Inventing Reality Editing Service

Five Great Quotations about Editing

“It is perfectly okay to write garbage – as long as you edit brilliantly.” – C. J. Cherryh

“PROOF-READER, n. A malefactor who atones for making your writing nonsense by permitting the compositor to make it unintelligible.” – Ambrose Bierce, “The Devil’s Dictionary”

“I believe more in the scissors than I do in the pencil.” – Truman Capote

“Nothing, not love, not greed, not passion or hatred, is stronger than a writer’s need to change another writer’s copy.” – Arthur Evans

“Books aren’t written, they’re rewritten. Including your own. It is one of the hardest things to accept, especially after the seventh rewrite hasn’t quite done it…” – Michael Crichton

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My name is Rob Bignell. I’m an affordable, professional editor who runs Inventing Reality Editing Service, which meets the manuscript needs of writers both new and published. I also offer a variety of self-publishing services. During the past 15 years, I’ve helped more than 400 novelists and nonfiction authors obtain their publishing dreams at reasonable prices. I’m also the author of the Storytelling 101 writing guidebooks, four nonfiction hiking guidebook series, and the literary novel Windmill. Several of my short stories in the literary and science fiction genres also have been published.

Check out some of my writing guidebooks:

Writing Inspiration: Approach Story Sideways

If blocked while writing the opening of your story, approach the story sideways. Start in the middle or with a scene that is more fully formed in your head. A sculptor, after all, doesn’t have to start with the feet or the crown of the head but can begin at any portion of the statue. He then allows the other sections to coalesce and grow clearer in his head. You can do the same with a story.

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The ‘Thinking Step’ when Writing Your Book

If you’re putting your pen to paper or fingers to keyboard for the first time on a story, you really aren’t starting at all. You probably “started” writing the piece some time before – in your head.

That “thinking step” is known in the writing process as brainstorming. It is where you come up with the idea for the story; it is that first mad scribble of notes about your characters, their conflicts, where the setting the story will occur, a catchy title and more.

There is no magical answer for making the muse bless you with inspiration. The ways story ideas come varies greatly, even for authors in the same genre. Some writers only can create when stress free. Others need to be in a tumultuous environment. Some need to delve into good books, examine great art, and listen to fine music. Others need a blank, almost sterile room so their mind can focus.

Regardless, once inspiration does strike, you’re ready to brainstorm. In fact, you’ll probably just do it naturally (and usually when there’s no pen or paper handy!)

The biggest challenge facing you when brainstorming is to prevent your self-doubts from hindering your creativity. Don’t tell yourself a story idea is lousy. It may indeed be lousy, but by allowing yourself to explore the possibilities, you might stumble upon an idea that’s pretty darn good. Be curious not critical. Criticism comes later when you start outlining your work (which is the next step in the writing process) and lasts through the revising of it.

In addition to generating your idea, brainstorming can involve collection of information to help you formulate your story idea. If it involves a historical romance set in the beginning of the Roman Empire, you may want to read about the time of Caesar and Augustus. This likely will spur further ideas about your book, perhaps even whole scenes.

In many ways, the brainstorming portion of the writing process is the most fun. It’s a time when you let your mind dream freely and your visions soar, leaving practical questions like, “Who is my reader?” (which could alter the plotting and style of your book) for later.

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How to Create an Index for Your Nonfiction Book

Sometimes after finishing a nonfiction book, readers want to review a specific concept or idea that appears on only a few pages of the volume. The table of contents probably is too general to give them the exact page numbers that they want to read. Instead, they turn to the index.

Indexes offer alphabetized listings of key concepts discussed in the book, telling what pages they appear on. The index typically comes at the end of the book following the appendices.

What should be indexed? As proofreading your book, look for key words in the text, particularly those that paragraphs are about. Begin writing those words on a separate word processing file, including the page numbers that they appear on.

In addition, you’ll want to keep track of related concepts. For example, in my “Hikes with Tykes” book, one the key concepts discussed is “Crossing terrain,” so that word receives an entry. Since there are different types of terrain one could cross, related concepts that appear under “Crossing terrain” include “rock hopping,” “scree,” “slopes” and “waterways.” These related concepts typically are indented to show that they fall under the main concept’s heading.

Further, sometimes there are synonyms for keywords. Rather than list the pages twice under two different words meaning the same thing, you might send a reader to the other concept. For example, my hiking book refers to “cougars” as “mountain lions,” so the index entry for “cougars” says “see mountain lions.”

Page numbers often are shortened to help keep the index from looking too cluttered. If text about “rock hopping” appears on both page 122 and 123, the page numbers in the index may simply be abbreviated to 122-3.

A set of index entries following the above rules would look like this:

    Cougars, see mountain lions
        Crossing terrain, 121-3
            Rock hopping, 121
            Scree, 121-2
            Slopes, 122
            Waterways, 122-3

When formatting the index, have it take up two columns per page in books that aren’t any wider or taller than an 8.5 x 11 sheet of paper. Most authors also opt to have the index printed in a smaller point size than the main body of text to ensure that more keywords can get on the page and to distinguish it from the rest of the text.

