The internet is chock full of helpful resources.
And I'm not a fan of reinventing the wheel.
So this is like me giving you access to my
editor's reference library.
*
(NOTE - I have no affiliation with any of these resources.)
Author Business
The Alliance of Self-Publishing Authors has a website with advice and ratings of various services.
"Money-Saving Guide for Authors and Writers" - a general, comprehensive guide for writers who want to become published authors, but don't know where or how to begin.
Beta Reader Resources
Authors XP - This organization matches avid readers with authors who need beta readers.
Beta Books - has a good reputation and provides beta organizational support so authors can focus on writing.
Rooted in Writing - has a comprehensive resource for authors on how to effectively and safely utilize beta readers.
The Young Writers Initiative - online community of volunteers working to help young writers publish.
Children's Literature
Dialogue
Dialogue Tags vs Action Beats by Kelly F. Barr in Hope Heart Heroes
The Editor's Blog by Beth Hill offers a lot of great advice and clarification:
Dialogue - the Speech of Fiction
and: Use and Misuse of Dialogue Tags
and: Another Take on Dialogue Tags
and: Bad Dialogue - Bad, Bad Dialogue
and: Inner Dialogue - Writing Character Thoughts
and: Punctuation in Dialogue
and: Smiling or Laughing Dialogue
and: When a Comma Isn't Enough
How to Use and Not Use Dialogue Tags in Your Fiction - by Margery Bayne (she/her) writing for The Writing Cooperative - an awesome, concise, yet nuanced description and explanation.
The Editor's Blog by Beth Hill offers a lot of great advice and clarification:
Dialogue - the Speech of Fiction
and: Use and Misuse of Dialogue Tags
and: Another Take on Dialogue Tags
and: Bad Dialogue - Bad, Bad Dialogue
and: Inner Dialogue - Writing Character Thoughts
and: Punctuation in Dialogue
and: Smiling or Laughing Dialogue
and: When a Comma Isn't Enough
How to Use and Not Use Dialogue Tags in Your Fiction - by Margery Bayne (she/her) writing for The Writing Cooperative - an awesome, concise, yet nuanced description and explanation.
General Writing and Word Craft
Autonomous Body Parts - e.g., "Her eyes darted..." "A hand reached out and grabbed..." Even: "A voice echoed..." Great explanation and consideration of the topic in: How and Why to Avoid Autonomous Body Parts in Your Writing by Sandra Gerth, and Kate Stradling's qualifying/moderating argument in: The Case of the Autonomous Body Parts.
Clarity - How clear is your writing? Do you encumber or dilute your message with jargon, purple prose, or complex literary cleverness? Don't. History Through Fiction has an awesome article: The Importance of Clarity in Fiction.
Conventions - Writing vs literary conventions/devices - Writing conventions are capitalization, grammar, punctuation, and spelling - the bread and butter of the copy editor. Literary conventions are the elements or clues that differentiate genres: arcs, cliches, devices, and tropes (e.g. a meet cute, happily ever after, second chances, etc. signal that a story is in the romance genre). And while there is some overlap (as some devices are more common in certain genres), this is different from a literary device, which is a figure of speech like alliteration, personification, simile, etc.
Consistency - critical for reader immersion in your story. You need to make sure your world and characters remain consistent and change in a logical way throughout your story to maintain your reader's suspension of disbelief. Keeping your chronology straight is important as well, especially if you utilize such devices as flashbacks or shifting perspectives. Incredible article in TCK Publishing: The Importance of Consistency: How to Keep the Details Straight When Writing Your Novel.
Dashes/hyphens - what's the difference? And when do you use which kind? Louise Harnby has the definitive answer in this article: How to Use Dashes in Fiction: UK and US Style.
Merriam-Webster has a great article: A Guide to Em Dashes, En Dashes, and Hyphens - Be dashing—and do it well.
Merriam-Webster has a great article: A Guide to Em Dashes, En Dashes, and Hyphens - Be dashing—and do it well.
Epigraphs - those little quotes sometimes found in the beginning of a chapter. Good discussion in the Writing. StackExchange.
