Good morning! Please welcome guest author Catherine Mede. Though I will be away for most of the day, please feel free to leave comments for Catherine and I will post them as soon as I return. Thank you!
~Kate
Getting it Write Right
Even professionals get it wrong. Sometimes reading a book produced by a popular publishing house has them. They escape through small cracks, but can affect the entire story.
Spelling errors, grammatical errors, poorly worded or badly constructed sentences can throw a reader from that reading horse.
One or two mistakes is forgivable, but when the story is peppered with them, it can really destroy what is a brilliant story and make readers stop dead in their tracks, preventing them from enjoying the story and perhaps even… shock horror, stopping them from reading the story and put it down.
So how does one make sure that those problems aren’t damaging their own stories? One word – well two if you want to be pedantic – a great editor and a great proof-reader – okay, so that is more than two words, but focus on the bold words. These are two different people. Why do I say this? Because your editor may well have read through the story a couple of times and their eyes are skimming over the words. Their job is to make your story come to life and make it sound fantastic. It is the proof-reader who gets those final mistakes and makes your finished product shine like it has been buffed by a machine rather than hand polished by a servant.
So what does a proof-reader do- other than read your story? A good proof-reader is able to read the words on the line and make sense of them, and notice the smallest mistakes, such as a misplaced comma, a wayward word or a grammatical error, so substantial as to change the meaning of the entire sentence.
They are the ones that find those little mistakes that the writer and the editor have overlooked because of the constant reading and revision. Their eyes are fresh; they are reading your story for the first time. They are the first people to get your story, even before your advance readers and reviewers. And to be honest, you need more than one, and someone who isn’t just a friend who is afraid to tell you what needs to be done. Having more than one means there is a higher chance of capturing those mistakes that another didn’t find because they got sucked into the story and forgot that they needed to actually check for errors.
You need to have faith in your proof-readers too. You need to know that they will be efficient, able to finish the job that you have asked them to, and in a timely fashion. It shouldn’t take weeks to read a novel, a proof-reader should be able to read through and proof a story in at least a week, although if it is an epic fantasy, you can expect a proof-reader to take longer because they need to understand the world that they are reading about. If a proof-reader asks questions, it shows that they are really interested in doing a good job. Confirming any cultural differences, spelling differences (e.g. US vs UK spelling), exactly what your expectations of them are, and the timeframe is a good indication that they know what they are doing.
Of course, making sure that your proof-readers have done the job correctly is the final job for the writer. No writer can entirely rely on proof-readers to pick up every single mistake. People aren’t perfect. It is important for the writer to do one final read through before they hit the publish button, just to appease their own conscience that everything has been done to the best of their ability. There is nothing worse than receiving a review from a person who complains that there were lots of errors. Quietly and carefully read through the work, look carefully, ignoring the fact that you already know how the story goes. The writer needs to really concentrate on the words they have used, the corrections that the proof-readers have recommended and ensure that every little mistake has been found and corrected.
It’s okay to have a couple of errors, as I said earlier, no one is perfect, but you want the story to be as good as possible.
So chose your proof-readers carefully, go for ones that are experienced and able to offer references or able to show that they have done this before and not just a fan of your work who wants to get an advanced copy before anyone else.
Make sure that your proof-readers understand what is required of them and trust them. If they are qualified, they know what they are doing.
Go forth, write, and create your stories, just remember to get the best people for the job of editing and proofreading.
Coming out 30th November 2014 on Amazon and Smashwords
A family curse.
A lifetime of grieving.
Jinny Richards past and future are about to collide. Will she survive?
At 18, Virginia ‘Jinny’ Richards was a drug addict who fell in love with Dean Bradford. By 20, Dean was dead. Jinny believes the family curse is to blame, and never wants to fall in love again. She has worked hard to hide her past and now has a job as a successful Insurance Assessor.
Ethan Montgomery lost his wife to breast cancer. He’s mourned her for three years and now he’s ready to move on. He understands Jinny’s pain, but he wants the feisty Jinny and nothing, not even a curse, will stand in his way.
When work throws them together, loving Ethan is the farthest thing from Jinny’s mind. He’s tardy and egotistical, even if he is good looking and makes her weak at the knees.
Things get further complicated when Steven Bradford turns out to be the client, bringing up the heartache and pain Jinny has carefully buried for eighteen years.
Will she find love a second time around? Or will the family curse claim another victim?
Extract:
Thursday morning, and Jinny sat at her desk, looking at the framed certificates that adorned the walls. Her fingers restlessly tapped a tattoo against the side of the desk.
