Creative editors (also called developmental editors) help identify and fix problems with the major elements of your book, such as plot, character development, pacing, and style. However, not everyone is comfortable providing constructive criticism – especially to loved ones – so it’s important to choose people who aren’t afraid to tell it to you straight.

Copy editors have eagle eyes for typos, missing words, punctuation, grammar, repetition, etc. After so many hours of writing, rewriting, and tweaking, our brains begin to play tricks on our eyes, and we often see words that aren’t there, or we don’t see words that are. My mom proofread my most recent novel for me before I turned it over to my publisher, and she found more than 100 errors! Copyediting can be a great job for friends who want to help but aren’t cut out for the “tough love” approach required to be an effective creative editor.

When it comes time to edit your book (or promotional sign, see above– yikes), you need to check your ego at the door and welcome any feedback you can get – good, bad, or ugly. It’s much better to hear the criticism from trusted friends now than from disappointed readers later, right?

-Maria

This blog post originally appeared on CreateSpace.com. Reprinted with permission. © 2011 CreateSpace, a DBA of On-Demand Publishing, LLC. All rights reserved.

While you may be passionate about your title of “author,” however, not everyone is going to feel the same way. In fact, no matter who publishes your book, it’s important to remember that no one is going to care more about it than you do.

As you set out to promote your book, you’re going to expose yourself to rejection. Not everyone is going to call or email you back. Not every review is going to be great. A lot of your own friends probably won’t even buy a copy. But if you let any of that affect your motivation, you’re going to run into trouble.

I’ll use myself as an example: I have a newsletter to which people subscribe here on my website, and I send one out every month or so. No matter how many new people sign up, the occasional “unsubscribe” notification always hurts my feelings. I know it shouldn’t bother me, but it does! So believe me, I know this advice isn’t easy to take. Just remember the old adage: you can please all of the people some of the time, and some of the people all of the time, but you can never please all of the people all of the time.

When it comes to book marketing, the best advice I can offer is this: try a lot of things, focus on what seems to work, and stay positive. And when you feel down, remember this: No matter what, you’ve written a book. So be proud of yourself!

-Maria

This blog post originally appeared on CreateSpace.com. Reprinted with permission. © 2012 CreateSpace, a DBA of On-Demand Publishing, LLC. All rights reserved.

Here’s an excerpt:

1) If Oprah invited you onto her show to talk about your book, what would the theme of the show be?

If I were on Oprah, we’d probably spend more time talking about the crazy story behind “Perfect on Paper” than the actual book itself. Here’s how it happened: I used to work in public relations out in Silicon Valley, and after several years I finally admitted that I hated my career choice and quit. I had no idea what I wanted to do next, so I bought a ticket to go to Argentina for a couple weeks. I’d never traveled anywhere by myself, but after two weeks I loved it so much there that I decided to accept a job offer to play semi-pro soccer (true story!).

I’d always thought it would be fun to write a novel, so after a couple months I decided to just do it. I went to an Internet café near my apartment in Buenos Aires and started writing and writing and writing, and eventually I had the first draft of what would eventually become “Perfect on Paper.”

Click here to read the full interview and/or enter the contest.

• “Of course I’ll go,” she consented.
• “But that’s against the law,” he argued.
• “I need a raise,” she demanded.
• “It’s time to go,” he insisted.
• “How about we go for a hike?” I offered.

Writing like this can be extremely irritating if it happens too much. To make your dialogue clear and clean, just use “said” or nothing at all. The reader doesn’t need to be told that John is consenting, answering, countering, demanding, insisting, or offering. All the reader needs to know is what John SAID. The language and beats you use around it should be enough.

Look at the difference in quality between these two sentences:

A) “I think I’m in love with you,” she declared nervously.

B) She closed her eyes, took a deep breath, and spoke softly. “I think I’m in love with you.”

And these two:

A) “That’s not even true,” she responded sarcastically.

B) She rolled her eyes. “That’s not even true.”

Or these two:

A) “You really must try my pie,” she insisted.

B) She held a fork full of apple pie up to my face and refused to move until I took a bite. “You really must try my pie.”

“Said” (or “say” if you write in the present tense) will disappear for the readers and allow them to become immersed in the story.

Immersion, not irritation. Now that’s what you want!

-Maria

This blog post originally appeared on CreateSpace.com. Reprinted with permission. © 2012 CreateSpace, a DBA of On-Demand Publishing, LLC. All rights reserved.

Here are three examples of the power of a good beat. Which of the following sentences make you feel more connected to what is happening?

EXAMPLE #1:

A) “I told you, I’m not going!” John shouted, furious.

B) John slammed his fist on the table, his nostrils flaring. “I told you, I’m not going!”

John is clearly angry. But in example A, we know this because we are told so. In example B, we know this because we are shown it.

EXAMPLE #2:

A) “You’re really not going?” Karen said, incredulous.

B) Karen’s jaw dropped. “You’re really not going?”

Karen is incredulous, but why do we know this? Do you see the difference between A and B? In A, we’re told what to think, and in B, we’re left to decide on our own what to think.

