Line Edits, Cover News, & Other Updates

I just wrapped up the latest revision stage for In the Shadow of Blackbirds, a process called line edits. My editor, Maggie Lehrman at Amulet Books/Abrams, went through the entire manuscript and commented about any actions or dialogue that didn't seem quite right, cleaned up awkward words and phrases, and addressed plot issues that still needed some work. Her notes were brilliant. I'm so thankful to be working with Maggie.

It was an intense process, especially with the colorful array of tracking changes showing all our edits throughout the document. But I'm extremely glad this stage exists. When you're writing a historical novel that involves a mystery, cleaning up plot holes and anachronisms is essential.

Toward the end of these revisions, I received a lovely surprise in my inbox: A peek at my cover art.

Gorgeous. 
Unique. 
Perfect!

That's all I can say about the cover for now, but I will share it as soon as I'm able. To ensure you don't miss out, sign up for my monthly newsletter (launching this fall) at http://www.catwinters.com/p/newsletter.html. You can also subscribe to my posts in the right sidebar of this page.

Other August news:

•  I'm a contributor at WriteOnCon, an online writer's conference that starts tomorrow (August 14 & 15). I'm giving writing advice, along with other members of The Lucky 13s.
• Later this month I'm being interviewed about the setting of In the Shadow of Blackbirds. I'll post a link as soon as that feature is live.

Many more updates are yet to come. I hope everyone is enjoying the summer! Don't suffer too much Olympics withdrawal.

Their right: its time we had better spelling and gramar

The "Readings" section of my local newspaper just featured two guys who must share the same copy editing side of my brain: Jeff Deck and Benjamin Herson, authors of The Great Typo Hunt: Two Friends Changing the World, One Correction at a Time.  I know not everyone in the world bristles at the improper use of an apostrophe or the wrong spelling of a word, but for a person who majored in English, briefly taught high schoolers, worked as a copy editor and proofreader, writes for a living, and was born under the sign of Virgo (we're perfectionists!), typos grate on my nerves like nails on a chalkboard.  We all make slips now and then--no one is perfect.  But when you hang up a sign for your business or send a note home to your students, a quick check of the old apostrophes would keep people like me from wanting to whip out our red correcting pens.

If you're also a person who believes in the "Typo Eradication Advancement League," definitely check out Deck and Herson's book and their website, http://greattypohunt.com, especially their Join the Hunt page.



And, yes, the title of this post was misspelled on purpose. If you find other typos, feel free to let me know immediately.