A Step in the Write Direction--May 27, 2013

A Step in the Write Direction

May 27, 2013

Update: Had a good week. Got a year older, but at my age, that’s a good thing! Enjoyed a free breakfast at Denny’s and IHOP and still have coupons for a free Johnny Rocket’s, free dessert at Mimi’s, and a free drink at Starbuck’s. (Then I’ll need to join Weight Watcher’s or TOPS.) Now to get busy on editing the father/grandfather anthology and get it to the publisher.

Got a new computer last weekend, so now I have to get used to Word 2007 instead of 2003. I’m sure I’ll like it when I figure out how to save, print, spell check, etc. It sure is a lot faster than my seven-year-old machine!

Received an invitation to teach three classes at the CLASS conference (formerly at Glorieta, now in Albuquerque) in November. Will respond to them within a couple of days. Waiting to see if my friend is invited too so we can share a room and other expenses that aren’t covered.

A sharp reader pointed out that I had a typo in the last blog, but I didn’t write you all to correct it. Thought you’d have fun finding it and knowing that I’m human! (You know, to have a typo is human; to catch it is divine!)

Thanks today to all our veterans and military who are keeping our country free!

Question: Do you prefer getting this blog within your email, or would you rather just have a link to click on? I know personally, if it’s in the email I read it right away; links I put off till I have more time. How about you?

Thought for Today:

Frequently the richest answers are not the speediest…

A prayer may be all the longer on its voyage

because it is bringing us a heavier freight of blessing.

Delayed answers are not only trials of faith,

but they give us an opportunity of honoring God

by our steadfast confidence in Him under apparent repulses (C. H. Spurgeon)

Laugh for Today:

A company manager is reviewing Smith’s application and notices that he has never worked in accounting before and has no qualifications in accounting. He says to Smith, “For a man with no experience, you are certainly asking for a high salary.”

“Well, Sir,” replies Smith, “the work is so much harder when you don’t know what you’re doing!”

Reader’s Question: Remind me again, what is the going rate for proofreading? For editing? For reading a manuscript to endorse? What is the difference between those functions, i.e, if proofing looks for typos, editing looks for errors, then endorsement looks for ??? Or do I have that all wrong?

Answer: My proofreading rate is $1.25/double-spaced page; line-by-line editing is $2/page. Proofreading is mainly looking for typos; editing is looking for grammar mistakes, overused words, weak words, sentence structure, maybe even changing the order of paragraphs, etc. An endorsement is written by someone who (hopefully) has read the book and recommends it to readers.

Another question: I'm getting confused with endnotes and footnotes. I'm reading that they are the same thing, but just placed in different locations. I'm told that my book's endnotes will be at the back of the book, so does that mean I don't have to also do a bibliography or footnotes? I also have to make all my chapters as one continuous flow, not 15 chapters on 15 files, but one continuous flow of chapters. I know that I use the page break feature to go from the end of one chapter to the start of the next but how does that affect endnotes, when they automatically go at the end of each chapter and mine are supposed to be at the back of the book? I guess I don't get how I'll separate out the endnotes by chapter.

Answer: Although the format of endnotes and footnotes are the same, footnotes go at the bottom of each page; endnotes go at the end of the book. (A few publishers put them at the end of each chapter, but this is rare.) When you go to “Reference” on the toolbar, it will ask you whether you want footnotes or endnotes. A section break (not a page break) is necessary so that your endnotes will begin at #1 again in your new chapters; otherwise, they will number consecutively from the beginning of the book to the end. (The only time I’ve done this is when I had only 8 or 10 for the entire book, and then it wasn’t worth it to divide them into chapters.). You include a bibliography when you want to send the reader to other recommended books on the same subject Hope this helps!

Have a good week spreading the gospel

through the printed page.

Donna Clark Goodrich

dgood648@aol.com

www.thewritersfriend.net

http://donna-goodrich.blogspot.com

A Step in the Write Direction--May 20, 2013

A Step in the Write Direction

May 20, 2013

 

Update:

Finally got all the acceptance emails out for the father/grandfather anthology. Now comes the harder part—editing! This is going to be a really good book, and I’m excited about its release….We were praying constantly yesterday for our daughter and family who live in Cushing, Oklahoma. They were about 20-30 miles from Carney which sustained a lot of tornado damage, and not that far from Shawnee. More storms are expected today…For anyone acquainted with Cecil Murphey (author of such books as 90 Minutes in Heaven and Gifted Hands, his wife passed away last weekend from a massive stroke. You can send a card to: 4297 Tucker North Court.