Given that you need to include page numbers, writing of the index needs to occur near the end of the writing process. Don’t place any page numbers in the index until you’re down to your last proofreading, in which the only changes you’ll make is correcting a rare typo, or you’ll soon find your page numbers are wrong.

The challenge then is to set aside just the right amount of space for the index. In a self-published 220-page book, four pages probably are enough.

Finally, the index takes page numbers, continuing with the Arabic numerals that began back with the index.

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My name is Rob Bignell. I’m an affordable, professional editor who runs Inventing Reality Editing Service, which meets the manuscript needs of writers both new and published. I also offer a variety of self-publishing services. During the past 15 years, I’ve helped more than 400 novelists and nonfiction authors obtain their publishing dreams at reasonable prices. I’m also the author of the 7 Minutes a Day… writing guidebooks, four nonfiction hiking guidebook series, and the literary novel Windmill. Several of my short stories in the literary and science fiction genres also have been published.

Check out some of my book marketing guidebooks:

Professional Editor of African-American Fiction

An affordable, professional editor for nearly 30 years, I’ll deliver a thorough edit of your African-American novel. I’m the author of several published books as well as short stories, hold a Master’s degree in English and a Bachelor’s in journalism, am a long-time writing teacher, and am an award-winning publications editor and writer. Well over 300 of my clients – many of them emerging authors of African-American fiction and nonfiction – have gone on to publish their books.

My editing services include:
• Proofreading – Editing for spelling, punctuation, capitalization and grammar
• Copy editing – Editing of mature manuscripts close to being published
• Substantive edit – Editing of an early draft of your manuscript
• Developmental editing – Guidance through the writing process
• Self-publishing – Formatting, uploading, writing back cover blurb/author bio
• I DO NOT GHOSTWRITE FICTION OR OTHER TEXT

Learn more about me and my writer-friendly rates at my website or email your manuscript’s word count for a price quote and estimate of turnaround time. Payment is accepted through safe and secure PayPal. References available upon request.

Sales Advantages of Writing Nonfiction Books

If you’ve got ideas for both a novel and a nonfiction book, you may want to write the latter first.

If only from a sales perspective, nonfiction books tend to garner more sales than novels. According to a recent Gallup poll, 46 percent of Americans have nonfiction book on their nightstands; in contrast, only 35 percent of Americans have fiction at their bedside.

Nonfiction also offers a marketing advantage for new writers. Readers of fiction will go with a book by a big, recognizable name over an unknown when choosing a title to buy. That’s not the case with nonfiction readers; while the author’s expertise plays a minor role in the decision to buy, what matters most to readers is how well the book’s topic matches their needs or interests. Given this, the competition isn’t quite as tough in nonfiction as it would be for novels.

Furthermore, there are a lot of niche topics left to exploit in nonfiction. Mainstream publishers have tended to favor topics that have wide appeal, meaning there are lot of areas in which few if any titles have been published. This means there is a thirst for books that have yet to be written – books that you could pen!

If the nonfiction topic you choose to write about is of high appeal to male readers, all the better. A National Endowment for the Arts survey showed that nearly two-thirds of male readers choose nonfiction books over novels. Women, however, generally prefer novels, with 55 percent of them opting for a fiction book.

Of course, you always should write what you’re most passionate about. Churning out nonfiction books when you dream of writing the next Great American Novel means you’re writing for the wrong reasons and probably will turn out drab, flat text.

But if your passion for either format is equal and you hope to make a little money self-publishing, then going the nonfiction route definitely is a good choice.

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My name is Rob Bignell. I’m an affordable, professional book editor who runs Inventing Reality Editing Service, which meets the manuscript needs of writers both new and published. I also offer a variety of self-publishing services. During the past decade, I’ve helped more than 400 novelists and nonfiction authors obtain their publishing dreams at reasonable prices. I’m also the author of 80 books including the Storytelling 101 writing guidebooks, four nonfiction hiking guidebook series, and the literary novel Windmill. Several of my short stories in the literary and science fiction genres also have been published.

Check out some of my book marketing guidebooks:

Use Stock Art to Create Cover Inexpensively

When creating a cover for your self-published book, you’ll probably need a single, striking photograph or illustration that draws in readers. Since you’re a writer, not a photographer or illustrator, this can pose a problem. Where will you get such an image? Purchasing stock art can be a low-cost effective solution.

Stock art are photographs and illustrations that others have created and sell online through an agency. BigStock and Shutterstock are just a couple of more than a dozen companies that sell photos online. They can be downloaded directly to your computer.

Such collections of photos and illustrations literally put hundreds of thousands if not millions of images at your fingertips. Most can be purchased individually or for a subscription that come in well under a hundred dollars; this will a lot less expensive than hiring a photographer or illustrator to come up with a cover or you.

