development stage ensuring the grammar and spelling is in the correct style for the author’s or publisher’s needs advising to ensure that the book takes the reader on a logical, progressive route (substantive editing).            …
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copy editing vs developmental editing
Book Editing

Copy Editing versus Developmental Editing

What is the difference between these two levels of editing? Early on in the book’s formation, developmental editing may be needed, whereas later on, once the structure is in place, copy editing will zoom in on the paragraph and sentence level. As a copy editor (websites, tenders, newsletters, and now books), I’m comfortable with suggesting wording to say more effectively what I believe the author wanted it to mean. I call this line editing and it is done best with Microsoft Word and Track Changes, which can be accepted or denied. The price for copy editing books, if at fixed rates, generally ranges from 3 cents to 4 cents per word (or $30 to $40 per 1,000 words). The 5th National Survey of Editors (2010) showed $71 an hour as average in Queensland for copy editing. My rates are slightly…
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Writing Habits with AI
Book Editing, Self-Publishing

Traditional vs. Self-Publishing Book Quality

A lot of people don’t know that I am still very open to the idea of getting traditionally published for some projects; it’s just that realistically it is a tough journey.  As an author, if you want to concentrate mainly on writing and there seems to be a call for your book’s concept in the mass market right now, then keep on that trail. I suggest you speak to as many literary agents as you can, to suss out the chances for your story. Sometimes it’s a matter of knowing what each publisher is currently hunting for, and for that only a commissioning editor or a literary agent can help. A mass market published book has to meet a high standard in quality, especially so that bookstore buyers see it as an attractive package. That’s why publishers seek out the…
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Writing Habits with AI

Do You Require Book Mentoring or Editing?

I asked the question today, “I wonder what authors want out of a book mentoring service?” I believe book mentoring and editing is widely misunderstood, so this survey is Informative. It will help me to create new services. If we get enough people wanting a group writing/publishing coaching program, we will arrange that! Or one-to-one mentoring might be the go for you. Or perhaps none of the above… all are helpful answers. If we can help your dreams come alive let’s do it. Create your free online surveys with SurveyMonkey , the world’s leading questionnaire tool.
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Publishing Workbooks Design
Book Editing

Finding the Simplest Explanations in Book Cover Copy

You might have heard of Occum’s Razor as a principle for logic and problem-solving. Wikipedia says, “… among competing hypotheses, the hypothesis with the fewest assumptions should be selected”.  It is often the simplest answer, as long as it’s also the most logical, that is the best.  We can apply it to all sorts of things; I like to apply the principle to book description writing, aka book blurbs. You are inside your world, writing your book or your blog articles. In so doing, you may assume a lot of people have the foundations of your knowledge. They probably do not, so don’t confuse readers with long-winded book descriptions (blurbs) to furl their mind. Writing Good ‘Book Cover Copy’ – What’s in it for Me? Finding the simplest way to say something means looking at it from the buyer’s perspective…
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