Is Proofreading School Required?

So, as promised, I'm coming to report on the work I've done since I enrolled in school. Yes my confidence is up a bit. No, not as high as I had hoped, BUT...

I have taken on several projects as a result of that little confidence and have actually begun proofreading and editing. Thus far, my projects have included:

• Proofreading business literature for my place of work
• Proofreading and editing a collage paper for a family member
• Proofreading and editing of a query letter and the first ten pages of a novel
• Landed an internship at a publishing house working on ebooks and proofread my first book

So not a ton of work, but not 0 work either. It is still a resume booster though not yet an income booster. That's okay! I'm farther now than I was four months ago! I want to encourage all of you that you can do it if you want to. Stop dreaming and just do it!

I also highly recommend, for a confidence boost and a quick look into the life of a proofreader, the No-Nonsense Proofreading Course. You can get tons of books, study materials, free tests etc from his site for about $30. It's pretty awesome! I didn't feel the least bit scammed as I had even lost my ebooks, emailed Mike Sellars (the man behind the course), and he so generously provided the link to me again without demanding proof of purchase. Clearly this is a guy that cares about educating people and not the money. *At least I think so * It was what really kicked off my proofreading business and desire. So take a leap, it's not much money, and use it to get an idea of what proofreading is all about. No, I am no affiliated with Mike, just a happy customer who thinks he deserves more business. You shouldn't pay for a proofreading course. Copy editing yes, but proofreading, probably not.

Anyway, I'm off to work on the novel.

From one writer,


Love,
Shelby

Proofreading Services

Attention writers! I would like to announce my new business, Word by Word, a freelance proofreading and writing service I have just launched. Tell your friends! Just kidding, but really, I won't be mad if you tell them.

I have been writing for quite a while as a freelancer and figured it was time to start my own website. I encourage you to stop on by and check it out. 

http://wordbyword.snappages.com

I offer SEO article writing, blog article writing and web content. In addition, I offer proofreading and light editing services. As you all know, I'm in school for Copy Editing. I already have most of the knowledge they are teaching us, but with a certificate on the way, it is time to get my experience up there.

In my attempt to gain a solid work experience proofreading, I've worked for Distributed Proofreaders as well as proofread for my current place of work. In just getting my services out there, within a week I was proofreading an amateur author's query letter and first ten pages of their novel! That's some great experience!

So if you are working on your own project right now or know anyone that needs a second set of eyes, direct them to my website! No, I'm not trying to get business with my blog. I just wanted to tell my few readers about my newest accomplishment. Thank you for reading!

From One Writer--

Love,
Shelby

Write What You Know

You've heard the saying, "Write what you know." I know I have. But what if you don't know anything? Now you're thinking, "Well that's impossible! Everyone knows something!" I thought so too until I tried to write what I knew. I don't know computers so scratch technology off my list. I don't know plants or cars or cooking either, so scratch, scratch, scratch. So what do I know that I can put in my books that will ring true? What do I know?

Don't let this question plague you when  you start to feel down about your writing. Often times, and sadly, more times than not, you won't feel confident about your writing. As sad as it is, I know I've never tried harder or dedicated  more time to my writing and I couldn't feel less confident. But I do feel passionate, and that is enough for now.

Do you know love? Do you know fear? Do you know disappointment? You're nodding your head right now because you know all of that. But do you know friendships? Do you know commitment? Do you know how it feels to lose someone? What about passion or success? What about failure? Yes! You know all of these things, or at least 90% of them. So write about them! Remember the time you lost someone dear or the time someone told you they loved you or when you were the most scared you'd ever been? Now take those emotions and that passion and use it to make your characters come to life. Make your scenery that much scarier or more depressing. Use your emotions if you don't know anything else. You might find it's more powerful and your readers can relate to it more than the other stuff.

This is what I'm working on now. Making my characters' emotions feel real and justified. Your challenge is to do the same. Fuel your novel with raw emotion. Nothing else will bring your readers closer to you and your characters than an emotion they understand.

Till next time!

From one writer--

Love,
Shelby