See What Rebekah Made For Me in 2020 (and how that might help you)

Today is my family's Christmas celebration. And today is Rebekah's twenty-seventh birthday, too.

So since we're celebrating the spirit of giving and two gifts from God (His Son and my daughter), I'd like to share what Rebekah did for me - and what she can do for you, too.

Since I spent most of my time at home in 2020, I decided not to waste my time. Because once I can be out and about again, out and about is where I'll want to be. So I used my time at home productively.

Among my various projects, I decided to accept some additional editing projects from other writers, not too many, just six. Plus I completed two projects I began from the previous year.

Some writers also reached out asking for help with book formatting (print and eBook), the self-publishing process, and website design, which are more of Rebekah's skills.

So Rebekah made this website for me/us: dmbaranunland.com.

Browse through its pages and reach out if we can be of any help to you, too.

On a completely separate note, the BryonySeries Holiday Book Sale (with free coupons to The Book Market in Crest Hill as a "thank you" for your purchase) ends today - but I'll actually honor orders through Jan. 8 since I'll not be checking email too much today.

For details, visit bryonyseries.com/promotions.

One side note about ordering: Timothy is building an actual BryonySeries store behind the scenes, and some of it is publishing but not actually live.

So when you go to the BryonySeries store to order, use that for viewing product descriptions only and then send me an email at bryonyseries @gmail.com with the order.

Otherwise some of the books will click through to Amazon. But some of the books don't go to Amazon anymore. They go to the "ghost store."

And of course, if you have any questions, just email me. Most of this confusion will go away when the entire store is live.

Rebekah (right) and I are pictured at the White Oak Library Author Fair in 2018 - you know, back when we could do stuff out in the world. Still, whether we are at home or not at home, I think we make a good team.

I have ideas. She helps make them reality.

Editing, Defined

Often when writers talk about "editing," they really mean, "proofreading" or catching and correcting typos and minor errors in spelling, punctuation, and grammar.

In actuallity, proofreading is the last step, after all the editing is complete. The process of editing has several components. They are:

Manuscript assessment: Okay, so maybe an assessment is not a the same as editing. But an assessment gives  an author a good first glimpse of how much editing - including self-editing - may be required. An assessment also provides a wide critique of the manuscript's strengths and weaknesses, along with overall suggestions for improvement.

Developmental editing: This type of editing targets content and structure: plot, pacing, dialogue, characterization, inconsistences, wordiness, and over-writing.

Line editing: the The editor literally examines the manuscript line by line. Paragraphs may be rearanged, and sentences may be rewritten to ensure smooth transitions and prose.

Copy editing: Corrects word choices, spelling, punctuation, and grammar.

And finally, proofreading.

For authors that choose to self-publish, I cannot stress enough the importance of editing, and that should be where authors spend the most money.

Yes, self-editing is important. Self-editing involves setting the completed manuscript aside for a month or two and then moving through the above steps. That, too, is a process.

Rigorous self-editing will cut down your editing expense. But authors are too close to their works to be the final eyes.

By "too close," I don't mean "emotionally attached."

You see, when one constructs an entire manuscript word by word, it becomes impossible to notice every flaw. The brain simply cannot see them anymore. A pair of fresh expert eyes notices them instantly.