Exposition Dumping - a common world-building pitfall that requires clever writing to avoid. You can find lots of advice and examples on the internet. Jessica Brody offers two: Exposition and Window Characters.
Filter words - are words that separate the reader from the experience of the protagonist in fiction. Writers often words like "noticed, seemed, spotted, saw, realized, felt, thought, wondered, believed, knew, decided" to establish or deepen the POV, but this can have the opposite effect. Louise Harnby has a great article on filter words.
What Writers Mean by "Flow" - is a great article in Writer's Digest with explanation and examples.
The Grammatical Expletive - a great article with clear examples and explanations for what this is and how to fix it is found in Just Publishing Advice. Another good explanation is found in The Blue Book of Grammar and Punctuation Grammar: Grasping the Grammatical Expletive.
Italics in fiction - Kristen Chavez has a fantastically balanced and sensible post: Writing Wrongs: In Defense of Italics in Fiction !!!
Killing your darlings - Where does this advice come from and what does it mean? a Masterclass article. Another great article on this topic found on Helping Writers Become Authors: Why You Should Kill Your Darlings by Adrienne Giordano
Literary terms and devices - "SuperSummary offers a library of explanations ranging from allusion to metaphor, alliteration to hyperbole, irony to symbolism. We also cover figures of speech, poetic and rhetorical devices, and literary techniques and eras. Each article provides in-depth information, including the term's definitions and uses, as well as examples from literature. Learn something new or relive high school English class with these comprehensive articles."
Numbers - deciding when to use numerical or written out numbers can be confusing. Consistency is important but reader experience is even more important. Check out this awesome article from CMOS Shop Talk from the Chicago Manual of Style: Numbers in Creative Writing.
Pacing in fiction - an excellent article explaining this concept with examples is in Writer's Digest.
Passive Voice: How to Recognize and Fix it in Creative Writing - from Ignited Ink
Passive Voice: What Is the Passive Voice and When Should You Use It - by Bryon Collins in Become a Writer Today
Passive Voice: What Is the Passive Voice and When Should You Use It - by Bryon Collins in Become a Writer Today
Passive Voice - RIT's (Rochester Institute of Technology) SEA website (Supporting English Acquisition) has helpful information on communication. But I especially liked: Stative Passive Constructions Describing Emotional States.
Perception - How does your protagonist perceive the world, and how does that affect how you tell the story from their POV? A great article How to Enhance Your Character's POV by Alicia Rasley in Writer's Digest.
Point of View (POV) - Whose perspective is your story written from? Jericho Writers has a great explanation of your options with examples in an article: Points of View in Fiction Writing by Harry Bingham.
POV and Narrative Psychic Distance - Emma Darwin has an amazing blog This Itch of Writing in which she offers a fantastic explanation with examples for the spectrum of narrative points of view, which she refers to as "psychic distance" (Psychic Distance: what it is and how to use it) in accord with John Gardiner's description in his book The Art of Fiction. This article is a gem, and indeed, I look forward to exploring her whole blog, which is a treasure trove for writers and editors alike!
ProWritingAid - a fantastic resource and software program for self-editing and learning about the craft of writing. The website is chock full of incredible articles and explanations. Check out: Getting the Most Out of Your Editor by Preparing Your Manuscript First.
Readability! - I wasn't sure where to put this, but if you want to polish your writing to make it "bold and clear," check out the free service where you can copy and paste your text on top of their example text and get an evaluation: Hemmingwayapp.com. NOTE: the desktop app for working offline is not free, but the online version is.
"Save the Cat" principle - phrase coined by Blake Snyder and explained by Steven Pressfield
Showing vs Telling - Heaps has been written on this subject!
Check out Jerry Jenkins' article - Show, Don't Tell: What You Need to Know, which is straightforward and helpful for grasping the concept.
Then pop over to Jericho Writers where Harry Bingham posts a couple articles that elaborate on the nuances: Showing, Telling, and a Truckload of Nonsense and: Showing and Telling, a Middle Route.
