What’s With the New Year?
January 6, 2023 by Linda O. Johnston in category Pets, Romance & Lots of Suspense by Linda O. Johnston tagged as editing, happy new year, Lark O. Jensen, Linda O. Johnston, New Books, Writing Plans
Happy 2023, everyone! Should it be happy for a writer? Well, that depends on what you’re writing and what you want to accomplish in the new year.
Me? Well, I’ll have three new books published this year: Undercover Cowboy Defender, part of my Shelter of Secrets series for Harlequin Romantic Suspense, Cry Wolf, my second Alaska Untamed mystery for Crooked Lane under my pseudonym Lark O. Jensen, and CSI Colton and the Pregnant Witness, part of the large Harlequin Colton series—this year, Colton NYC.
I’m currently working on edits for CSI Colton and the Pregnant Witness and Cry Wolf. Next will come a couple more books in Shelter of Secrets. And more? Well, my mind is always churning on ideas that I haven’t yet fleshed out. And I probably will with at least some of them.
And you? If you’re a writer, do you have this year planned? Are you working on something you’ve already sold or determined to publish independently? Even if you have a day job, I suspect your mind is also moving along similar paths to mine, figuring out what you’ll write when—and how much you can accomplish in 2023.
Do you plan over the long term? Weekly? Monthly? Or do you just see how things go?
And do you allow distractions to slow you down, at least a bit—like me? My 11-month-old puppy Roxie still has lots of energy and she knows how to get my attention to throw toys to fetch even while I’m writing. Or, she’ll attack our older dog Cari and they’ll run around the house growling in fun at each other, another distraction. What’s your most fun distraction?
And where do you want to be at the end of 2023 when you tell the world all you’ve accomplished this year? Me? I want to continue writing and playing with the dogs and coming up with even more ideas and following through with them. Oh, yes. I intend to enjoy 2023.
Some of Linda’s Books
Micromanaging your Manuscript During Editing #5
October 3, 2022 by Janet Elizabeth Lynn and Will Zeilinger in category Editing Your Novel Together by Will Janns, Partners in Crime by Janet Elizabeth Lynn & Will Zeilinger tagged as co-writing, E.J. Williams, editing, Janet Elizabeth Lynn, Will Zeilinger, writing partners
Editing Your Novel Together
Micromanaging your Manuscript During Editing #5
By E.J. Williams
(Janet Elizabeth Lynn & Will Zeilinger)
Writing together as E. J. Williams, husband and wife, Will Zeilinger and Janet Elizabeth Lynn author the INTER-NATIONAL CRIME FILES, a hardboiled/thriller detective series that takes the reader to 1960s southern California, then on to international locales.
Even after you’ve written the best book in the world, the pesky task of editing rears its ugly head! To those of you who love editing…our hats are off to you. We have come up with several suggestions that may help ease the editing process, whether you are editing your book for your editor, publisher, agent, or yourself.
Micromanage each chapter when you edit. Start big, the chapters, then move to scenes and last sentences. Once you get to the sentence stage, fix every tiny problem or error you find. We know, when you are done, you can probably recite your manuscript by heart, but this is necessary.
Though this mind-numbing task is necessary, it can bring about a great deal of pride when the process is complete. As a couple who write together, we have found these tips work well whether you are working alone or with someone.
And yes…we are still married!
Website: Janet Elizabeth Lynn
Website: Will Zeilinger
Some of Janet’s and Will’s Books
Defining Default: it’s your choice
March 15, 2022 by Rebecca Forster in category The Write Life by Rebecca Forster, Writing tagged as #amwriting, #writing, Craft, editing
I love the word default. It is so definitive. It is authoritative when you’re on the right side of it; terrifying if you’re on the wrong side. Default on your loan. Default the game. You have failed to live up to your promise. Over! Done! Fini— unless you do something to change the situation PDQ and get back on track.
Then came computers and the word default got a makeover. It’s softer. Helpful. Kind. The word became synonymous with a do-over. Default is now your safety net. Screwed up your settings? Default. Go back to the beginning. Get a do-over. It’s okay. We got your back.
