And Just Why a Third Edition of "The Frugal Editor"

I am back from a long hiatus, so I am reintroducing my latest book in my HowToDoItFrugally Series of books for writers. It often surprises us writers but editing (indeed, grammar!) is not static.  There was much to do to just update the second edition of The Frugal Editor the third edition and there is much to do to convince all authors that it is not only the indie published authors among us who must know editing (and more!) that we assume our publishers will take care of.  Keep reading if you think I’ve lost my marbles! (-:

It was a huge task, I am telling subscribers and visitors to this blog now is the time to get with it. Why? Because it won’t be long before my next book will be released also from Victor Volkman's Modern History Press. 

Soooo, here's why many authors who loved the first and second edition will want to read this one--all the new stuff. It includes why the traditionally published need it too.  Oh, an see the PS: after you’ve read this.  It includes “don’t miss” #FrugalBookPromoterTips you won’t want to miss! ~ CHJ

Why a Third Edition of The Frugal Editor?

It surprises people when they learn that grammar rules change over time. Or that what they learned in high school or advanced grammar classes in college is either passé or may not apply to fiction. It also surprises them to learn that a perfectly edited book is never perfect because there are always so many disagreements among experts. And even experts are often misinformed. The worlds of grammar and style choices are filled with myths and misinformation like, “Never use contractions in your writing,” “Never use fragments,” and “Never end a sentence with a preposition.” Further, as my client base grew, I kept running into common misconceptions and outright annoying style choices that would never fly in the publishing world. Thus, a new edition of The Frugal Editor was a must! So here is what is new:

·       The Third Edition has been reorganized and my publisher tells me I outdid myself with about 50% new (helpful!) material including new “Editor’s Extras” based on my own school of hard knocks!

·       Authors will love the all-new sections including:

o    Beta readers and peer reviewers

o    What you probably don’t know about custom dictionaries

o    Up-to-date rules for accommodating gender-specific and other cultural needs

o    A chapter for word-lovers and poets

o    Quickie reviews of word processors for you

o    What even traditionally accepted front and back matter can do for your book sales, your career, and your readers

o    Political Correctness considerations change and grow with each passing day. So, yes! Lots of updating here!

·       The Third Edition of The Frugal Editor still includes the basics that make you into an on-your-own editor when you must be. Few writers other than Stephen King can afford to hire an editor for every query letter, every media release, every media kit, every blog post. So until your career is so star-studded you can afford a publicist and editor on a retainer basis, writers need to know both the basics of editing and the little-known secrets.

·       The third edition is still loaded with reader favorites like what authors need to know about book covers—but it’s updated!

·       New information will dispel myths like these:

o    Agents are a cantankerous lot. (Nope! In The Frugal Editor, twenty-one of the nation's best tell you their pet peeves and they do it in the best of spirits.)

o    If your English teacher told you something is OK, it is. (No! Language rules have changed since you were a sophomore. Anyway, your English teachers likely have no background in publishing, so apart from basic grammar, how much help can they be?

o    If a manuscript or query is grammar-perfect, you'll be fine. (No! Lots of things that are grammatically correct annoy publishers.)

o    Always use your Spell and Grammar Checker. (No! Some suggest you don't use it at all, but The Frugal Editor will help you make it your partner instead of your enemy.)

o    It's easy to avoid agent and editor scams by asking other writers. (The Frugal Editor gives you a to-do and not-to-do lists to help you avoid being taken.)

o    Your publisher will assign a top-flight editor. (Maybe, but don't count on it. The more you know, the better partner you’ll be for an editor!)

o    Formatters and editors will take care of the hyphens, ellipses, and all the other grungy little punctuation marks that English teachers avoided teaching because they didn't know how to use them either. (Chances are, you'll catch even great formatters and editors in an error or two if you know your stuff!)

 

Note: Carolyn updates links and resources and fine tunes her 

how-to books to keep them pertinent for her readers, but the updates

 of both The Frugal Book Promoter and The Frugal Editor are more 

expansive and include new covers for the purposes of branding.

