10 Tips About Basic Writing Competency
Here are ten areas to be sure to attend to if you wish to be taken seriously as a professional writer.
Formatting
1. Do not enter two letter spaces between sentences. Use of two spaces is an obsolete convention based on typewriter technology and will mark you as out of touch. If editors or other potential employers or clients notice that you don’t know this simple fact, they may be skeptical about your writing skills before you’ve had a chance to impress them.
1. Do not enter two letter spaces between sentences. Use of two spaces is an obsolete convention based on typewriter technology and will mark you as out of touch. If editors or other potential employers or clients notice that you don’t know this simple fact, they may be skeptical about your writing skills before you’ve had a chance to impress them.
2. Take care that paragraphs are of varying reasonable lengths. Unusually short or long paragraphs are appropriate in moderation, but allowing a series of choppy paragraphs or laboriously long ones to remain in a final draft is unprofessional.
3. If you’re submitting a manuscript or other content for publication, do not format it with various fonts and other style features. Editors want to read good writing, not enjoy aesthetically pleasing (or not) manuscripts; efforts to prettify a file are a distraction.
Style
4. Do not, in résumés or in other text, get carried away with capitalization. You didn’t earn a Master’s Degree; you earned a master’s degree. You didn’t study Biology; you studied biology. You weren’t Project Manager; you were project manager. (Search the Daily Writing Tips website for “capitalization” to find numerous articles on the subject.)
4. Do not, in résumés or in other text, get carried away with capitalization. You didn’t earn a Master’s Degree; you earned a master’s degree. You didn’t study Biology; you studied biology. You weren’t Project Manager; you were project manager. (Search the Daily Writing Tips website for “capitalization” to find numerous articles on the subject.)
5. Become familiar with the rules for styling numbers, and apply them rationally.
6. Know the principles of punctuation, especially regarding consistency in insertion or omission of the serial comma, avoidance of the comma splice, anduse of the semicolon. (Search the Daily Writing Tips website for “punctuation” to find numerous articles on the subject.) And if you write in American English and you routinely place a period after the closing quotation mark at the end of a sentence rather than before it, go back to square one and try again.
7. Hyphenation is complicated. In other breaking news, life isn’t fair. Don’t count on editors to cure your hyphenation hiccups for you; become your ownexpert consultant. (In addition to reading the post I linked to here, search the Daily Writing Tips website for “hyphenation” to find numerous articles on the subject.)
8. Avoid “scare quotes.” A term does not need to be called out by quotation marks around it unless you must clarify that the unusual usage is not intended to be read literally, or when they are employed for “comic” effect. (In this case, the implication is that the comic effect is patently unamusing.)
Usage
9. For all intensive purposes, know your idioms. (That should be “for all intents and purposes,” but you should also just omit such superfluous phrases.) On a related note, avoid clichés like the plague — except when you don’t. They’re useful, but generous use is the sign of a lazy writer.
9. For all intensive purposes, know your idioms. (That should be “for all intents and purposes,” but you should also just omit such superfluous phrases.) On a related note, avoid clichés like the plague — except when you don’t. They’re useful, but generous use is the sign of a lazy writer.
Spelling
10. Don’t rely on spellchecking programs to do your spelling work for you, and always verify spelling (and wording) of proper nouns.
10. Don’t rely on spellchecking programs to do your spelling work for you, and always verify spelling (and wording) of proper nouns.
******************
* Special call for submissions! Send us your novellas! *
Prism has opened two new lines and our editors are eager to receive your short stories/novellas.
Diamond Facets.
Diamond Facets.
Pure Romance, Everlasting Love
Facets will feature romances between 10-30K that fall under the guidelines of our Diamond romance imprint. Facets should emphasize a romance that snags the reader’s heart right from the start and packs an emotional punch. Whether love at first sight or an old flame found again, a happily-ever-after is a must. Contemporary, historical, westerns, regencies, and suspense genres are encouraged.
Inspired Cameos
Romance that inspires, heart and soul...
Cameos will feature novellas between 10-30K that fall under the guidelines of our Inspired inspirational romance imprint. Uplifting, short and sweet, these novellas should always finish with a happily-after-after. All genres are encouraged, especially angels, Amish, and historical.
