-
Weird Words, Part 11
Nincompoop Even though the word “nincompoop” is considered to be colloquial, it’s claimed that it has a very learned past. One account reports that it stems from non compos mentis, which is Latin for “not of right mind.” It’s claimed that it was once actually a legal term. The idea of a lawyer using that…
-
Soliciting an Editorial Review
Every now and then, Google offers up an article that is really relevant to my needs. For the most part, though, they offer bits about celebrities with whom I am not even familiar, or sports news. And of course there is the constant barrage of Covid-19 based articles. But the other night, there was an…
-
“The Alien Visitation Chronicle” is Live on Amazon
I was waiting for the two versions (eBook and print-on-demand) to link up on Amazon before making the announcement that my newest novel is live and available on Amazon. But it has been six days since I published it and five days since it went live and they are still listed separately. Amazon says it…
-
Love Your Characters
While proof reading the hard copy of my first novel (“Millie’s Adventures in Time”) just now, I had a revelation. It’s been a long while now since I finished writing it and it’s been awhile since I last worked on the sequel. So I had quite forgotten the tone of my writing and how I…
-
So Close
It’s so close I can taste it. I think that’s how the saying goes. Yesterday, I finished proof reading and editing “The Alien Visitation Chronicle.” I took my time. I rushed those aspects of my first novel (“Millie’s Adventures in Time”) and I’m paying the price for that now. It has many errors and I…
-
Weird Words, Part 10
Foofaraw This word is said to have originated in the American West where it has been spelled as “fofaraw” and “froufraw.” There are also other spellings. In writings of the Pioneer West, it was used to describe the frivolous trinkets, baubles, and gewgaws (there’s another weird word) used in trade. It is also considered to…
-
Proof Copies
I am a novice independent publisher. Maybe when I’ve published ten novels, I’ll know all the ins and outs. Maybe not. I can be stubbornly stupid sometimes. Just ask anyone who knows me really well. I did not order a proof copy of my first novel (“Millie’s Adventures in Time”). I had wanted to. But…
-
Almost Ready to Publish: “The Alien Visitation Chronicle”
It’s almost ready and it’s making me nervous. Did I catch all the errors? Probably not. According to a reader of my first novel, “Millie’s Adventures in Time,” there were a lot of errors in it. Of course, “a lot” is a very relative term. I asked her if she made note of them. No.…
-
Best Way to Proofread
I finished the first draft of “The Alien Visitation Chronicle” probably a couple of weeks ago. I did a quick and dirty edit/proofread of the whole thing. My husband also read it, pronounced it a lot of fun, and found a couple of errors. Then I wondered how I could do a better job of…
-
Weird Words, Part 8
Hunky-dory That’s a word you don’t hear very often any more. I’ll call it a word and not a phrase because it is hyphenated. I’m not picking nits. It’s just that I like to make my article titles accurate and relevant to the body of the article. Really. Well, mostly anyway. Now, where was I?…
Maddie's Mom Writes 