 

Scholarships:

Instead of sending flowers to Reg Forder when his wife Eleanore died and to Cecil, I’m going to accept donations which will be used for scholarships for the November Arizona Christian Writers Conference that Reg leads. You can make out the check to ACW or pay through PayPal.

 

Thought for the Day:

"Don't just tell people to aim high, but steady the ladder while they do so."

—Debra J. Dickerson, An American Story

 

Note from Donna: We need to encourage other writers along the way as those in the past have encouraged us!

 

Laugh for the Day:

One morning a grandmother was surprised to find that her 7-year-old grandson had made her coffee. Smiling, she choked down the worst cup of her life. When she finished, she found three little green Army men at the bottom. Puzzled, she asked, “Honey, what are these Army men doing in my coffee?” Her grandson answered, “Like it says on TV, Grandma. ‘The best part of waking up is soldiers in your cup.’” (For those who aren’t familiar with this ad, it says, ‘The best part of waking up is Folgers in your cup.’)

 

Prayer Request:

I don’t very often ask for prayer for myself, but if you get a spare moment, you can send up a prayer for my COPD which is getting progressively worse. This last month or so has been especially bad. Thanks!!

 

Reader’s Question: Do I have to get written permission for every source I quote in my book, even if I give the credit in the body of the text

 

Answer: The rule on that is "fair use." In other words, how much of their information are you using and how long is the manuscript you're writing. For example, if you were writing a 300-word article and quoted 200 words from someone else, that wouldn't be considered fair use. Or if you used 1000 words of their 2000 word article that wouldn't be considered fair use.

 

One editor said at a conference you can use 100 words from a 100-page book, 200 words from a 200-page book, etc., and that sounded pretty good. When I had wrote two books for John Wiley & Sons, they told me I could use up to 300 words without permission as long as I gave the proper credit line, but usually I hear 100 words as fair use.

 

Also, even if you’re not quoting someone verbatim, but the “idea” belongs to them, you should give them credit. For example, if you said “Big Brother is watching you,” that isn’t 100 words, but the quote comes from Orwell’s 1984.

 

However, the 100-word limit does NOT apply to music. In music, you can't quote more than one line without permission, and sometimes this is difficult to obtain especially on contemporary gospel music or secular music. But you can paraphrase the words or just give the title.

 

Have a good week spreading the gospel

through the printed page!

 

Donna Clark 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

May 13, 2013

 

Update:

Last Friday was one of those "being thankful" days. Woke up in a paid-for mobile home, got into a paid-for car, drove to doctor's office for a physical and prescriptions (thankful for a good doctor and good insurance), went to bank (thankful to deposit checks that come from working at home). Teller called me by name, which was nice. Stopped at restaurant on way home (hostess said "Hi, Donna"). Picked up gift card (that our daughter from Oklahoma had ordered over the telephone). Just one of those days where everything seemed to click, which hasn't always been that way the last few weeks….Finally got through the stack of father/grandfather anthology submissions, reducing it from 83,000 words to just under 67,000 that the publisher wanted. Now to send out the acceptance/ rejection (hate those!) emails, then on to the editing.

 

Thought for Today:

MOTHER TO SON

 

by Langston Hughes, 1902-1967

 

“Well son, I’ll tell you:

Life for me ain’t been no crystal stair.

It’s had tacks in it,

And splinters,

And boards torn up,

And places with no carpet on the floor—

Bare.

But all the time

I’se been a-climbin’

            ***************************

So boy, don’t you turn back.

Don’t you sit down on the steps.

**************************

Don’t you fall now—

For I’se still goin’, honey,

I’se still climbin’,

And life for me ain’t been no crystal stair.”

 

Laugh for Today (maybe even Thought for Today!): (Sorry this didn't transfer, but click on the link and you can find it.)

·                                

 

Writer’s Question:

 

I've been reading your book about how to do the credit lines for the three Bibles I'm using for my book. Who does the actual writing of the credit lines for the various Bible versions?

