A Step in the Write Direction--February 25, 2013

A Step in the Write Direction

February 25, 2013

Update:

This has been a busy week: 4 books to proofread and 1 to edit. Also I heard from the publishing house on the Rhyme Time Bible for Little Ones, and they said to hold up on writing the 9 new ones until March 13 when they’ll decide whether to use the original one with 12 stories or a new one with 6 stories in each book….I’ve been invited back for the 4^th time to teach at the Inspirational Writers Alive conference in Amarillo April 12-13. It’s a great group and I’m looking forward to it….We’ve been sorting out videos this last week. Have 2 shelves done so far. (Many of them are of my songwriting nephew in concerts so, of course, we have to keep these!) … Asking prayer for our daughter Patty who is having a problem with her sugar level and a high liver count. She is using an insulin pump. … If you would like a one- or two-day workshop in your area, email me for details at: dgood648@aol.com. You might also enjoy the following interview at:

http://theoldstonewall.blogspot.com/2013/02/author-interview-with-donna-clark.html

Thought for Today:

"It must be borne in mind that the tragedy of life doesn't lie in not reaching your goal. The tragedy lies in having no goal to reach. It isn't a calamity to die with dreams unfulfilled, but it is a calamity not to dream. It is not a disaster to be unable to capture your ideal, but it is a disaster to have no ideal to capture. It is not a disgrace not to reach the stars, but it is a disgrace to have no stars to reach for. Not failure, but low aim is a sin." ~ Benjamin E. Mayes ~ (Taken from Hope Clark, www.FundsforWriters.com

—a great weekly newsletter)

Laugh for Today:

A pastor was invited to attend a house party. Naturally, he was properly dressed and wearing his clergy collar. A little boy kept staring at him the entire evening. Finally, the pastor asked the little boy what he was staring at. The little boy pointed to the pastor's neck. When the pastor finally realized what the boy was pointing at, he asked the boy, "Do you know why I am wearing that?" The boy nodded his head yes, and replied, "It kills fleas and ticks for up to three months

Prayer Request:

The following comes from blog reader Suzie: “I have a prayer request for a dear writer friend of mine and his wife: Tom and Renee Treece. Tom, whose books are helping to fund new schools in Vietnam, is recovering from painful back surgery with more to come. His sister died last week, and his wife, Renee, administered to her during her last weeks in Hospice. Renee has recovered from brain surgery that left her temporarily partially paralyzed. Renee's brother died unexpectedly yesterday morning, and Renee had a heart attack. 50% of her heart was damaged. She has been Tom's angel. They have been through so much together. They need our prayers and relief from stress and worry. Thank you!”
Great Source for Record Keeping:

http://emilyakin.com/do-you-need-to-take-inventory

Correction:

This is what the sentence should have said last week in 15 Hints on Using Scripture where I talk about using small caps for Lord:

Especially be careful of the word “Lord” as the Old Testament often spells it with an initial cap and small caps, i.e., “Lord” which means “Jehovah,” while “Lord” is “Adonai,” which can refer to either God or a human leader

Using Scripture in Your Writing, Part 2:

Permission to Use Scripture

Publishers of modern Bible translations allow you to use a specific number of verses without charge as long as you attribute the quote to them and give a credit line on the copyright page. Following are the number of verses permitted by publishers of the more widely-used translations, followed by credit lines for those and other translations.

The text of the Amplified® Bible (amp) may be quoted in any form (written, visual, electronic or audio) up to and inclusive of five hundred (500) verses without express written permission of the publisher, providing the verses do not amount to a complete book of the Bible nor do the verses quoted account for more than 25% of the total work in which they are quoted.

Contemporary English Version (cev). The cev text may be quoted in any form (written,

visual, electronic or audio) up to & inclusive of five hundred (500) verses without

written permission, provided the verses quoted do not amount to fifty percent (50%) of

a complete book of the Bible nor do the verses account for twenty-five percent (25%) or

more of the total text of the work in which they are quoted.

