I’m super excited to announce that… My dear friend, Michaela Bush, is starting her company with a bang!

Michaela Bush is now offering affordable and professional author services!  She has a brand-new B.A. in English, as well as a passion for helping current and aspiring authors achieve their publishing goals.  She offers editing, proofreading, consultations, and more.  Her business name is Tangled Up In Writing.

Before we begin, let me start by saying, Michaela is a fabulous editor! I enjoy sending her my short stories and novellas. She’s got great insight and keen eyes, so I can personally vouch for her work.

MICHAELA’S BIO

Michaela Bush is a Christian author, freelance editor, and entrepreneur.  She graduated in 2019 from Clarion University in Pennsylvania and holds a B.A. in English with a minor in Psychology.  When she’s not spinning together her next story or working, she enjoys spending time with her family or horseback riding.  She is also a crazy cat lady.

MORE INFO can be found on her website and newsletter. Follow these links!

Website

Facebook

Twitter 

Instagram

Pinterest 

Newsletter

 

GIVEAWAYS

 

FOLLOW THE LINKS! 😀

Quilted book sleeve: http://www.rafflecopter.com/rafl/display/85840df15/?

Journal: http://www.rafflecopter.com/rafl/display/85840df16/

Discounted Services: http://www.rafflecopter.com/rafl/display/85840df17/

 

 

WHY EVERYONE NEEDS AN EDITOR

A GUEST POST by MICHAELA BUSH

What’s up with editors, anyway?  At an event I attended last Saturday, a gentleman approached me and explained that he thought editors were too expensive and completely optional.  I can certainly understand his perspective, but here’s mine: if I spend months or even years working on a book, I want to make sure that everything’s perfect, pristine, and presentable!  

Some folks might think they can get away with using a grammar manual and DIY-ing their book — which I have no qualms against! — but here’s why I think it’s important to hire an editor…from personal experience:

 

An editor will have a fresh pair of eyes.

 

You’ve lived your book, given life to the characters and worlds you’re inventing, and managed to write it all down in a logical manner.  An editor works like a beta-reader on steroids — they notice everything you need to improve upon. Whether it’s a sentence that is awkwardly-worded or a plot that changes mid-book, editors catch problems more easily because their eyes (and minds) are fresh to your story.  They may also notice and correct problems with grammar or spelling errors, which is crucial for a flawless book.

 

You’ll make a better first impression.

 

Especially if it’s your debut novel, you want to make a good impression.  New readers might be turned off or disappointed if they spend big money for a brand new book that’s hard to understand, has a plot hole, or is riddled with grammatical or spelling errors.  Just as one might immediately notice a small slip-up in a bestseller, readers will notice errors in your book — and they might not give you a free pass. Editors work to ensure that your book is polished.  

 

An editor might catch issues that you’re “change-blind” to.

 

You’ve had this idea rattling around in your head for months (or even years).  However, your final draft is probably a far cry from the original idea that popped into your head – and the plot’s probably changed too.  You might not notice these changes because, at one point in time, your brain marked those plot points as “correct.” This is a phenomenon that is called “change blindness” in the psychology realm.  If a brain is so used to something being one way, it sometimes doesn’t even notice that something has been changed.  

This actually happened in a novel that I wrote hurriedly and, yes, skipped a lot of steps that I should have taken, like sending it out for others to check for errors (which cost me a lot of time and embarrassment as I went through to fix errors that would have been noticed by a pair of fresh eyes).  There was one scene that had several different versions written, and later, when I changed the gender of a minor character that appeared in that scene, there was an instance where I referred to the character as “he” instead of “she” — oops!

An editor has the unique opportunity to look at your book as both a professional grammar critic and as a reader — things that don’t make sense or add up will pop up like big red flags.  This allows you to go back and make necessary changes before the book hits the shelves.

 

Error-free books can be taken more seriously.  

 

Especially in the indie realm, it’s hard to be taken seriously by folks who are used to reading books from major publishing houses.  If your book has grammatical errors or a plot hole, people are apt to notice and gleefully point it out – worst of all, online reviews allow disgruntled readers to mention said mistakes…and reviews can’t just be removed.

Also, If you’re submitting a manuscript to a publisher or an agent, a polished manuscript will show them that you are serious and have faith in your book.  Some publishing companies and op-ed news companies state on their websites that a manuscript may be turned down due to excessive errors. A few years ago, I sent an original theatrical script to a publishing house and one of the first rules on their list for unsolicited scripts was this — plays didn’t have to be correctly formatted, but those with many errors would be automatically turned down.  

Essentially, you want your book (or any work, for that matter) to be polished and professional.  Editors help you achieve that, whether it’s at the developmental stage or the final copy edit.

 

An editor’s goals align with your goals.

 

Editors don’t just work for the paycheck.  They want to make sure that your book is polished, in its best possible form, and will make a good impression.  Editors are usually so detail-oriented that the smallest mishap or mistake would probably haunt them for life (or maybe that’s just me..), so they want to make sure that it doesn’t haunt YOU either!

Basically, hiring a good editor is worth it because their goals – and their job – align with what you want as a writer.  You want to avoid disappointing or upsetting readers by presenting a book that hasn’t been polished, and likewise, you want to make sure that all the time you’ve spent working on your book is worth it in the end — AKA, satisfied readers and a lovely new book!  

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I hope you guys found that guest post helpful! 🙂 Big thanks to Michaela for letting me host her on my blog.

God bless and check Michaela’s business out, friend!

Ang