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.

The R.I.P. reading challenge

I blogged about the R.eaders I.mbibing P.eril Challenge (otherwise known as the R.I.P Challenge) at Suburban Vampire last week, but I figured I'd cross-post the news over here for visitors interested in reading books and/or short stories that involve "suitably scary, eerie, mysterious gothic fare."

From stainlesssteeldroppings.com:
Though the weather outside ain’t frightful, this type of reading makes September and October delightful. I know that as I have gathered together books for this, the fifth annual R.eaders I.mbibing P.eril Challenge, I have felt that chill up my spine and an anticipation that was hard to put on hold until now.

There are two simple goals for the R.eaders I.mbibing P.eril V Challenge:

1. Have fun reading.
2. Share that fun with others.

R.I.P. officially runs from September 1st through October 31st.

http://www.stainlesssteeldroppings.com/r-eaders-i-mbibing-p-eril-challenge-v

My manuscript and I have left the honeymoon stage

I'm almost ready to let Blackbirds head off to my next critique partner this weekend. I recently realized the book and I have reached a new stage in our life together. Even as recently as July, we were still in the honeymoon phase: I loved it unconditionally, we were inseparable, and I didn't feel a burning urge to change anything about it.

One critique partner and two months later, my viewpoint is different. We're now in the "paper anniversary" stage of our author/book marriage: I still love it dearly, I'm happy to be struggling financially with it, I'd never dream of abandoning it, but I've been living so closely with it that I'm now able to see some of the warts and pet peeves I didn't realize were there. Moreover, other people are alerting me to some of those warts and pet peeves and other faults that weren't so noticeable during the honeymoon.

But--as with every healthy bond--my relationship with my book is becoming far more rewarding because of the time I'm putting into it. I've been wrestling with some problem scenes and character weaknesses, polishing up sentences, and sealing up plot holes.  In some ways, this stage is better than the honeymoon because it's richer, more satisfying.

While my next critique partner reads Blackbirds, I'll be copy editing her novel, so I may not be posting updates much this month.  I'll be lovingly packing up my book and sending it out the virtual door for a mini-vacation.

Absence makes the heart grow fonder, even with a manuscript.    

More proof that YA books get the best covers

I've said it before, and I'll say it again--YA cover designers create gorgeous works of art.  My favorite YA cover of the month is the one for Cassandra Clare's Clockwork Angel.  Not only are the images beautiful and intriguing, but the design--and the publication of the book in general--further fuels my hope that editors will be willing to look at more manuscripts set in the past.

The setting of Clockwork Angel, the first book in The Infernal Devices series, is a supernatural, steampunk version of 1878 London.  To further get a feel for Clare's world, head over to the very cool website for the series: http://www.theinfernaldevices.com. I can't wait to pick up a copy of the book.

Keep buying supernatural historicals, editors!