New American Standard Bible® may be quoted and/or reprinted up to and inclusive of five hundred (500) verses without express written permission of The Lockman Foundation, providing the verses do not amount to a complete book of the Bible nor do the verses quoted account for more than 25% of the total work in which they are quoted.

New Century Version® (ncv®) may be quoted or reprinted without prior written permission with the following qualifications: Up to and including 1,000 verses may be quoted in printed form as long as the verses quoted amount to less than 50% of a complete book of the Bible and make up less than 50% of the total work in which they are quoted.

The New International Version (niv) text may be quoted in any form (written, visual,

electronic or audio), up to and inclusive of five hundred (500) verses without express

written permission of the publisher, providing the verses do not amount to a complete

book of the Bible nor do the verses quoted account for twenty-five percent (25%) or more

of the total text of the work in which they are quoted.

New King James Version® (nkjv®) may be quoted or reprinted without prior written

permission with the following qualifications: Up to and including 1,000 verses may

be quoted in printed form as long as the verses quoted amount to less than 50% of a

complete book of the Bible and make up less than 50% of the total work in which they

are quoted.

Holy Bible, New Living Translation (nlt), may be quoted in any form (written, visual, electronic, or audio) up to and inclusive of two hundred and fifty (250) verses without express written permission of the publisher, provided that the verses quoted do not account for more than 20 percent of the work in which they are quoted, and provided that a complete book of the Bible is not quoted.

The Message (MSG) text may be quoted in any form (written, visual, electronic, or audio), up to and inclusive of five hundred (500) verses, without express written permission of the publisher, NavPress Publishing Group, providing the verses quoted do not amount to a complete book of the Bible and do not account for 25% or more of the total text of the work in which they are quoted.

English Standard Version (esv) may be quoted (in written, visual, or electronic form) up to and inclusive of one thousand (1,000) verses without express written permission of

the publisher, providing that the verses quoted do not amount to a complete book of

the Bible nor do the verses quoted account for 50 percent or more of the total text of the

work in which they are quoted.

(Next week I’ll give credit lines to use for the various versions.)

Have a great week spreading the gospel

through the printed page.

Donna Goodrich

dgood648@aol.com

www.thewritersfriend.net

http://donna-goodrich.blogspot.com

"A Step in the Write Direction--the Complete How-to Guide for Christian Writers"

A Step in the Write Direction--February 18, 2013

A Step in the Write Direction

February 18, 2013

Update:

I had a book accepted by Harvest House a few months ago titled Rhyme Time Bible Stories for Little Ones that contained 12 stories—6 from the Old Testament and 6 from the New—all in poetry. They’ve decided now that they would like stories of different characters and will bring them out in 2 books. So I have 9 books to write—12 verses each—by March 13!

Requesting prayer today for writer friend Judy Robertson who will have a hip replacement this morning. Three of her writer friends will be there for support. Pray also for her husband Jim who has Alzheimer’s and will be in an assisted living place for the 3 weeks Judy is in Rehab.

Send any prayer requests you have and we’ll include them in the next blog. We need to pray for each other.

Thought for Today:

“Don't use words too big for the subject. Don't say 'infinitely' when you mean 'very'; otherwise you'll have no word left when you want to talk about something really infinite.” (C. S. Lewis)

Laugh for Today:

Instead of John, I call my bathroom Jim. It sounds better when I say I went to the Jim first thing in the morning. (someecards)

Writer’s Hints:

I may have included these in a blog at the beginning, but because new people have joined since then, and because I still see mistakes in manuscripts I edit, I’m including them again.

15 Hints on Using Scripture

1. Give the version of the Bible you are using. If you quote Scripture in an article or book, the version is shown in parentheses after the reference, i.e., “In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth” (Genesis 1:1 kjv). Note that no punctuation is used between the reference and the version, which is abbreviated and typed in small caps.