Thank you for your interest in submitting to Prism. Prism books are never boring and sometimes step out of the box. If you have written a manuscript that doesn't quite fit other publisher's guidelines, we'd love to take a look.
At this time, Prism Book Group is offering new authors a royalty rate of 40%. If you would like to review our standard contract, you may email contact@prismbookgroup.com with your request.
We are currently considering fiction manuscripts in the following genres:
We are currently considering fiction manuscripts in the following genres:
Please click the links above for more specific guidelines on what we will accept.
Please note:
- We have no interest in reading erotica, erotic romance, or stories where characters engage in casual sex. While natural sexual tension is encouraged in our romances (we want to feel the emotion the hero and heroine feel for one another) we have no interest in books that spend pages on the explicit, physical culmination of those feelings.
- Stories that promote atheism, witchcraft or devil-worship.
- Serious injury, rape, violence portrayed in a positive light
- Hate literature and positive portrayal of negative stereotypes
- Partial works. Only send your story when it is finished and polished!
Please meet our editors below to decide who is the right choice to submit to. Also please carefully review our general guidelines before submitting a manuscript.
Jacqueline Hopper, Acquiring Editor
Jacqueline Hopper never dreamed of becoming a writer until a teacher read her poem to her class. That event alone incited Jacqueline’s interest in the writing realm. However, it wasn’t until after she began taking courses and honing her skills that her short and novel-length stories sold.
Since then, Jacqueline has participated in critique groups, acted as ghostwriter, proofreader and copy editor while continuing to pen her own stories. Her favorite authors include anyone who can pluck her heartstrings, reduce her to tears or make her double over with laughter.
Jacqueline is interested in fantasy, sci-fi, historical, mystery, humorous and contemporary romance. Fresh ideas are most appealing.
Marcy Dyer, Acquiring Editor
Marcy Dyer will accept submissions in any genre but prefers those that fit within Prism's Christian fiction Illuminate imprint: Amish, Angels, Apocalyptic/Futuristic, Comedy, Contemporary, Historical, Holiday, Suspense, Western and Women’s Fiction.
Kerri Nelson, Acquiring Editor
Kerri Nelson discovered her love of writing at an early age and soon became a columnist for her local newspaper winning the Outstanding Young Journalist of the Year Award for her efforts. After a fifteen year career in the legal field, Kerri fulfilled her lifelong dream of publication and is now an award winning multi-published author of nearly two dozen books in every genre under the sun (and moon). With over a decade of writing and publishing experience, Kerri seeks to mentor new authors into the amazing world of publication.
Kerri enjoys anything in the romance and/or mystery genres and is seriously drawn to stories containing a surprise ending. She enjoys humorous heroines, heart-of-gold heroes, and books with the potential for a continuing series of interwoven storylines and characters. Preferred sub-genres include: Contemporary and Historical (Regency and Victorian England era or Civil War American era) Romance; coming of age Young Adult Christian fiction (where teens learn lessons in fun and unexpected ways); and Romantic Suspense or Cozy Mysteries (with a nail biting dose of danger included).
Both established authors and pre-published (new talent) writers are eagerly welcomed to submit. In addition to full-length novels, Kerri is the self-proclaimed “Queen of Novellas” so if you have a short story between 15K and 30K, please send it her way.
To submit, please send your full, completed manuscript, properly formatted, to: submissions@prismbookgroup.com.
- Files should be in .doc or .rtf format. We will not accept anything else.
- 12 pt, New Times Roman, single or 1.5 spaced with one-inch margins all around.
- Please do not include headers or footers or page numbers.
- Please do not use tabs. Indents should be set .3 or .5 for first line of every paragraph.
- Italics should be in italics, not underlined. Please do not use special formatting in your document. Set font to normal.
- Please save file as booktitle_authorname.doc
We will acknowledge receipt of your submission within forty-eight hours and respond within twelve weeks.
Have a question we didn't answer for you? Email contact@prismbookgroup.com for more information!
No comments:
Post a Comment
Note: Only a member of this blog may post a comment.