And Beth Hill of The Editor's Blog addresses it in: Show and Tell - Not Just a Game We Play and: Showing and Telling Particulars
Check out Jerry Jenkins' article - Show, Don't Tell: What You Need to Know, which is straightforward and helpful for grasping the concept.
Then pop over to Jericho Writers where Harry Bingham posts a couple articles that elaborate on the nuances: Showing, Telling, and a Truckload of Nonsense and: Showing and Telling, a Middle Route.
And Beth Hill of The Editor's Blog addresses it in: Show and Tell - Not Just a Game We Play and: Showing and Telling Particulars
Storm Writing School - Aspiring authors who want to deepen their stories to have greater impact on their readers should check out Tim Storm's offerings. I highly recommend: Why Your Story's Conflict May Fail to Grip Readers and: Delight: The Secondary Source of Reader Engagement.
Syntax - Merriam-Webster's dictionary defines this as "the way in which linguistic elements (such as words) are put together to form constituents (such as phrases or clauses)." Wikipedia describes it is "the set of rules, principles, and processes that govern the structure of sentences ... usually including word order."
Tenses in Fiction Writing: Present, Past, Past Perfect and Habitual Past - explained by Louise Harnby.
Trope - the term often used today "to describe themes, motifs, plot devices, plot points, and storylines that have become familiar genre conventions." This Masterclass article describes the classical understanding of the term and explains the modern, often pejorative, connotation which refers to the overuse of these devices.
Writing Basics - a general writing resource provided by a company that makes wristbands for various causes - Wristband Express.
Writing Excuses Podcast: What Do I Do With All This Blank Space?
Grammar
No AI editing tool/grammar checker program is perfect, but ProWritingAid is extremely helpful. You can learn a lot from their helpful website articles too.
Royal Order of Adjectives in English - I think this is the best explanation I've found.
Hiring an Editor
Editorial Freelancers Association - Guidebook for New Authors
Jane Friedman: The Comprehensive Guide to Finding, Hiring, and Working with an Editor
Jennifer Harshman Services: Find a Real Editor
Megan Harris: 8 Must-Haves for Freelance Editing Contracts
Jane Friedman: The Comprehensive Guide to Finding, Hiring, and Working with an Editor
Jennifer Harshman Services: Find a Real Editor
Megan Harris: 8 Must-Haves for Freelance Editing Contracts
Historical fiction
Anachronisms Kill Historical Fiction - Here's How to Stop Them by Rebecca Langley
Anachronism and Accuracy: getting it right in historical novels by KJ Charles
Language and Historical Fiction: An Exploration of Style, Idiom and Anachronism by Philip Gooden
Period Fiction - The 3 Golden Rules of Writing Period Fiction by Rebecca Langley
Racism and the Use of the N-Word in Historical Fiction by Delta B. McKenzie
6 Principles for Writing Historical Fiction by Andrew Noakes
Anachronism and Accuracy: getting it right in historical novels by KJ Charles
Language and Historical Fiction: An Exploration of Style, Idiom and Anachronism by Philip Gooden
Period Fiction - The 3 Golden Rules of Writing Period Fiction by Rebecca Langley
Racism and the Use of the N-Word in Historical Fiction by Delta B. McKenzie
6 Principles for Writing Historical Fiction by Andrew Noakes
Legal Issues
The Book Designer: What Every Writer Ought to Know About Fair Use and Copyright by Joel Friedlander
Copyright.gov has good information on Fair Use and copyrighting literary works.
The Editor's Blog by fiction editor Beth Hill has a good article on using lyrics and poetry in fiction.
Guide Through the Legal Jungle blog by Joy Butler, author and attorney: Staying Legal When Using Quotes
International Trademark Association offers a Guide to Proper Trademark Use.
Legal Information for Authors - interview of Jonathan Kirsch, hosted by Emerald Lake Books
LegalZoom has good information on how and why a writer would copyright a book.
PW LLC - a US national law firm - has copyright info, stuff on plagiarism, as well as explanations of statutes of limitations for writers, photographers, musicians, etc.
Selfpublishing.com has a "how to" article full of advice and resources for copyrighting your work.
Self-Publishing School has a step-by-step tutorial on how to copyright your book.