If you’re writing a book and using only one version of the Bible, the following statement may be shown on the copyright page: “Unless otherwise indicated, all Scripture quotations in this book are taken from the…,” then give version and credit line, i.e., “New King James Version, Copyright © 1997 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.” If you are using more than one version, double space and continue to list the others, i.e., “Verses marked kjv are taken from the New International Version,” then include the credit line, and on down the list. Each publisher allows a certain number of verses to be quoted before permission is required (see pages 273ff); however, a credit line still is needed.

2. Place the reference after the Scripture verse. Sometimes you see the reference before the quotation, as in, “We see in Genesis 1:1 that ‘in the beginning God created the heaven and the earth,’” but this may break the train of thought for your reader. It’s more common to say, “We read that ‘in the beginning God created the heaven and the earth’” (Genesis 1:1). Some authors put the reference in a footnote or endnote, directing the reader to the bottom of the page or the end of the chapter or book. However, this creates a lot of switching back and forth for the readers and some may not do it.

3. Spell out the name of the book of the Bible in your reference to avoid confusion. Phil.

could stand for Philippians or Philemon. The publisher will abbreviate these books according to their style guide.

4. Spell out numbers at the beginning of a sentence. If you’re saying, “1 Thessalonians

1:1 says…,” spell the number 1, i.e., “First Thessalonians 1:1 says…”

5. Be consistent in using numbers or Roman numerals. Don’t use a Roman numeral in one place (i.e., II Timothy) and a number in another (i.e., 2 Timothy). Numbers seem to be more commonly used now than Roman numerals.

6. If your citation includes two consecutive verses, be consistent in the use of punctuation. Don’t use a comma one time and a hyphen the next; i.e., John 3:16-17 or John 3:16,17. Either is correct, but be consistent. Use a hyphen when citing three or more consecutive verses, i.e., John 3:16-18. If you’re quoting from the same book but different chapters, use a semicolon, i.e., John 3:16; 4:15. If you’re referring the reader to a passage consisting of two consecutive chapters, use an en dash, i.e., John 3–4. (Note: In Word, an en dash is made by clicking on Ctrl, and then the minus key on the number pad.)

7. Type Scripture quotations in the same typeface as the rest of your manuscript. Typing passages in bold is like shouting at your reader, and placing them in italics takes away from the smoothness of your writing and breaks the reader’s train of thought. Some publishers place Scripture quotations in a smaller font, but let that be their decision.

8. To stress certain words in the Scripture passage, place them in italics, then show this

fact after the reference; i.e., “In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth”

(Genesis 1:1 kjv, emphasis added). If you do this consistently throughout the

manuscript, place a note to this effect on the copyright page as follows: Italics in

Scriptures have been added by the author.

9. If you insert commentary within the Scripture, enclose it in brackets, i.e., “For God so

loved the world [and this means you], that he gave his only begotten Son…” (John 3:16 kjv).

10. Place closing punctuation after the ending parenthesis, i.e., rather than “In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth.” (Genesis 1:1), type “In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth” (Genesis 1:1). (Note: Some publishers place the closing punctuation before the reference in a lengthy, indented quotation. Use their style guide and be consistent.)

11. Place passages four lines or less in quotation marks within the paragraph, but if the quotation is over four lines, begin a new paragraph and indent on one or both sides. In this format, you will not need opening or closing quotation marks. Double space these quotations to allow the editor room for necessary corrections—for example, if they want to use a different version.

12. Citing long quotations. Citing a long passage of Scripture may be done in several ways. 1) As one long indented paragraph, leaving out individual verse numbers; 2) as a long indented paragraph, including verse number in parentheses before the verse; or, 3) instead of using paragraph format, type each verse separately, with or without the verse number before it. Again, be consistent.