PS: 

Tip#1. I copped the above assessment of what’s new from the back page of my “sell sheet.”  That’s what most call this sheet that often gets tucked into ARCs (Review Copies) for the benefit of reviewers, but it works for authors in many other ways, too.  Stay tune of the next book in the series for instruction on how to put one together in my next book, the second edition of How to Get Great Book Reviews Frugally and Ethically.

Tip#2. Amazon recently introduced a free benefit for book SERIES. Self-pubished can access it at Author Central and load every book in their series on it and start using the link to promote (and sell) the whole series in their e-book versions with a single click.  The image above is from that page and there is no charge for that either!  It just magically happens! So here’s the link for the HowToDoItFrugally Series of books for writers!  (Traditionally published authors will probably need to ask their publisher to do this for them! 

MORE ABOUT THE BLOGGER

 Carolyn Howard-Johnson is the author of fiction, creative nonfiction, and poetry. She is also a marketing consultant, editor, and author of the multi award-winning HowToDoItFrugally Series of books for writers including the award-winning second editions of The Frugal Book Promoter and The Frugal Editor. Her latest is in the series is How to Get Great Book Reviews Frugally and Ethically. Learn more on her Amazon profile page, http://bit.ly/CarolynsAmznProfile. Great Little Last Minute Editing Tips for Writers is one of her booklets--perfect for inexpensive gift giving--and The Great First Impression Book Proposal, another booklet, helps writers who want to be traditionally published. She has three FRUGAL books for retailers including one she encourages authors to read because it will help them convince retailers to host their workshops, presentations, and signings. It is A Retailer’s Guide to Frugal In-Store Promotions: How To Increase Profits and Spit in the Eyes of Economic Downturns with Thrifty Events and Sales Techniques. 

Carolyn also helps writers extend the exposure of their favorite reviews at TheNewBookReview.blogspot.com. She also blogs at all things editing--grammar, formatting and more--at right here in The Frugal, Smart,and Tuned-In Editor (http://TheFrugalEditor.blogspot.com) blog. And promised to be more attentive in getting her words of wisdom (Ahem!) out to you more often. Her SharingwithWriters.blogspot.com blog focuses on the writing life and book marketing and promotion. It is a Writers' Digest 101 Best blogs pick.

Editing and Writing Alert: Humanizing the Word “Mummy”

As someone once said in a sci-fi move, "I'm ba-a-a-ck!"  The third edition of my The Frugal Book Promoter was just released and I found a new tip for the "politically correct" section of the book, but it's too late!  It occurs to me that this is the place I should share new editing ideas and additions to the world of editing (which these days come faster than they ever have before!) with my subscribers and visitors to this blog and, of course, those who read my book in any one of its editions.  Mind you, they are all award-winners, but my publisher (Modern History Press) tells me this one has 50% new information in it, so you might want to jump on Amazon and get the new edition for yourself.  Those of you who have copies remember I always give my readers detailed indexes in my how-to books so that readers can find what they need immediately.

So, what is this new news?  You'll love it!  

NBC Reported the new research on Egypt’s  golden boy mummy and the reporting included new suggestions the writers (and many others)  interested in politically correct (more humanizing language) are have now decided to refer to mummies...yes, mummies!...should be referenced to. 

They say: 

“The new study comes as museums in the U.K. reckon with whether the term "mummy"... is appropriate to describe mummified remains because “dehumanizing” connotation  [of the word standing on its own]. 

“Where we know the name of an individual we use that, otherwise we use the term ‘mummified man, woman, boy, girl or person’ on our labels, because we are referring to people, not objects,” a spokesperson for National Museums Scotland said in an email.

“The word ‘mummy’ is not incorrect, but it is dehumanizing, whereas using the term ‘mummified person’ encourages the visitors [to our museums]  to think of the individual.” 

This report comes from Charlene Gubash reporting from Cairo and Aina J. Khan from London.

As an amateur (very amateur !) archeologist/anthropologist, I believe this is a pretty good approach to showing respect to mummified remains not withstanding what a writer's personal attitude about being politically correct is. In either case, I find this a fascinating addition to my chapter on the subject and hope that many of you check it out in The Frugal Editor, 3rd Edition, along with my brand new chapter on using back matter to better served your readers and nudge your own book sales. 