Agitation had her foot tap on the floor.
He was late.
Her black mood darkened as she glanced at her watch and sighed. One thing she hated more than anything was being late to an appointment. He’d already confirmed that the flight had arrived on time, and she’d made the appointment for half an hour after his arrival. That gave him plenty of time to get from the airport to their office. It wasn’t that hard to find! What was taking him so damned long?
She heard the front door open. Joelene, the receptionist, greeted the guest and she heard an unfamiliar deep, rumbling laugh.
Jinny glanced at the clock, fifteen minutes late. She picked up her file, and with sharp clicking of heels and rattle of her keys she marched out to the reception area.
He looked up at her, a lazy smile on his full lips, and her heart skipped a beat. His hazel eyes held her captive for a second longer than necessary; the sparkle of mischief in them intrigued her, but also angered her. He thinks it amusing that he’s late?
She hesitated for a moment, a swirl of masculine scent of mint, citrus and musk surrounded her. She closed her eyes, and resisted the urge to inhale deep. Calming herself, she opened her eyes and looked up at the tall man in front of her. Deep hazel eyes and his full lips grabbed her attention, and the smirk that pulled at the right hand corner of his mouth. He wore a charcoal suit, carefully tailored to fit his tall body. The white shirt underneath the jacket was open at the neck, no sign of a tie. His dark blond hair slicked down onto the left, giving him a carefree air.
Taking a deep breath, she addressed him.
“Ethan Montgomery I presume. You’re late.”
“I am he, and you must be Jinny Richards.” In his soft voice she detected an English accent. On any other day, she would have happily listened to him talk, but not today. He held out his hand for her to shake.
She ignored it. “Virginia, please.” She snapped before opening the glass door and walking down the path to where her car was parked, expecting him to follow.
*****
Ethan looked at Joelene, then at Virginia as the door closed behind her. He stepped back to assess the rear end of the feisty woman as she walked along the pavement.
“What was that?” He mouthed to Joelene.
She smiled at him and winked. “It’s just the way she is, go with it hon’.”
“The way she is?” His breath had been knocked out of him when she came out of her office. Her grey pencil skirt ending just below her knees, seemed to extend her legs. She wore a white blouse underneath a bright red jacket, buttoned in to show off her feminine curves.
A stunning vision even in her angry glory. He had to remember to breathe.
Her dark eyes had glared at him, and her jaw muscles twitched as she approached. Her eyes had appraised him before their terse conversation. The flash of anger in her eyes made him think she could be a deeply passionate woman, and he wanted to get to know her more.
The smell of flowers wafted past him as she’d stormed through the door. It reminded him of the spring time garden at his home, sitting under the magnolia tree. He smiled at the thought.
A beautiful greenstone necklace caught his eye as she passed, just a glimpse of it, hanging in the delicate flesh of the décolletage. A double twist. Most pounamu necklaces he’d seen were mounted on leather or twine. This one had been set with a gold bead at the top and worn on a gold chain. He breathed out and winked at Joelene.
“What was that?” He whispered, staring at her retreating figure.
Joelene giggled as he turned to look at her, her own brown eyes twinkled with delight.
“That is a professional woman, who doesn’t like tardiness.”
“Tardiness? Big word! Well, better go and catch up with the she devil.” He wiggled his eyebrows eliciting another giggle from the receptionist.
“Don’t let her hear you call her that,” Joelene stood behind her desk, grinning at him. He returned her grin as he opened the door.
“Catch you later, gorgeous,” she called after him.
Who is Catherine Mede?
Catherine Mede lives in a rural village in the South Island of New Zealand with her husband, son and two cats. She works when she can, doing whatever is available – within reason! When not writing, Catherine likes to read, draw and work in her garden.
Having developed a love for writing when she was at High School, it wasn’t until she was in her thirties she decided to really get down and dirty with the words in her head.
Romance and Speculative Fiction are what Catherine likes to write about because she understands the need to get lost in a love that sometimes seems mythical. And adding Fantasy elements just fulfils her needs to be creative fanciful worlds.
When she was younger, she wrote to escape reality, now she writes it to allow others to enter a world where love has a happily ever after.
Catherine has a short story published in a Masters of Horror Anthology and attends writing seminars and groups in her area.
When she is rich and famous, Catherine intends to have a large library which will double as her writing space and own an Aston Martin Vanquish. (Dreams are Free)
You can contact Catherine Mede through her website www.catherinemede.com and facebook, twitter and pinterest or email her catherine@catherinemede.com – she loves to have contact with her fans.
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