Tag Archives: The Editing Pen

A Yearning For My Front Steps

Posted on by
1

This morning I have an inexplicable yearning to go outside and sit on my front steps and breathe in life.

It is the appearance of the sun in what has been a cold and bleak and cloudy Minnesota which brings to mind spring and thoughts of flowers and warm weather. However, I can’t explain my feeling that I need a front step sit. I have a perfectly good outside porch to enjoy but something in me tells me I need steps.

Though the sun is shining today my front steps and porch are crusted with ice. It is still winter and there is still snow on the ground. I like the beauty of winter as long as I don’t have to haul my old body outside. The pull is real to feel the fresh air on my face so I may dash out, raise my face to the sun and dash back inside to the warmth of my fireplace. Still, I feel the call of the front steps or the back steps for a peaceful sit.

Outdoor furniture awaits my porch sitting so why would I abandon that in place of the front steps? I think it has to do with my past and memories.

Living at my grandmothers and then when my family moved, we didn’t have fancy outdoor furniture. We would go outside and sit on the steps and talk and enjoy the evening. The front steps were better than the back steps because you could chat with those passing by or you could wave at the cars going by. Occasionally they would stop and talk.

There were interesting views. At my grandmother’s house I sat on the front steps and watched the trains go by or watched the animals. My mom or uncles would come in from the chores or the garden and we would talk for hours on the front steps. At our house my dad would sit with me as we watched the neighbor kids play or visited with those in the neighborhood, sometimes calling across the street. There were no cell phones or outdoor phones to distract us.

I do sit on my front concrete steps occasionally in this day and age for a quick moment when I am shaking out a rug or waiting for someone to pick me up, but most of the time I sit on my comfy chair on my outdoor porch or my patio. I have to say that for some reason it isn’t the same. Perhaps because of the front step memories.

I have no good explanation for yearning for my front steps unless it is perhaps missing those that used to share my experience. I also shared many front step conversations with my best girlfriends. If those steps could talk they would reveal so much about the past lives of the step sitters.

Perhaps when the ice is gone I will forgo my porch and patio for an occasional step sitting. I have a feeling it will be a good way to breathe and appreciate the simple life of the past,

“A journey to a thousand miles begins with one step.” –John F.Kennedy

Authors and Editors, We Need One Another!

Posted on by
2

love my editorsI love writing and when I write my creativity takes me along

with the story and I get lost in it, not caring about comma’s etc. I put comma’s in the wrong places, forget to use quotation marks and forget about correct sentence structure. I check my finished work and try to clean it up, but usually it is a mess. That is where my editors come in.

I want to highlight two people who work magic with my books. One is my publisher and editor plus being an author, Patricia Rockwell. When my manuscript for Cozy Cat Press cropped-ccplogonegative-e1433524649126.jpgis ready I send it in and she crosses the t’s, dots the i’s and makes me look better. She does this for all of her authors at Cozy Cat Press as she is the owner and publisher of the company.

Another person I rely on is D.A. Sarac and The Editing Pen. 1f71c0_74832be138cf469cb3612d72986d5b76I always feel it is good to have more than one set of eyes so I have her edit my independent books I publish under Hermiony Vidalia Books and the books I send to Cozy Cat Press. She has become invaluable to me. In fact, she too makes me look good. My new book The Penderghast Puzzle Protectors was  a mess when it came to comma’s and quotation marks. You would think I would learn but in my excitement and haste I miss many things and I hate editing and Annie Sarac loves editing.

Not only has The Editing Pen been invaluable to me with editing, she has also helped me with my promotions. An author needs to write, edit and promote and it is exhausting and so we ask for help. The Editing Pen offers a wide variety of services and support for authors.

I did try at one time to publish without an editor and it was a big mistake. I have learned my lesson. Every author you read, hopefully has a good editor in their back pocket. I am lucky to have two.

My new book will be featured here on Monday, so stay tuned, sign up to follow this blog  and for my newsletter where you can find the sign-up on julieseedorf.com.