MORE ABOUT THE BLOGGER

 Carolyn Howard-Johnson is the author of fiction, creative nonfiction, and poetry. She is also a marketing consultant, editor, and author of the multi award-winning HowToDoItFrugally Series of books for writers including the award-winning third  editions of The Frugal Book Promoter and The Frugal Editor published by Modern History Press. Her How to Get Great Book Reviews Frugally and Ethically is also part of the series. Learn more on her Amazon Author Page,  http://bit.ly/CarolynsAmznProfile  and, if you follow her there, Amazon will notify you of new releases in the series.

 Great Little Last Minute Editing Tips for Writers is one of her booklets--perfect for inexpensive gift giving--and her The Great First Impression Book Proposal, another booklet also available in Audio, helps writers who want to be traditionally published. 

Carolyn has three FRUGAL books for retailers including one she encourages authors to read because it will help them convince retailers to host their workshops, presentations, and signings. It is A Retailer’s Guide to Frugal In-Store Promotions: How To Increase Profits and Spit in the Eyes of Economic Downturns with Thrifty Events and Sales Techniques. She helps writers extend the exposure of their favorite reviews free at TheNewBookReview.blogspot.com. She also blogs at all things editing--grammar, formatting and more-- right here and promises to do more of that in the future. ( Her SharingwithWriters.blogspot.com blog focuses on the writing life and book marketing and promotion. It is a Writers' Digest 101 Best blogs pick.

Politically Correct Doesn't Always Work

Though I talk about the niceties of being poetically correct in the 2nd edition of The Frugal Editor (to be issued first for Kindle in mid-January), there are times when we carry it too far--sometimes to the weakening of the English language.  What will we use to replace the word foreigner, as an example.  Read on!

We writers need to be aware of PC trends so we can make conscious choices and avoid faux pas whenever possible. And there are lots of PC-isms we out there we need to know. But frankly, I think getting too PC (politically correct) can interfere with clear, concise English.

 

Here's an example of  what I consider just too, too PC: An academic at one of the universities that uses my husband's reference book, What Foreigners Need to Know About America From A to Z (http://amzn.to/ForeignersAmericaUS) objected to the word "Foreigners" in the title. My husband was aware of that difficulty when he chose that title. Some consider it pejorative. The thing is, there is not really a perfect substitute in the English language. "Aliens" calls up an image quite different (Martians, anyone?) than "Foreigners." These academics who used to call their students from other countries "foreign students" now call them "international students," but that term wasn't quite right for this book. Some people this book is written for may be emigrants. Second-generation citizens. Tourists. People who aren't Americans who conduct business with Americans both in the US and in their own countries. And on and on. Though not a perfect term, "foreigners" was the most inclusive word he could find.

 

Often attitudes about words tell more about the person who objects to them. When did it get to be a bad thing to be a "foreigner?" In America, even Native Americans were once from somewhere else. Or, more importantly, when are we going to get over the idea that being a foreigner is a bad thing.

 

Now the LA Times reports that the respected AP (Associated Press) has decided to discourage its reporters and editors from using the word "illegal immigrant." Some find the term offensive. The Times reports, "They prefer 'undocumented' arguing that 'illegal' is dehumanizing and lumps border crossers with serious criminals."

 

The venerable AP stylebook warns against the term, though they, too, couldn't find a suitable substitute for all cases. Instead they suggest a kind of "working around it" approach—which may be an adequate alternative in the body of a written piece but may be tough when coming up with a title or headline.

 

There are all kinds of phrases and words that we should be leery of. We know—instinctively or because we writers need to keep up on such things—most of them. But sometimes the style suggestions are just plain mealy mouthed. Meaning that they are diluting our language without offering anything that works as well.

Decisions. Decisions. Just remember. "Undocumented" isn't going to work. Some people have documents, just not the right ones.

But the part of all this—the part that I love—is the idea a senior manager at Associated Press put forth: "It's lazy to label people. It's better to describe them."

I have to agree with that. I was labeled all my life and hate putting labels on people. It's a little like putting them in a box, locking it, and throwing away the key.

 

Just so you know, LA Times and The New York Times will soon be weighing in on the "illegal" and "undocumented" issue. Can't wait to see what they come up with.

