,A couple years back I attended a small writer's conference put on by a nearby writer's group. Personally, I LOVE writer's conferences...hanging out with writers and listening to them chat about writing gives me the warm fuzzies. :-)

That said, the focus on this conference was self-publishing, which was cool. I have a publisher but I still need marketing info, editing info, and of course, how to write better knowledge.

However, I almost fell out of my chair when I heard one of the speakers say it was okay to upload and publish a book with errors in it. He said there was no need to worry about trying to get it perfect because it didn't matter and you could always upload a new version anytime. I was sitting with my editor and we both looked at each other in shock.

​Here's the thing...okay is NOT good enough.

I don't know about you, but I don't want to read a book that's riddled with typos, misspelled words, grammar issues, or plot problems. 

One of the first things I do when considering a book purchase is to read the reviews. And if editing is a problem, I'll pass.  No matter who it is. And I'll generally not buy any of that author's other books either. 

Last night I was chatting with my daughter and she told me about a book she had purchased that still had editor notes in it. And when she looked closely at the cover, there was a place that said "enter text here."  Really???  I mean, seriously? 

Years ago, I bought a short story that a member of my writer's group had published. It was only .99 and I like to support fellow writers, especially if I know them. When I read it though...it was filled with typos and grammar issues.  I emailed her and told her that she'd uploaded a rough draft by mistake...it was that bad. She replied that nope, she'd checked and it was the right version. I got a refund.

Here's the thing. Okay is NOT good enough. It's not. And you don't get a second chance to make a good first impression. We'll never get our books perfect but we should strive to get them as close as possible.

So, here's my question...how do you feel about books with editing issues? Will you buy a book you know is filled with typos and other issues? Are you okay with a book that's just okay?

One of the great things about books is all the places they take you.  I mean, think about it...if not for J. K. Rowling we'd never have gone to Hogwarts. Without books, we'd never have gone to District 12 or the Capital. We'd never have visited the Night Court, gone to Middle Earth and into Mordor. Some of us would never have visited New York, Paris, Istanbul, or even Texas. 

Books give us a way to experience a different life. They help us to escape from our daily grind and do things we'd never be able in our own lives. Aren't books amazing???

What are your favorite places to visit in books? 

Some of you know my daughter also writes. She writes for all ages of kids and is working on YA now. Her latest release, is a Mid-grade chapter book that takes the reader on an adventure to Egypt and the pyramids. 

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​ Naturally I''m biased but I really love this story. And, I bet your kids will too.

You can get a signed copy through our Square store. There is free shipping too. You can also get it at Amazon, B&N, or our publisher's website. 

She's working on the next one and I think, not gonna swear to it, but I think it's set on Easter Island. It will be awesome though.

Want to keep up with us and what's happening with our books? Then click on over to the sidebar and signup for our newsletter. Naturally, I'll not share your info and spam you with a bunch of email, just the occasional newsletter.

Be sure to say hi and let me know your favorite place to visit in books.


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Yesterday, I forgot to blog. I'm blaming the puppy. :-) He's such a little heathen. And I have the teeth marks to prove it. At the moment, he's resting quietly so I'll be quick.

I'm going to relate puppy stuff to writing and publishing stuff.

Not so long ago, I was reminded of my love for dog training and all the doggy things involved with that. And I was introduced to a dog sport that I just fell in love with and knew I wanted to compete in.  Which meant I needed an appropriate dog. I needed a dog bred to do what I wanted to do.  So, I did some breed research and decided on which breed would be best suited to my sport. Then I researched breeders. I looked at a lot of breeders, at their dogs, and the things their dogs had accomplished. Then, I picked the breeder who was producing dogs who were competing and winning in the sports I want to compete in.  Then, I put a down payment on a puppy and began the long wait. In fact, it was an 8 month wait from deposit to puppy. But he's totally worth it.  

During that wait though, and before actually, I started learning. There's been a lot of strides made in dog training since I trained "professionally" last and since I was considering a new sport, I needed to learn that too.  I started  studying in January of last  year and am still learning.

Now, I'm applying what I've learned in hopes of one day competing and winning in the show ring. There's still a lot of work to be done but I've stacked the deck in my favor. I've acquired knowledge, and still am acquiring knowledge...I  have the best puppy ever that is totally capable to do what I want, and I'm willing to put in the time to train hard to get where I wanna go.
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Obviously,  I didn't get this finished and posted yesterday as planned. I'm still blaming the puppy. :-) Today, I think I might get it finished. At least, I'm hopeful.

Now, how does this relate to writing? First, we may have an idea, or maybe we might have the whole plot in our heads. But...we must learn our craft. We must study good writing...and bad.  The bad so you know what not to do. Reading good writing is a really good way to learn how good writing reads. Someone said we have to write a million words to really learn how to write. I'm not sure about that...because if you ever stop learning, you need to quit.  There is always something you can learn about writing.  How to write more descriptive exposition, how to tighten scenes, how to show character through actions, for example.

Then we must do the writing. This is our practice or training. It's so easy to not write. Procrastination is is horrid thing that often attacks writers. Once our manuscript is finished, we must show it to the world...or at least a small part of it.

This is like a practice trial or match for dog events. As writers, we use a critique group to see what aspects (scenes, dialogue) needs to be worked on. We send our manuscripts to beta readers to get their opinions and observations. We  get them back and work some more polishing or rewriting.

While all this is happening, we are looking for places to show our work.  Whether it's a dog trial or agent, there must be research.

Then comes the day we compete. We sent our manuscript or query letters out to the places we've researched.  If we've done our homework, put in the time and effort, then we are winners. No matter what the judges say!