Stanford University Library has a resource on Fair Use.
Mark Fowler's blog Rights of Writers answers the question: "Can I Mention Brand Name Products in My Fiction?"
Copyright.gov has good information on Fair Use and copyrighting literary works.
The Editor's Blog by fiction editor Beth Hill has a good article on using lyrics and poetry in fiction.
Guide Through the Legal Jungle blog by Joy Butler, author and attorney: Staying Legal When Using Quotes
International Trademark Association offers a Guide to Proper Trademark Use.
Legal Information for Authors - interview of Jonathan Kirsch, hosted by Emerald Lake Books
LegalZoom has good information on how and why a writer would copyright a book.
PW LLC - a US national law firm - has copyright info, stuff on plagiarism, as well as explanations of statutes of limitations for writers, photographers, musicians, etc.
Selfpublishing.com has a "how to" article full of advice and resources for copyrighting your work.
Self-Publishing School has a step-by-step tutorial on how to copyright your book.
Stanford University Library has a resource on Fair Use.
Mark Fowler's blog Rights of Writers answers the question: "Can I Mention Brand Name Products in My Fiction?"
"Literary Larceny"
The publishing world is a scary, complicated beast with a long history of prioritizing making a profit over looking out for authors. Please educate yourself and others. Spread the word that this latest trend in "literary larceny" is unethical and needs to stop.
I borrowed the alliterative topic title from Kristen Lamb, who posted an enlightening (and infuriating) article ("Literary Larceny & Why People Should Be Ashamed") referring to a growing trend that hurts writers. Back in 2015 she also wrote the eye-opening (for me, anyway) article: "PAY THE WRITER: Pirates, Used Bookstores & Why Writers Need to Stand Up for What's Right."
Inkwell Editorial site editor, Yuwanda, describes it in: Ebook Theft: 12 Things You Can Do To Stop Someone from Copying and Selling Your Ebook.
Paul Combs writes about it in: "Steal This Book: Amazon and TikTok Users Team Up to Brazenly Promote Theft From Authors in Horrific New Scam."
Selfishgenie Publishing shares this "cautionary tale": "Alice in Amazonland (with apologies to Lewis Carroll)."
I borrowed the alliterative topic title from Kristen Lamb, who posted an enlightening (and infuriating) article ("Literary Larceny & Why People Should Be Ashamed") referring to a growing trend that hurts writers. Back in 2015 she also wrote the eye-opening (for me, anyway) article: "PAY THE WRITER: Pirates, Used Bookstores & Why Writers Need to Stand Up for What's Right."
Inkwell Editorial site editor, Yuwanda, describes it in: Ebook Theft: 12 Things You Can Do To Stop Someone from Copying and Selling Your Ebook.
Paul Combs writes about it in: "Steal This Book: Amazon and TikTok Users Team Up to Brazenly Promote Theft From Authors in Horrific New Scam."
Selfishgenie Publishing shares this "cautionary tale": "Alice in Amazonland (with apologies to Lewis Carroll)."
Nonfiction, Creative Nonfiction,
Memoir, Autobiography, Biography
Editor's POV: Fact vs. Artistic License in Creative Nonfiction
Memoir Writing, Ink - by Alison Wearing. This ongoing program looks like a fabulous opportunity to get coaching, support, accountability, resources, and to develop connections and community. And it seems to be priced pretty reasonably.
Memoir Writing, Ink - by Alison Wearing. This ongoing program looks like a fabulous opportunity to get coaching, support, accountability, resources, and to develop connections and community. And it seems to be priced pretty reasonably.
