When everyone else is complaining

cj Sez:  Remember the adage “Spring forward, Fall back?” Well, I’m now doing my civic duty and reminding you that Daylight Savings Time begins on the first Sunday in November…that’s next Sunday.

That means, if you’re in an area that celebrates DST, you need to turn your clock back one hour in the wee hours of the night between Saturday, Nov 3, and Sunday, Nov 4.

I’m not happy about losing an hour, but I plan to “fall back” my clock before going to bed next Saturday night.

As a result of DST, sunrise and sunset will be about an hour earlier on Sunday then it was on Saturday ... that gives people more daylight in the morning to get ready for church/work/school.

Why do we have DST? Allegedly to save energy. The practice was introduced in 2007 as part of the Energy Policy Act of 2005. I truly am not sure if it’s all about energy. After all, we either have to leave our lights on longer in the morning (standard time), or turn them on earlier in the evening (daylight savings time). Granted winter nights are longer than daylight hours, but doesn’t the usage equal itself out? I think there’s more to the story than that explanation. I think someone lobbied for more suntan time on the summer beaches.  What do you think?  

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This came across my Facebook page, from Grammarly and courtesy of a share from Mahala Church (Edit, Write, Teach …FB url    https://bit.ly/2OLDE7N ):

 

Grammarly says this is a fool-proof way to determine if the sentence you wrote is passive voice. Re-write your sentence this way after the verb:

“She was killed [by zombies.]” <—- Makes sense?  Yes. It's passive voice.

“Zombies killed [by zombies] her.” <—- Makes sense?  No. It's active voice.

(From Grammarly Blog)

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BSP (Blatant Self Promotion) I have a story in the soon-to-be-released Hometown Heroes, A Christmas Anthology

The anthology is about Community. Courage. Compassion.

Hometown Heroes brings you five Christmas romances that celebrate everyday heroes.
From paranormal to contemporary to historical, there's something here to fill everyone with the spirit of the season.

A portion of the proceeds will be donated to Cajun Navy Relief, an organization dedicated to helping neighbors in distress

Blurb for my story:

“Hobbes House Noel”   Merrill Cowper rents her beloved Hobbes House lakefront cabin to a stranger and becomes an unlikely hometown heroine when she saves his child from the possibility of a watery death. This would be the year she learns that the best Christmas gifts don’t always arrive wrapped in pretty paper and tied with a bow. Sometimes they don’t even fit under the Christmas tree.

The release date is December 4 . . . watch for it!

That’s it for today’s post. You-all guys keep on keeping on, and I’ll try to do the same. PS: Be sure to enter the contest below for a chance to win a gift bag of goodies.

cj

A few more Christmas gift ideas:

Choosing Carter    https://amzn.to/2CJxs8Z

Deadly Star   https://amzn.to/2O8NFGZ

The Posse, a Western anthology   https://amzn.to/2EKUA9B

Christmas through a Child’s Eyes   https://amzn.to/2JjNrMn

GIVEAWAY CHALLENGE . . .

Let me know you’ve left a new review on any of my work at Goodreads, Amazon, wherever—good, bad, or simply “I read it.”—and I’ll put your name in the raffle hat. The random name I draw on December 6 will receive a nice gift bag of goodies. I’ll post the winner’s name on my Facebook page, so be sure to stop by.

Qrtly newsletter sign-up:  cjpetterson@gmail.com

cjpetterson/author on Facebook   

Amazon Central Author Page =  https://amzn.to/2v6SrAj

Simon&Schuster Author Page = https://bit.ly/2uo1M0Z

40 Days of questions, and a good copy edit is a must

cj Sez: Daylight Savings Time is here. Did you remember to Spring Forward one hour? I did then forgot to actually do it (sigh).

☺

I wonder how many of my Lyrical Pens visitors have been, like me, the beneficiaries of author and editor Ramona De Felice Long’s 40 days of questions.  Instead of fasting for Lent, Ramona, my Sisters in Crime/Guppy mate, pledged to ask three thought-provoking questions (writing tasks) every day for 40 days.

I can’t believe how fast the time has flown. Only a few more days to go. I’ve saved them all as reminders and cues while I’m writing.

The next time you’re on Facebook, slip over to Ramona’s site and ask to friend her. You can reach her on Facebook at http://bit.ly/2FuOiqB  or at her website:  www.ramonadef.com

☺

Speaking of editors, do you ever open a book, read a few chapters (or even a few lines), and then put it down because of errata gremlins, i.e.; those typos, misspellings, and factual errors that drive a pedantic like me crazy. One or two will make me shake my head and pause. More than that and the book becomes a give-away.

It used to be that indie books were the worst. They tended to be poorly edited and poorly written. Now, I find errors in books by established authors and big publishing houses who should know better. Perhaps the problem comes down to the time it takes to do a detailed copy edit vs. getting the book on the market.

Self-published books are so often done on such a shoestring (cost-wise) that the author can't afford to hire a copy editor. Unfortunately, I have come across some who simply don’t want to go through the process.

Speaking from experience, self-edits and beta readers do not, will not, and cannot catch everything that a good copy editor will. You do not, however, need to hire a copy editor for your first draft…nor your second or third or however many drafts it takes to get your story told.  Don’t presume that because you’ve typed “The End,” your manuscript is ready to publish. It’s probably months away from publication. It needs fresh eyes. That’s when you should consider hiring a copy editor.

What does a copy editor do, you ask? Besides checking spelling and correcting grammar and punctuation, copy editors review the manuscript for proper word usage and syntax. They make sure the author has maintained a logical and consistent flow of style, and they polish the story structure. 

Personally I want my manuscript to be the best I can make it. I read the document on the computer screen, and then I print a few pages. Because the text looks different when printed, It makes it easier to find the missing comma, period, or quotation mark that was missed on numerous computer-screen read-throughs. Sometimes, I make a copy of the printed page. Copying changes the size of the font once again, and I will (too often) find something else to correct. When you’ve gotten this far, read it out loud. Your mind won’t self-correct what isn't on the page when the text is read out loud. 

It’s a personal and financial consideration for each author, but please consider hiring an editor if you can afford it. Caveat: Expect that if your manuscript is accepted by a publisher, their punctuation rules and style manual for how they want their publication to look may differ from your copy editor’s input, and there could be more changes needed. But don’t think of your copy editor dollars as being wasted. They got your story accepted.

                                       ☺ 

Got any horror or triumphant stories to share? Lyrical Pens would love to read them.

You-all guys keep on keeping on, and I’ll try to do the same.

cj

And now some verbiage from my sponsors:

PIECES ANTHOLOGY…I’m thrilled to have two stories included in this collection of short stories and poems by more than 20 authors from the Gulf Coast of Alabama, including USA TODAY best-selling authors Carolyn Haines and Craig A. Price Jr. The anthology is available at http://amzn.to/2BTiqt5

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Amazon Central Author Page

Simon&Schuster Author Page     

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