EXAMPLE #3:

A) “No, because I can’t be with you after what you did,” John said with disdain.

B) John slowly shook his head, still glaring at her. “No, because I can’t be with you after what you did.”

Which of these do you think better shows the reader what’s happening?

Well-placed beats make your writing richer, fuller, and better. And good writing, like good teaching, engages your readers and lets them draw their own conclusions.

-Maria

This blog post originally appeared on CreateSpace.com. Reprinted with permission. © 2012 CreateSpace, a DBA of On-Demand Publishing, LLC. All rights reserved.

-Maria

One notch above Steve Jobs- amazing!

It was truly unbelievable to see that on my computer screen. My mom told me she cried. Then I nearly cried.

A couple days later It’s a Waverly Life launched here and in the UK, and while sales here were better than I’d hoped for, it took OFF across the pond. On the Kindle it reached #2 out of more than 750,000 titles! Perfect on Paper also cracked the top 10, and both books were #1 in several fiction categories.

Flowers from my awesome publishing team!

Needless to say, it has been an amazing week, and I’m so excited to see what happens next!  Maybe all this hard work is finally paying off.

Go Waverly!!

Waverly is the type of girl that you want as your friend and you root for her the whole time. I finished the book in a 24 hour period and enjoyed every minute of it. These are characters that I will want to revisit in the future. I’m also hoping for another continuation in Waverly’s story. (Click here to read the whole review.)

The New York launch party last week was super fun, but I forgot to take any pictures! I will try to remember to take some at the launch parties in Silicon Valley and San Francisco. Everyone is welcome- click here for the details on both.

Click here to read the first chapter

If you’d like to order a signed copy for you or a friend, please click here and send me a note.

What a great day!

Maria

If you want your readers to become invested in your characters, you need to bring those characters to life – and dialogue presents a wonderful opportunity to do just that! So when your characters speak, have them make an impression. Are they sarcastic? Jaded? Bitter? Happy? Sad? Pessimistic? Optimistic? Loyal? Funny? Do they use their hands a lot when they speak? Do they lower their voice when they gossip? Do they chew gum? Do they have a particular gesture or body tic that gives away what they’re feeling?

You may have heard the expression “show, don’t tell,” and this is a great example of that. Don’t tell us what the characters are like, let them show us.

Think about the people in your life who are closest to you. I’m guessing you can often tell what they’re feeling just by their body language. If you can put that level of perception into your dialogue, your readers will come to see your characters as real people, not just words on a page. And if you do this well, eventually you’ll be able to write a line and either think to yourself, “This sounds just like something Sally Smith would say or do,” or “Sally Smith would never say or do such a thing,” in which case, delete and try again.

When the characters begin speaking to you, they begin to take on a life of their own, and the story starts to write itself. And when that happens, you’re on your way to producing a great novel.

-Maria

This blog post originally appeared on CreateSpace.com. Reprinted with permission. © 2011 CreateSpace, a DBA of On-Demand Publishing, LLC. All rights reserved.

Now this may seem a little extreme, but I’ve learned from experience that no matter how much I think I’m going to remember something I want to include later in a book, I never do. Here are some of my typical forgetful predicaments, which you may have experienced yourself:

• If I come up with a great idea in the middle of the night, I won’t remember it in the morning.

• If I come up with the idea at a yoga class, inevitably I’ll run into someone I know on the walk home and start chatting, or I’ll stop at the grocery store, and boom, I’ve forgotten all about it.

• If I come up with it when I’m out with friends, forget it.

That’s why I (and you) should always WRITE IDEAS DOWN.

I usually keep a little notebook in my purse and a set of sticky notes by my bed and also in my car. If I find myself without anything to take notes on, I send myself a text message. In fact, I sent myself a text message the other day to write this blog post, and I completely forgot about it until I just saw it on my phone!

You may come up with the best line of your entire book while you’re shopping this weekend. If so, what are you going to do about it?

-Maria

This blog post originally appeared on CreateSpace.com. Reprinted with permission. © 2011 CreateSpace, a DBA of On-Demand Publishing, LLC. All rights reserved.

If you want to promote your book, you’re going to have to reach out to people who have no idea who you are, such as the press or reviewers. Many of these people will ask you for a photo, or they’re going to look for one on your website or LinkedIn. And if there is nothing there, or if all you have posted is a grainy shot of you at a barbeque, it could create the impression that you’re not professional or that you’re not a serious writer.

Those impressions might not be true at all, but with a lot of the people you’ll be contacting, you only get one chance to impress and convince them you’re worth paying attention to. When you’re marketing your book, it’s almost like you’re running for office: You need to look your best and present an image that makes people want to learn more about you and what you have to offer.

Just like a great cover might get a reader to pick up your book, a great headshot might encourage a conference organizer to invite you as a speaker, or a local TV show to bring you on as a guest, or a popular blog to interview you, etc., etc., etc.

You get the picture. Now get the picture taken!

-Maria

This blog post originally appeared on CreateSpace.com. Reprinted with permission. © 2011 CreateSpace, a DBA of On-Demand Publishing, LLC. All rights reserved.