The Face of Success
The age of smartphones and social media has seemingly made anonymity a thing of the past. So where does that leave authors who truly want to remain unidentified? Is it even possible to be successful as an anonymous author today?
6 Things I Learned While Copyediting
On its face, copyediting is a relatively simple prospect. Find grammatical and spelling errors, highlight them and then send them to the author. But is there more to it than that? To be honest, not really, but that doesn’t mean it’s easy! During my forays into copyediting both as a freelancer and as an Oolie, I’ve picked up a number of tips and tricks that I’m now obligated to share with you.
How to Make Pop-Culture References Everyone Will Understand
In life, pop culture references are an everyday part of conversation. They’re an ice breaker for interacting with new people and a way to bond with friends. How often have you casually quoted Star Trek among strangers to see who looks up, sent a meme from The Office with your coworkers, or shared an obscure Percy Jackson joke with friends. Pop culture references are the only inside jokes you can make with total strangers—a shared experience created through the invention of mass media that connects people in ways never seen before.
Preserving the Past: The Power of Legacy Memoirs
Preserving personal and family histories is vital to staying connected in a world focused on quick digital moments. Legacy memoirs combine personal stories with photographs, letters, and scrapbooks. They serve […]
Why You Should Read More History Books
“History books can reveal patterns, offer context to current events and provide facts that a reader is forced to face (and history books aren’t all hard, cold facts that must be memorized, might I add). Fictional stories sometimes glorify and romanticize toxic and illegal actions, and although most people can differentiate between what they find cool in fiction versus reality, others can find it desensitizing.”
Communicating with an Author
Whether you are an editor, publicist, or project manager, communicating with the author is an essential part of book publishing. Even if you aren’t in the world of book publishing, effective communication is an essential management skill.
An Editor as a Gardener
After working as an editor for a while, I started gardening to relieve stress and soon noticed how much these two activities resemble each other. A gardener loves their garden […]
The Rise and Importance of Dystopian Literature for Young Adults
The dystopian setting—futuristic, typically end-of-world or post-war-world environments with oppressive governments and limited possibilities to be individualistic—creates perfect conditions for young adult readers to push the boundaries like the protagonists in these books, especially with such dominant themes of empowerment, liberation, identity, individual thinking, and agency.
Surviving the Big One: Advice for Completing the Book Publishing Final Research Paper
Approaching such a project can be a daunting task, but it doesn’t have to feel like an earthquake. Here you’ll find four tips on completing a research paper from the perspective of a student who has ridden the shock waves for you.
Editing Unreliable Narrators: Deception in Storytelling
Working at a publishing house and editing a manuscript with an unreliable narrator is both fascinating and complicated to deal with. These stories do not give one person the whole truth, as there are many varied perspectives and interpretations, rather than a straightforward narrative where we know which protagonist to trust. Editors must walk the line between that mystery and making it all too obvious without revealing too much. The worlds created must be balanced ultimately with how the material is pushed, advertised, and presented to readers in the publishing realm.