Self-Editing
14 Line Editing Tips provided by Reedsy
20 Editing Tips from ProWritingAid
How to do your own Line Edits by Reedsy
Passive to Active Voice shifting in your own writing by Reedsy
Writing Techniques by ProWritingAid
Your Editing Journey - How to Make Your Manuscript Shine pdf by ProWritingAid
20 Editing Tips from ProWritingAid
How to do your own Line Edits by Reedsy
Passive to Active Voice shifting in your own writing by Reedsy
Writing Techniques by ProWritingAid
Your Editing Journey - How to Make Your Manuscript Shine pdf by ProWritingAid
Sensitivity / Inclusivity / Diversity
In The NY Times article: Mirrors for my Daughter's Bookshelf, Sara Ackerman writes - "The education professor Rudine Sims Bishop uses the metaphor of windows, sliding glass doors and mirrors to illustrate why diverse literature is so important. Books can be windows into worlds previously unknown to the reader; they open like sliding glass doors to allow the reader inside. But books can also be mirrors. When books reflect back to us our own experiences, when scenes and sentences strike us as so true they are anchors mooring us to the text, it tells readers their lives and experiences are valued. When children do not see themselves in books, the message is just as clear."
The Conscious Style Guide has many informative articles and a newsletter.
Dyslexie Font is a unique type face that aids those with dyslexia, which is a neurodiversity that can make reading a challenge.
Editor's {of Color} - by The Conscious Style Guide - has a directory of professionals.
Intelligent Editing - Perfect It software: It Makes Sense to Use Sensitive Language
International Literacy Association: Multicultural Literature: Reflecting Diversity in Literature for Youth by Stan F. Steiner
Maryland Coalition for Inclusive Education: Inclusive Language Matters in Children's Literature by Hannah Grieco
Pro Writing Aid software: Inclusive Language
Pub(lishing) Crawl: About that White as Default Thing by S. Jae-Jones
Refinery 29: What Is #OwnVoices Doing To Our Books by Kat Rosenfield - this thought provoking article explains the history and legitimacy of the #ownvoices movement as well as the unintended fallout and pitfalls of limiting creativity.
Renee Harleston is a sensitivity reader, blogger of Writing Diversely, writer, and many other things. But I just love this article on Dismantling the White Default. It succinctly explains what this is, and I encourage every writer who isn't already personally aware of what that means, to read it.
Sensitivity Reader Directories -
TCK Publishing: Why Diverse Fiction Matters by Kate Sullivan
The Trans Language Primer
We Need Diverse Books: The Rise of Gender-Inclusive Pronouns and Language in Literature by Maya Sungold
ylva publishing: In the article: Avoiding Racism for Writers - Coffee, Honey and Other Color Don'ts, Alex K. Thorne recommends, when writing about a character of colour (ESPECIALLY if you're a white author), visit sites such as:
writingwithcolor.tumblr.com
weareallmixedup.tumblr.com
thisisnotafrica.tumblr.com
thisisnotlatinx.tumblr.com
The Conscious Style Guide has many informative articles and a newsletter.
Dyslexie Font is a unique type face that aids those with dyslexia, which is a neurodiversity that can make reading a challenge.
Editor's {of Color} - by The Conscious Style Guide - has a directory of professionals.
Intelligent Editing - Perfect It software: It Makes Sense to Use Sensitive Language
International Literacy Association: Multicultural Literature: Reflecting Diversity in Literature for Youth by Stan F. Steiner
Maryland Coalition for Inclusive Education: Inclusive Language Matters in Children's Literature by Hannah Grieco
Pro Writing Aid software: Inclusive Language
Pub(lishing) Crawl: About that White as Default Thing by S. Jae-Jones
Refinery 29: What Is #OwnVoices Doing To Our Books by Kat Rosenfield - this thought provoking article explains the history and legitimacy of the #ownvoices movement as well as the unintended fallout and pitfalls of limiting creativity.
Renee Harleston is a sensitivity reader, blogger of Writing Diversely, writer, and many other things. But I just love this article on Dismantling the White Default. It succinctly explains what this is, and I encourage every writer who isn't already personally aware of what that means, to read it.
Sensitivity Reader Directories -
TCK Publishing: Why Diverse Fiction Matters by Kate Sullivan
The Trans Language Primer
We Need Diverse Books: The Rise of Gender-Inclusive Pronouns and Language in Literature by Maya Sungold
ylva publishing: In the article: Avoiding Racism for Writers - Coffee, Honey and Other Color Don'ts, Alex K. Thorne recommends, when writing about a character of colour (ESPECIALLY if you're a white author), visit sites such as:
writingwithcolor.tumblr.com
weareallmixedup.tumblr.com
thisisnotafrica.tumblr.com
thisisnotlatinx.tumblr.com
Storytelling and Structure
Whether you are writing a script, developing your storytelling for tabletop or online roleplaying games, writing a novel or short story, challenging yourself to NaNoWritMo, or working on a submission to a writing competition - you need to know how to put a story together so that it engages and resonates with the human psyche and experience, as well as satisfies our human need for good story.