 

Answer: If you would like a list of credit lines for the various versions of the Bible, also the number of verses you can use without permission, email me at: dgood648@aol.com (The list is too long to give here, but it’s a helpful list to print out and keep on hand.)

 

Have a good week spreading the

gospel through the printed page.

 

Donna Clark Goodrich

www.thewritersfriend.net

http://donna-goodrich.blogspot.com

* A Step in the Write Direction--the Complete How-to Book for Christian Writers

* The Freedom of Letting Go

 

 

A Step in the Write Direction--May 7, 2013

A Step in the Write Direction

May 6, 2013

 

Update:

It’s been a pretty good week, mostly just working on two proofreading jobs and starting to make the selection for the father/grandfather anthology. I’m about halfway through the pile….Haven't heard back yet from the editor who liked two of the three gift books. If they accept it, it’ll have to be doubled in length from 46 to 92 pages. One is for mothers; the other for friends. Another publisher is considering six devotional books I submitted….My husband is doing better, except now he has a staph infection (MRSA) in both knees, but it looks like it’s responding to antibiotics….Lesson learned while my daughter and family were here, something I should have learned years ago: I don’t have to be right all the time. She pointed out that I was sometimes too critical in pointing out other people’s mistakes. (Do you think that comes from being an editor and proofreader??!!)

 

Thought for Today:

“You can’t take care of others unless you are in a position of being healed yourself, inside and out” (Brian Brown, Rescued [Eugene, OR: Harvest House Publishers, 2013]).

 

Laugh for Today

 

“Few people have come to know the “true” story of the origin of Sinko de Mayo. It is my pleasure to set the record straight. A little known fact is that back in 1912, Hellmann’s mayonnaise was manufactured in England. In fact, the Titanic was carrying 12,000 jars of the condiment scheduled for delivery in Vera Cruz, Mexico, which was to be the next port of call for the great ship after its stop in New York. This would have been the largest single shipment of mayonnaise ever delivered to Mexico but as we know, the great ship did not make it to New York.

 

“The ship hit an iceberg and sank and the cargo was forever lost. The people of Mexico, who were crazy about mayonnaise and were eagerly awaiting its delivery, were disconsolate at the loss. Their anguish was so great, that they declared a National Day of Mourning which they still observe to this day. The National Day of Mourning occurs each year on May 5th and is known, of course as Sinko de Mayo.” (http://nj1015.com/the-true-story-of-sinko-de-mayo-according-to-big-joe-henry)

Computer Hint:

When you’re sending the same email to many people, put your own email address in the Send To: box, then in the Copy To: box, put all the rest of the names with an opening parenthesis at the beginning and a closing parenthesis at the end. That way the recipient can't see all the other names and the recipient won't get on a bunch of other lists.

Writer’s Hints:

For those of you interested in writing devotionals, below is a sample of a typical one. (You can read more on writing devotionals and fillers in my Step in the Write Direction book. It includes a complete chapter on the subject.)

Monday, February 11

Read Matthew 18:21-35

Text for today: “Lord, how many times shall I forgive my brother when he sins against me? Up to seven times” (Matthew 18:21 niv). Use the version the editor requires.

Song (if requested, either title or one verse)

(Body of devotional—usually between 175 and 250 words)

Our daughter had been hurt by the words of her best friend.

“Maybe she didn’t mean it like it sounded,” I tried to soothe her.

 
“How else could she mean it?”

“Well, maybe she just had a bad day.” I reminded her of what a rough home life her friend had. Her parents were divorced and she had left her mother’s house 2500 miles away to live with her aunt in our town. Then her aunt kicked her out, and she was now living with her grandmother, who was very strict.

My daughter listened for a few minutes, and then interrupted, “Mom, I don’t want to understand her. I just want to be mad at her.”

How often do we have the chance to forgive someone but we don’t. We would rather carry a grudge and tell everyone how we have been mistreated. Aren’t we glad Christ doesn’t treat us this way? (151 words, but for this devotional the thought and prayer counted too.)

—Donna Clark Goodrich

Thought for today: (if requested)

Prayer: (if requested)

                                                                      ***

                                                Have a great week spreading the gospel

through the printed page.

 

Donna Goodrich

dgood648@aol.com
www.thewritersfriend.net