Monday, January 20, 2014

Make Your E-books Their Very Best - by Book Author & Editor, LK Kelley

Not only am I the author of The White Wolf Prophecy, Mating, Book 1 of The White Wolf Prophecy Trilogy , but I actually started as a freelance editor.

(For fun, here is one of the behind the scenes photoshoot for my book with Laura Kelley, Win Noble, and Matt Mclenahan - photographer of Razorbackfoto.com)

Behind the Scenes of The White Wolf Prophecy, Mating, Book 1
 I read.  A lot.  Both books and e-books.  Occasionally, I find some editing errors in a book in the hand, but more than not, e-books are ripe with problems.

I was excited when I received my first Kindle, and iPad.  I have so many books on both, not to mention other book apps, that I cannot count them.  But, what I encountered was a bit of a surprise.

With the advent of self-publishing, many e-books have huge errors in grammar, spelling, punctuation, and usage.  In general, I have learned from many authors of these books is that they just cannot afford an editor, so, they go ahead and publish their e-books regardless.  If you read most of the reviews on these books, this is the number one thing that brings a person's e-book's reviews down in the ratings.

What's really sad is that some of these e-books are so good, they could truly be best sellers.  But, without an editor, the chances of becoming a best seller are not going to happen. 

So, let me give self-publishers a few tips.  

Read and re-read your books.  Take it one chapter at a time.  Re-read it carefully.  If you are still not sure, you can usually find a good freelance editor who can help you at a relatively minimal cost.  They usually charge a fee for every 100 pages.  Don't stop at one.  And, ask for references, of course.  For instance, I charge $75 per 100 pages.  But, I always make sure the intent, and the content, does not deviate from the author's vision of their book.  I also work directly with the author to make sure that they like the edits.  Make sure you find an editor who will work WITH you, not with a third party before it gets to you.  Freelancers, like myself, are your best shot.  I'm a bit unusual, because I not only edit books, I'm writing them.  I edit my own books.  And, if you are great in English, then you should be able to do yours as well. If you're in doubt, look the rules up online, or leave it out, and try something different.

Now, this all also depends on whether or not you are serious about making money for your book.  If you are, an editor can be your very best friend.

Some of the errors I find are incomplete sentences, duplicate sentences, paragraphs, or even whole pages.  Ending a sentence in a prepositional phrase is a no-no. Spelling, grammar, punctuation are just other problems. 

Writing a book should be your most prized possession.  It's your thoughts, your story, your words put down on paper for everyone to read.  Don't be embarrassed by errors that could actually generate you MORE money.


ISBN-13: 9781615000500



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Please, do not hesitate to contact me on any of my blogs!  I love hearing from people! 

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Thank you for reading!  LK Kelley




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