On the downside, you can spend quite a while searching for just the right image, and sometimes the photo you fall in love with won’t work for a cover. In addition, some stock art can look quite campy, as it was intended for advertisements rather than a book cover, but this was more true a decade or two ago than today.

When selecting stock art for your book cover, consider the following factors:
• Size – First and foremost, the stock art must be large enough to work as a cover. If you purchase a photo that is too small and enlarge it, the result will be a grainy or pixilated cover. Only purchase art that is larger than the space it needs to occupy on the cover. In addition, make sure the photo is 300 dpi.
• Shape – Just as you can’t fit a square peg into a round hole, so you’ll have great difficulty placing a photo whose horizontal side is longer than its vertical side (unless the photo is intended to wrap around the spin onto the back cover. Purchase a photo that is shaped the way it will be positioned on the cover. Of course, you always can crop the photo, but then the original must be much larger than the actual cover size.
• Text placement – Know in advance where you plan to place the book’s title and your name as author on the cover. Those spots should be fairly free of the stock art’s main subject. For example, if the photo is of an eagle in flight, the part of the photo where the title would go should be sky. You don’t want your title covering the bird.
• Color – You’ll want to coordinate the colors in the stock art with those used for the text. A good rule is to pick up a secondary dark color in the photograph or illustration and use it for your title. If your cover photo is of a fire engine and the text is the same primary red, the title and photo will wash out rather than complement one another.

Finally, always check usage guidelines before purchasing the photo. There also may be limitations on how you can use the stock art. Often using a stock photo or illustration for a cover requires paying for an extended license, whereas using it inside a book or a website page costs less.

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Four Writing Prompts: Vengeance

Good stories center on the clashing of characters’ goals and motivations. Sometimes a character’s goals and motivations arise from seeking retribution for an injustice either real or perceived. Here are four writing prompts for stories that center on vengeance.

Man vs. nature
In an act of revenge, a man sabotages a boat or a small plane, leaving his nemesis – our main character – stranded at sea or in an inhospitable environment. How does the main character survive the threats of nature? Does he then seek revenge himself on the man who set him up to die?

Man vs. man
Desperate to lay his past to rest, the antagonist decides to exact revenge on all who made him miserable – including our story’s protagonist. What can our protagonist do to stop the villain? Does the protagonist feel any guilt over what he did in the past to the antagonist. Why or why not?

Man vs. society
Our main character decides his hatred for the current system justifies supporting an invader who will wipe it out. But does support of the invader mean an even worse system will be ushered in? What if the main character determines after the invasion that it does – and then switches sides?

Man vs. himself
For a perceived injustice against those who the protagonist holds dear but was unable to fully protect, he decides to seek revenge. Why was he not able to protect those he loved? Can revenge bring redemption and justice or will it only bring more destruction, including of his own soul?

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Be alert, get it right: Conscience vs. conscious

Every writer, in conscience, should know the difference between these two words.

Conscience refers to one’s moral conduct. For example: Having to tell a lie wracked Tara’s conscience.

Conscious refers to one’s perception or awareness – hence, you can be unconscious. For example, Cheri was fully conscious of what the judge’s words meant. Or Getting hit in the head with a baseball bat knocked Samantha unconscious.

So always be conscious of when to use which one of these words!

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Pit Story’s Hero Against Society to Create Conflict

Rather than take on another individual, the main character could find himself in conflict with an entire society. When the main character or small group of characters take on the greater culture – who usually are represented by a group of authority figures or “upstanding” citizens – the author is using a man vs. society conflict.

An example of this occurs in the “Star Trek: The Original Series” episode “The Apple”. When Captain Kirk and his landing party beam down to a planet with an ideal climate, they soon discover a machine mind controls the planet and that the natives worship this machine. Kirk sets out to destroy this machine, named Baal, after it attacks the Enterprise. The native aliens try to stop Kirk, however, and are disappointed when our mighty captain succeeds. Through the episode, Kirk and crew find themselves in conflict with the native’s society’s customs and beliefs.

Indeed, such a conflict is good way to show the illogic of a society’s values. The moral of “The Apple” is that intelligent beings need to be free, even if it means suffering (indeed, the planet’s inhabitants now will have to live in a harsh climate, break their backs farming by hand to feed themselves and suffer the psychological loss of faith in a god that provided for and cared for them). Of course, Baal is a false god, so a system in which intelligent beings worship and serve a false god is illogical.

Two problems can arise with man vs. society conflicts, however. First, when readers can focus on a specific individual as the antagonist, relating to and identifying with the main character can be easier. The challenge for the writer is to make the society a living being itself. Otherwise, the main character simply is defending himself against minor characters and obstacles throughout the story. Another problem is that often society is too monolithic for a single character to overcome. The story problem shouldn’t end with the collapse of society but instead the main character escaping it or achieving some success that creates a new hope for the culture’s eventual fall.

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