Is it ok to write two books at one time?

In my opinion, it's not. It's not good to write more than one book at one time. For many reasons that I have listed below. I tell people time and time again, use a notebook. Keep a notebookw ith you just incase an idea comes to you. The worse thing a writer can do is get a great idea and then later forget it. View my reasons for sticking to one book at a time.

1. You can get confused when writing the books. You can confuse characters and storylines. Stick with just one.

2. You may get sidetracked and need to move away from your book. If you haven't done an outline for both books you may forget the direction you were trying to go with one or both books.

3. Putting your attention into one book at a time will allow you to put your all into the book; not be sidetracked and focus on that story.

4. You will finish the book in a timely manner. Working on two books at a time will keep your from finish your novels.

If you decide to work on more than book at a time that's ok. I am not saying to not do it. But I don't recommend it if you want your books to be a success and you want toput your all into the book. My advice is to keep a notebook and write down your ideas rather than run with them everytime a new story comes to mind. We as writers, our minds are constantly going and we can easily come up with something good to write about all the time. Use your notebook to keep the ideas fresh!

Before we end today's blog...

Get your book in the author spotlight: http://fromawriterspov.webs.com/authorspotlight.htm

Signing Off,

Dominique Watson

Proper Spacing when using a computer

Yesterday, someone emailed us at The POV Lounge and asked a writing question. Here's the question and my answer is below:

Jay Miller
What is the proper spacing after punctuation when using a computer? Will every sentence need to be changed? I use Word. Thanks Jay Miller

"The proper spacing after punctuation is two spaces. You will only need to change your sentences depending on who you are sending your work to. It also depends on your plans for the work. My advice is to research what the publisher, editor or person you are submitting your work to requirements are and then take it from there. Going back and adding spces to your work could be hard work. So determine what your publication path is and take it from there"

If you have any more questions, don't hesitate to ask!

Before we end today's blog...
Get your questions answered here: http://fromawriterspov.webs.com/yourrequests.htm

Signing Off,
Dominique Watson

What's your writing career goal?

As a writer, it's always important to have a plan of where you plan to go with you writing. A short term goal and a long term goal is necessary. If you are currently only writing as a hobby, that's great. If you don't plan to take it up a notch then there's no need to have goals. But if you have a vision of where your writing will go, a plan is needed.

A plan for a writer (short and long) would go like this.

In the beginning stages of writing, you've realized that you only want to write part time and when you feel the need to release a little bit of stress.

You've now realized that you can really do something with your worj because other people have told you that you have a gift. (Now is the time to plan)

Ask yourself:

1. Do I want to be a published autor? If so, when would like to have my book on the shelf

2. How many books do I want to publish? If it's a lot you need to get on the ball with getting your ideas together.

3. Once you've become an established author, do you want to become a group owner, own a business (editing, publishing, etc?)

These are questions to consider although sometimes a great idea or vision will come out of no where. When someone has a plan or vision, they don't stop until they've reached there goal. All I'm saying is it's important to think about where you see your writing career in the near future.

For me, I plan to own a bok publishing company under From A Writers POV. My dream is to publish the work of those that don't have the funds to get their books on shelves. My goal is to give back. What's yours?

Signing Off,

Dominique Watson

Question of the Week

The POV Lounge has decided to do something a little different. Wednesday will be Question of the Week day to allow our readers to give a little feedback and info on the question asked. I hope that you will tune in everyday for the daily tips but especially on Wednesday's because I like to hear back from you, the author, writer and reader.

So this weeks question is: "How often do you buy and read books in the genre you write? How do you differentiate yourself from authors that write in your genre?"

Post your comment below and tune in next wednesday for a new question.

Signing Off,
Dominique Watson

Guest Speaker Robert Medak on Editing and Proofreading

Today we have a guest speaker. We are speaking with editor, book reviewer and freelance writer Robert Medak. He speaks with us about editing and proofreading. Read his interview below.

Dominique Watson (DW): How important is editing and proofreading when it comes to putting a manuscript together?
Rober Medak (RM): Editing and proofreading are as important as writing the story itself. If there are typos, grammar and punctuation errors, it could mean the difference between publication and not.

DW: As a writer, do you have any personal struggles when it comes to editing or proofreading your own work?
RM: it is always easier to edit someone's work than you own. When self-editing, you need to be even more aware of any and all errors.


DW: People say that it's important to get a second pair of eyes to read over your work. Do you get a second pair of eyes to check for mistakes or do you edit your own work?
RM: It is great to have a second pair of eyes to oversee the writing. I trust my wife to read and tell me what I might have missed.

DW: What qualities should an editor/proofreader provide?
RM: First is to get along with the author. Second is to make sure that they are a reader. Third manuscript is the best it can be from the standpoint of consistency, verb subject agreement, spelling, punctuation, and typos because the editor/proofreader has experience.


DW: Is it important to hire someone to get the job done or should writers try to complete the task themselves?
RM: Hiring someone to look over the manuscript is always good idea if you can afford to. If not, be very careful when you self-edit.

DW: What is the typical cost of hiring an editor?
RM: The cost varies form editor/proofreader to editor/proofreader. The average is between $2 - $5 a page for a manuscript.

It takes time to build up proficiency, and experience with many different writing styles. As a editor/proofreader you do not want to change the manuscript, only improve it to make it the best it can be. The editor/proofreader working closely with the author, to improve, not change the writing style of the author, does this. When the editing/proofreading is completed, and then sent back to the author with suggestions by using Microsoft's "Track Changes" feature. At this point, it is up to the author if they are willing to accept or reject the editor/proofreaders suggestions.

If the author agrees with the suggestion, then they update their manuscript and submit it to the agent, publisher, of whoever.

The editor/proofreader has to be someone who enjoys reading books in the genre they the author writes in. For example, if the author writes romance, and the editor/proofreader has never read a romance, this is probably not a good match. If the author is looking at hiring an editor/proofreader, be sure to ask questions. Make sure that the author and editor are on the same page.
Authors have said that the real writing is in the rewriting. Get the story down, but what good is a story that does not tell one, because there are errors that make the author seem a fool? This is where a second pair of eyes or an editor/proofreader comes into play. It is their job to find any errors in the manuscript.

Working as a copy editor, there are typos, grammar, verb subject agreement, spacing after punctuation, and punctuation errors found when editing. Since the use of computers is so prevalent in writing, the spacing after punctuation has changed. This is a major faux pas found in much of my editing, as well as simple spelling errors.



This interview was So helpful. So many times we think that we can edit ourselves and sometimes our own eyes don't pick up small mistakes. In my opinion, I think it's wise to get a second opinion; get someone else to look it at it just incase. This interview was also helpful because it gives you a bit on insight to what to expect when dealing with editors.

Before we end today's blog...
Have your new released book featured on our ning network. http://fromawriterspov.webs.com/authorspotlight.htm


Signing Off,
Dominique Watson

This Weeks Service List

This weeks Services listed below.

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Travel Services for the budget conscious or the fortune 500!

Get your business listed in here next week!
http://fromawriterspov.ning.com/