13. Copy Scripture exactly, word for word, comma for comma, period for period. Be

especially careful in the use of capitalization as some versions do not capitalize pronouns for God or Christ as “he,” “him,” “his,” “himself,” “me,” “my,” etc., while other versions do. Go according to the version you are using, even if it isn’t your personal preference. Especially be careful of the word “Lord” as the Old Testament often spells it with an initial cap and small caps, i.e., “Lord” which means “Jehovah,” while “Lord” is “Adonai,” which can refer to either God or a human leader. Always use it as it is found in the Scriptures.

14. Do not overuse Scripture. In writing for the religious market, you may think that the more Scripture you use, the better; however, this can turn off and distract your reader; it also lets the Bible do your writing for you and doesn’t show the editor much of your own writing style.

15. Most importantly, follow the style guide of the publisher to whom you are submitting your manuscript. Do your homework. Send for authors’ guidelines and/or check books that this particular company has published.

Have a great week spreading the gospel

through the printed page!!

Donna Clark Goodrich

www.thewritersfriend.net
"A Step in the Write Direction--the Complete How-to Guide for Christian Writers"

A Step in the Write Direction--February 10, 2013

A Step in the Write Direction

 

February 10, 2013

Update:

A little late today! Spent a nice day after church yesterday morning with my youngest daughter—at a pizza place and the Dollar Tree. Then on Sunday evenings I play the piano for the evening service at our mobile home park. … Found out that the publisher of Rhyme-Time Bible Stories for Little Ones wants a couple more stories, so I’ve finished one on Samuel and am now working on one about women in the Bible to take to my critique group tomorrow. … My husband had an appointment this morning and found out that his defibrillator needs to be replaced again. They're supposed to last 6-7 years. His first one lasted only 2-1/2 years, and this one won't be 2 years old till May, but the "electrician" says it's using up a lot of energy. He'll have to go off the Coumadin for a week or so first. This will be his fifth heart surgery, so appreciate your prayers. … Valentine’s Day is a special day for us as it was 53 years ago February 14 that we were engaged! … I’m sure some of you are busy working on (or worrying about) your taxes. If you want a list of tax deductions for writers, email me at: dgood648@aol.com

Thought for the Day:

 

“Endurance is not just the ability to bear a hard thing, but to turn it into glory.”

—William Barclay

Laugh for the Day:

 

"What happened to you?" asked the bystander of the man lying on the sidewalk outside of the beauty parlor. The man shook his head groggily and rubbed his bruised chin. "Well, the last thing I remember was my wife coming out of the beauty salon. I took one look at her and said, 'Well, honey ... at least you tried.'"

Brainteaser: What word begins with 'h', ends with 'n', contains six letters, and contains eight words besides itself without transposing a single letter? (Answer at end.)

 

Writers’ Tips (could also be Thought for the Day):

Writer Charles Swindoll once found himself with too many commitments in too few
days. He got nervous and tense about it. He was snapping at his wife and children,
choking down his food at mealtimes, and feeling irritated every time there was an
unexpected interruption in his day. He recalls in his book "Stress Fractures" that
before long, things around their home started reflecting the pattern of his hurry-up
life style. He said the situation was becoming unbearable. Then it happened.

After supper one evening his younger daughter, Colleen wanted to tell him something
important that had happened to her at school that day. She began hurriedly, "Daddy,
I wanna tell you somethin' and I'll tell you really fast."

Suddenly realizing her frustration, Swindoll answered, "Honey, you can tell me—
and you don't have to tell me really fast. Say it slowly." He has never forgotten
her answer: "Then listen slowly."

* * *

Sally Stuart says our families are called to love us, not necessarily to support our writing. Don’t let your time at the computer come ahead of those you love.

Proofreading Test Answers

A Thankful Hart—or a Heart if Praise

bye

Donna Clark Goodrich

“Develop an attitude of praise,’ our pastor told us in his Sunday message. “It will change your life.”

I tried it. If it rained, I tried to be thankful it didn’t flood. If it was to hot, I gave Thanks for our air conditioner. For the ornery boy in my Sunday school class, I thanked god that his parents cared enough to bring him. It seemed to work—for awhile!

