Proofreading for small errors is not easy. Your mind gets tied up in the story and may just jump right over small errors, especially if you have read the story before. Here’s my best advice: Read the story backwards, paragraph by paragraph. This removes you from the flow of the story, and you’re more likely to […]
Is Your Manuscript Ready For Publication?
One of my favorite parts of being the editorial director at Castle Gate Press is the sense of hope that fills me every time I open an e-mail with a submission. Each one brings the possibility of a great story, memorable characters, and plot twists I won’t see coming. I almost hold my breath as I […]
Keeping Track of the Details
The old saying says that the devil is in the details, meaning that problems in the details can ruin the whole project. When applied to novel-writing, it can refer to the following type of mistakes: – He’s wearing jeans and a Cardinals t-shirt when they leave the house, but camo pants and an Army t-shirt […]
Revision Prompt – Dialogue Punctuation
You’ve heard of writing prompts, now we have revision prompts! Each prompt will give you a specific writing issue to check for in your WIP, along with tips on how to fix each. Going through this process one issue at a time will not only help polish your current novel but will also teach you specific ways to […]
Why would I need to hire myself an editor?
Writers, you probably know that there are plenty of free-lance editors out there, ready to help you hone your novel. But do you need one? And do you need to pay one? Your needs depend on your goals. What if you want to take the slow route–taking five, ten years? I did it this way, […]
Use Critique Groups to Help You Polish Your Manuscript
You’ve probably heard the expression that it’s all about the writing. It’s true. You could have the most fantastic premise, fabulous plot twists, and a great line-up of characters, but if your writing is full of grammatical mistakes, POV slips, and telling instead of showing, the rejection letters are still going to pile up. I’ve […]
The Editor vs. the Writer
Editing and writing are two sides of the same coin. Both manipulate the written word to craft a story, yet they are very different. Writing creates words and stories. Editing takes words already crafted into stories and fine-tunes them. As a matter of fact, the two activities are so different they even use different sides of the […]
Resources for Fiction Writers
A part of our mission here at Castle Gate Press is to nurture authors. We know what it’s like to work hard polishing a novel only to receive rejection after rejection in response to query letters. Sometimes all it takes is a nudge in the right direction to get on the right track. Other times, […]
Get Fewer Rejection Letters
With the beginning of the year, one of my goals has been to catch up on reading through submissions. As I’ve reviewed queries and submission over the last month, I’ve noticed a few issues that repeatedly come up which virtually always lead to a rejection letter. The following suggestions won’t necessarily lead to a contract, but they […]
Six questions for your beta readers
Perhaps you are an author who uses beta readers to help you hone your work. A beta reader is, of course, someone who tests the beta version before it becomes the alpha version (terminology borrowed from software testing). Your beta readers may be other writers, who have some idea of what kind of feedback you […]