 

Note: In the 1970s, the LA Times style book preferred "illegal alien." Times do change…gradually. Thank goodness, mostly for the better. I'm going to accumulate style choices, possibly for a new book. If you have ideas for me, please let me know at HoJoNews@aol.com

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Carolyn Howard-Johnson edits, consults. and speaks on issues of publishing. Find her The Frugal Editor: Put Your Best Book Forward to Avoid Humiliation and Ensure Success (How To Do It Frugally series of book for writers). Learn more about her other authors' aids at www.howtodoitfrugally.com/writers_books.htm , where writers will find lists and other helps including Great Little Last-Minute Editing Tips on the Resources for Writers page. She blogs on all things publishing (not just editing!) at her Sharing with Writers blog. She tweets writers' resources at www.twitter.com/frugalbookpromo . Please tweet this post to your followers. We all need a little help with editing. (-:

Euphemisms: Mealy-Mouthed PC Terms on the Rise

Frankly, I think getting too PC (politically correct) can interfere with clear, concise English. But, we writers need to be aware of PC trends so we can make conscious choices and avoid faux pas whenever possible. And there are lots of PC-isms we out there we need to know.

But here's an example of  what I consider just too, too PC: An academic at one of the universities that uses my husband's reference book, What Foreigners Need to Know About America From A to Z (http://amzn.to/ForeignersAmericaUS) objected to the word "Foreigners" in the title. My husband was aware of that difficulty when he chose that title. Some consider it pejorative. The thing is, there is not really a perfect substitute in the English language. "Aliens" calls up an image quite different (and for some even more negative) than "Foreigners." These academics who used to call their students from other countries "foreign students" now call them "international students," but that term wasn't quite right for this book. Some people this book is written for may be emigrants. Second generation citizens. Tourists. People who aren't Americans who conduct business with Americans both in the US and in their own countries. And on and on. Though not a perfect term, "foreigners" was the most inclusive word he could find.

I think that often attitudes about words tell more about the person who objects to them. When did it get to be a bad thing to be a "foreigner?" In America, even Native Americans were once from somewhere else. Or, more importantly, when are we going to get over the idea that being a foreigner is a bad thing.

Now the LA Times reports that the respected AP (Associated Press) has decided to discourage its reporters and editors from using the word "illegal immigrant." Some find the term offensive. The Times reports, "They prefer 'undocumented' arguing that 'illegal' is dehumanizing and lumps border crossers with serious criminals."

So the venerable AP stylebook warns against the term, though they, too, couldn't find a suitable substitute for all cases. Instead they suggest a kind of "working around it" approach—which may be an adequate alternative in the body of a written piece but may be tough when coming up with a title or headline.

There are all kinds of phrases and words that we should be leery of. We know—instinctively or because we writers need to keep up on such things—most of them. But sometimes the style suggestions are just plain mealy mouthed. Meaning that they are diluting our language without offering anything that works as well.

Decisions. Decisions. Just remember. "Undocumented" isn't going to work. Some people have documents, just not the right ones.

But the part of all this—the part that I love—is the idea a senior manager at Associated Press put forth: "It's lazy to label people. It's better to describe them." I have to agree with that. I was labeled all my life and hate putting labels on people. It's a little like putting them in a box, locking it, and throwing away the key.

And, just so you know, LA Times and The New York Times will soon be weighing in on the "illegal" and "undocumented" issue. Can't wait to see what they come up with.

Note: In the 1970s, the LA Times style book preferred "illegal alien." Times do change…gradually. Thank goodness, mostly for the better. I'm going to accumulate style choices, possibly for a new book. If you have ideas for me, please let me know at HoJoNews@aol.com

 

 

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Carolyn Howard-Johnson edits, consults. and speaks on issues of publishing. Find her The Frugal Editor: Put Your Best Book Forward to Avoid Humiliation and Ensure Success (How To Do It Frugally series of book for writers). Learn more about her other authors' aids at www.howtodoitfrugally.com/writers_books.htm , where writers will find lists and other helps including Great Little Last-Minute Editing Tips on the Resources for Writers page. She blogs on all things publishing (not just editing!) at her Sharing with Writers blog. She tweets writers' resources at www.twitter.com/frugalbookpromo .