Then in the next few years, I found it harder to be thankful? My mother died of cancer. My husband had a serious car accident that put him out of work for three months. Then, a few years later he had a heart attack which—along with a number of other health problems—led to his retirement At the age of 48. Having three teenagers for seven years increased the stress.

“How can I be thankful?” I otfen asked. Then one day while I was listening to the the words of a song a friend was singing at church, the answer came to me: Being thankful is for things God gives to us; but a heart of praise is giving thanks for who He is.

Have we lost our sense of awe when we are in God’s presence? I remember when our family first moved to Arizona. All baseball fans, we were thrilled to learn that several major league teams held their spring training our in area.

My son grabbed his baseball autograph book and we took off for a batting practice where young players where more than happy to sign their names. Suddenly a tall, imposing figure walked toward us. I stopped, frozen in my tracks. Joe DiMaggio! I couldn’t speak, but our son—who knew no fear—ran up to him. “Hey, Joe!” he yelled. “Can I have your autograph.”

I thought later, if I felt that much awe for a man who merely played baseball, how much more awe should I feel when I come before God.

I can still have an “attitude of gratitude,” but now I realize that God deserves my highest praise—not because of what He gives me, but because of who he is.

* * *

Answer to brainteaser: Herein (He, Her, Here, Ere, Re, Rein, I, In)

Donna Clark Goodrich

www.thewritersfriend.net
"A Step in the Write Direction--the Complete How-to Guide for Christian Writers"

A Step in the Write Direction--February 4, 2013

“A Step in the Write Direction”

February 4, 2013

Update:

Not much to report. Edited two books and enjoyed the warm weather (70 in Arizona is warm). Have a couple speaking engagements coming up on “The Freedom of Letting Go” and also was invited to teach at the Amarillo conference in April. This is the fourth time I’ve been there and I also enjoy reuniting with old friends.

Thought for the Day:

Pardon for sin and a peace that endureth,

Thine own dear presence to cheer and to guide;

Strength for today and bright hope for tomorrow,

Blessings all mine, with ten thousand beside!

— “Great Is Thy Faithfulness” (verse 3), Thomas O. Chisholm, 1923.

 

Laugh for the Day:

A second grader came home from school and said to her grandmother, "Grandma, guess what? We learned how to make babies today."

The grandmother, more than a little surprised, tried to keep her cool. "That's interesting." she said... "How do you make babies?"

"It's simple," replied the girl. "You just change 'y' to 'i' and add 'es'."

Writers’ Tips

If you’re looking to make extra money, perhaps the section below will help. It’s a little long, but worth it if you’re looking to be a proofreader. A test follows for those who want to take it. (This is taken from the chapter “Extra Income for Writers” in my Step in the Write Direction book.)

Proofreading

Whenever I tell someone I’m a proofreader, I get one of two reactions: They think I look for mistakes in everything they send me, or they look for mistakes in everything I send them. Perhaps proofreading as a full-or part-time job interests you, and you wonder what qualifications are required. Good spelling is important, of course, but it takes more than that. It takes….

The Ability to Read Slowly: If you are a fast reader, you’ll have to unlearn this skill. In proofreading, you must read one letter at a time, and realize that each one is a potential mistake. Using a ruler works for many proofreaders.

Knowledge of Events, Past and Present: For 18 years I typed papers for university students. From this, I absorbed a myriad of information that has proven useful in proofreading. Because you will be working with materials covering a variety of subjects, it helps to be widely read. Also you should keep up with current events. Sometimes from the time a book is edited to when it is finally published, facts have changed. Or a book is reprinted from a previous edition and the author has failed to update information such as people who have died or the names of leaders and countries that have changed. Editors will appreciate you bringing these facts to their attention.