For me this is thank an editor day. I just made it up. Thank you Patricia Rockwell and D. A. Sarac. You are the trick I carry in my back pocket to help my career be successful. And I would guess you would love to edit the post and all my snafu’s.

If you have an editor out there you love, leave a comment. I will choose one lucky winner to receive a surprise. And if you are a reader and don’t have an editor, make a comment anyway. I love to hear from you. And make sure you check back to see if you have won.

It’s Happy Editor’s Friday. Thank an Editor.

Edited by Patricia Rockwell and D. A. Sarac

Edited by Patricia Rockwell and D. A. Sarac

I Asked! She Answered! What Happens When Too Much Is Too Much For An Author?

Posted on by
1

11209372_998425863514645_2357865428716480350_nI will admit it, I was frazzled trying to promote my books. Don’t get me wrong, I love promotion but there didn’t seem to be enough hours and my life was in pieces. I finally gave up and knew I needed help. I acknowledged I couldn’t do it all. I was not superwoman.

In case you didn’t know, I am the author of the Fuchsia Minnesota Cozy Mystery Series involving a fictional town in Minnesota, and an over-the-top Granny and her friends. I also write a weekly column which I also have turned into a book and…..I have a children series that also tugs on the hearts of adults because it reminds them of the feelings they might have left buried for many years. And…I must clean my house occasionally and visit my grandchildren and children. You notice my grandchildren are always mentioned before my children these days. That should tell you something.

For an author there is always another book or two or three being worked on. I found I was spinning out of control trying to keep up with letting people know I was out there and continuing on in my writing. I was burning out.

My publishing company, Cozy Cat Press, does help with some of the promotion, but as with most writers these days, the bulk of promotion is up to them.

With my Something About Nothing book and my children’s books, I tried to do it all myself at first. Big mistake. As I was reaching the bottom of the mountain and feeling myself sinking into the nearby sea I knew I had to do something different. That something different came in the way of Annie Sarac and her business The Editing Pen. She brought me up the mountain and back to the top so I could continue what I love doing best–writing.

I hired Annie to edit my Pageflex Persona [document: PRS0000039_00069]Something About Nothing book. I realized that I didn’t know everything I thought I did about writing. She polished up the manuscript and gave me some suggestions, of which I ignored and that was about the book cover. She said it didn’t tell people anything about the heart and soul of the book. Well friends, I learned a valuable lesson–always listen to my editor. I just changed the cover. I also used Annie to polish my Granny Snows A Sneak before I sent it to my publisher. She took care of the this, and the that’s, and the and’s I am so famous for.

I asked if she would be interested in doing some promotion work for me. I thought she would be the perfect person with her business to know where I needed to be in the media. Annie has not disappointed me. I cannot tell you the relief I felt having to be away from my computer a few days knowing the promotion was taken care of.

Why am I writing this? I want to thank Annie for the great job she is doing for me. And I want to promote her and her business. I have never met her personally but I feel as if I know her.  She has a great background of credentials and she is starting her business from scratch, working her way back into the media world. She believed in me and I believe in her.

I also want to make the point, as authors, we are occasionally expected to take care of everything ourselves when it comes to promoting us. I find it hard to brag about me (I know I may not give that impression). I also find it hard to asking for help because I want to be superwoman.

I also know what it is like to be new and starting out and trying to build a business. I would not have had my computer business that I retired from recently, or my writing career, if others would not have taken a chance on someone new. Bruce Lorenz did that for me with computers, Tim Engstrom and The Albert Lea Tribune did that for me with my column, and Cozy Cat Press did that for me with writing.  We become so ingrained in seniority and experience that we forget we were once inexperienced in our business and the only way we could move ahead was if someone believed in giving us a chance.

I asked, she answered and it is a good connection. If you are feeling frazzled and need help, give The Editing Pen a try. She tailor makes plans to what works for you.

No man is an island and neither is a woman. By reaching out for help you may find blessings coming into your life you didn’t know were possible. Thank you Annie of The Editing Pen.11048645_996381253719106_4106219762973711992_o

The Editing Pen Facebook Page