Kristen Lamb's article: Arc: How Characters Grow and Change Organically is fantastic!
K.M. Weiland's website/blog: Helping Writers Become Authors has too many excellent resources to link them all on: story structure, outlining, character development, scene structure, themes, storytelling, etc.
Quick and Dirty Tips - how you can Improve Your Storytelling with Playwriting Techniques.
Save the Cat - Language of Storytelling is a website with some wonderful storytelling tips and tactics.
Kristen Lamb's article: Arc: How Characters Grow and Change Organically is fantastic!
K.M. Weiland's website/blog: Helping Writers Become Authors has too many excellent resources to link them all on: story structure, outlining, character development, scene structure, themes, storytelling, etc.
Quick and Dirty Tips - how you can Improve Your Storytelling with Playwriting Techniques.
Save the Cat - Language of Storytelling is a website with some wonderful storytelling tips and tactics.
Style Guide Resources
Examples of Manuals and Style Guides for English by region:
- Australia: Style Manual: For Authors, Editors and Printers - Snooks & Co. for the Department of Finance and Administration
- Canada: The Canadian Style: A Guide to Writing and Editing - Dundurn Press
- New Zealand: Te Puni Kaituhi o Aotearoa Style Guide of the New Zealand Society of Authors (PEN NZ Inc.), and the Writing Style Guide - University of Otago
- UK: Copy-editing: The Cambridge Handbook for Editors, Authors and Publishers - Judith Butcher, and The Oxford Style Manual, the Oxford Guide to Style, and The Oxford Dictionary for Writers and Editors
- USA: The Associated Press Stylebook Basic Books, the Chicago Manual of Style, and Elements of Style - William Strunk, Jr. and E.B. White
Specific helpful resources:
Chicago Manual of Style Online - Quick Citation Guide
Perlego has put together an impressive-looking referencing and citations guide for APA and Harvard formats.
- Australia: Style Manual: For Authors, Editors and Printers - Snooks & Co. for the Department of Finance and Administration
- Canada: The Canadian Style: A Guide to Writing and Editing - Dundurn Press
- New Zealand: Te Puni Kaituhi o Aotearoa Style Guide of the New Zealand Society of Authors (PEN NZ Inc.), and the Writing Style Guide - University of Otago
- UK: Copy-editing: The Cambridge Handbook for Editors, Authors and Publishers - Judith Butcher, and The Oxford Style Manual, the Oxford Guide to Style, and The Oxford Dictionary for Writers and Editors
- USA: The Associated Press Stylebook Basic Books, the Chicago Manual of Style, and Elements of Style - William Strunk, Jr. and E.B. White
Specific helpful resources:
Chicago Manual of Style Online - Quick Citation Guide
Perlego has put together an impressive-looking referencing and citations guide for APA and Harvard formats.
Tutorials for MS Word, Styles,
& Track Changes
and Formatting
Erin Wright - YouTube: How to Use Track Changes in Microsoft Word
Jerry Jenkins - How to Format Your Manuscript (Even If You Hate Computers)
Louise Harnby - Formatting Your Book in Word Using the Styles Tool
Microsoft Office 365 Support - Track Changes in Word
Shauna Kelly - Making the Most of Word in Your Business: Track Changes
Tantro Bensko for the Writing Cooperative - When Editors Use Track Changes on Your Manuscript
Tips and Tricks HQ - 15 Most Useful Microsoft Word Shortcuts
Word Ribbon Tips - Powerful Word Tips, Tricks, and Ideas, Track Changes, Using the Style Tool in Word
Have an especially helpful
website, blog, or book to recommend?
Let me know in the Contact form,
and I'll check it out.