A Good Library: A wise investment for a proofreader is a good selection of reference material. My library includes such books as atlases, travel guides, poetry and quotation collections, a world almanac, and a one-volume encyclopedia, The Chicago Manual of Style, and the latest dictionary (at present Webster’s Collegiate 11^th Edition), along with dictionaries from various professions. If you are working with religious materials, you also may want to purchase a hymnbook and different translations of the Bible. Of course, most of this information is also available on the Internet. Just be sure the Web site is up to date.

A Good Memory: The ability to remember details is important. For example, if you see a hyphenated word, do you recall that you saw that same word spelled earlier as one or two words? Or is the name of an author spelled one way in the book and another way in the endnotes or bibliography? What about capitalization? Was a word capitalized in one chapter, but lower case 10 chapters later? Because rules for such things as commas and capitalization may vary among publishers, it’s your job to know each publisher’s style and proofread accordingly, but consistency is critical.

Common Sense: As a proofreader, you will not do any editing (correct grammar or change sentences around); however, if you see an obvious error, let the editor know. For example, I read a novel that took place over the course of a month. Three different times during that month the author—in describing a romantic setting— wrote that there was “a full moon” (three full moons in a month?). In another book, a 12-year-old had broken her arm in a fall. The author wrote, “The next day as Judy braided her hair…” Braiding her hair with a cast on her arm? The next day? Does the color of a character’s hair or eyes change during the book? Did she age two years in the space of a year? Catching these mistakes will get you a gold star from publishers.

Know the Proofreading Symbols: You can find a list of proofreading symbols in every dictionary, or publishers may send you specific symbols their house uses. Use these symbols to make your corrections in the margin of the manuscript.

Where to Find Work:

· Contact local writers clubs

· Go to local print shops

· Write to the Production Manager (not the editor) of publishers listed in the Writers Market or the Christian Writers Market Guide

These hints will also pretty much apply to copy editing.

Proofreading Test

There are 17 errors in the following piece (actually 19, but the 18^th rule I just learned recently and the 19^th one spell check caught [please don’t do use spell check in your test!]). If you want to send back your results, use the tracking tools (will show corrections in red), then send it back as an attachment. Have fun!

Thankful Hart—or a Heart if Praise

bye

Donna Clark Goodrich

“Develop an attitude of praise,’ our pastor told us in his Sunday message. “It will change your life”

I tried it. If it rained, I tried to be thankful it didn’t flood. If it was to hot, I gave Thanks for our air conditioner. For the ornery boy in my Sunday school class, I thanked god that his parents cared enough to bring him. It seemed to work—for awhile!

Then in the next few years, I found it harder to be thankful? My mother died of cancer. My husband had a serious car accident that put him out of work for three months. Then, a few years later he had a heart attack which—along with a number of other health problems—led to his retirement At the age of 48. Having three teenagers for seven years increased the stress.

“How can I be thankful?” I otfen asked. Then one day while I was listening to the the words of a song a friend was singing at church, the answer came to me: Being thankful is for things God gives to us; but a heart of praise is giving thanks for who He is.

Have we lost our sense of awe when we are in God’s presence? I remember when our family first moved to Arizona. All baseball fans, we were thrilled to learn that several major league teams held their spring training our in area.

My son grabbed his baseball autograph book and we took off for a batting practice where young players where more than happy to sign their names. Suddenly a tall, imposing figure walked toward us. I stopped, frozen in my tracks. Joe DiMaggio! I couldn’t speak, but our son—who knew no fear—ran up to him. “Hey, Joe!” he yelled. “Can I have your autograph.”

I thought later, if I felt that much awe for a man who merely played baseball, how much more awe should I feel when I come before God

I can still have an “attitude of gratitude,” but now I realize that God deserves my highest praise—not because of what He gives me, but because of who he is.

Have a good week spreading the gospel through the printed page.

Donna Clark Goodrich

www.thewritersfriend.net
"A Step in the Write Direction--the Complete How-to Guide for Christian Writers"