Ah…
Well, don’t get too comfy with that default button, especially when you’re writing. I have a new book that I let lie fallow for two Covid-years because I took a creative hike, turning to manual hobbies like sewing and quilting, crafting and cooking. Now I’m back and making a sprint to complete the last 25%. I’m jazzed because it’s almost done. I proudly sent the first three quarters of the manuscript to my editor fully expecting the green light to cross the literary finish-line.
Sadly — and thankfully —her input was the exact opposite. I had dialed in my characters. I had been lazy with my red herrings. I had defaulted in the bad way, and not lived up to my promise to deliver my best work to my readers. On the other hand, she was offering me the chance to default in the kind way: reset, rethink, and rework. It was up to me to decide if I wanted to skate, shrug my shoulders, and publish a book that was ‘just okay’, or go back and make this the best book it can be.
I decided to go with option two. Reset. Rethink. Rework. That’s what author’s do. Thankfully, I have a great editor who is clear that how I define the word default — and how I respond to that definition— is up to me.
0 0 Read moreEditing Your Novel Together
January 3, 2022 by Janet Elizabeth Lynn and Will Zeilinger in category Partners in Crime by Janet Elizabeth Lynn & Will Zeilinger tagged as editing, Outlines, Plotting, writing partners
The Post Outline
by E.J. Williams
(Janet Elizabeth Lynn and Will Zeilinger)
Writing together as E. J. Williams, husband and wife, Will Zeilinger and Janet Elizabeth Lynn author the INTERNATIONAL CRIME FILES, a hardboiled/thriller detective series that takes the reader to 1960s southern California, then on to international locales.
Even after you’ve written the best book in the world, the pesky task of editing rears its ugly head! To those of you who love editing…our hats are off to you. We have come up with several suggestions that may help ease the editing process, whether you are editing your book for your editor, publisher, agent, or yourself.
The post outline is the first thing we do once we feel the book is complete. By going back through the manuscript (ignoring the pre outline if you do one) helps to see where some of the holes or gaps in the sub and main plot line are. After a week break, we sit down and take portions to re-outline, i.e. one of us works the even chapters the other the odd chapters. Issues with the manuscript seem to jump out at you with this. We then meet and figure out how to work out each problem. With both of us working on it, it goes real fast.
Though this mind-numbing task is necessary, it can bring about a great deal of pride when the process is complete. As a couple who write together, we have found these tips work well whether you are working alone or with someone.
And yes…we are still married!
Website: Janet Elizabeth Lynn
Website: Will Zeilinger
Some of Janet’s and Will’s Novels
0 0 Read more
Editors and Agents All Month Long by Kitty Bucholtz
December 10, 2020 by Kitty Bucholtz in category It's Worth It by Kitty Bucholtz, Writing tagged as Agents, editing, editor interview, Editors, encouragement, Jennie Nash, Kitty Bucholtz, revision
I’m excited to share with you that I have a mini-season on my podcast all about editing in honor of all the first-drafting that went on in November for National Novel Writing Month. Five episodes of editors and agents talking about editing and giving you their best tips. Jennie Nash, my first guest, even gives you two handouts!
Check out the episodes every Thursday on WRITE NOW! Workshop Podcast. You can find it on your favorite podcast app or watch the episodes on YouTube. Be sure to subscribe, either way, so you don’t miss out! In 2021, I’ll be moving to seasons, which means there will be a couple weeks in between without an episode and I don’t want you to miss anything.
Here is the first fabulous episode with Jennie Nash from Author Accelerator. She offered two free handouts as well! One is here on the show notes page, and the other is on her website.
As we finish up a difficult year, I also wanted to share my Encouraging Words episode with you. I hope you find it uplifting and hopeful. Merry Christmas, Happy Holidays, and Happy New Year!
Featured Books
TO L.A. WITH LOVE: A CHARITY ANTHOLOGY
When wildfires destroyed two beloved Los Angeles public libraries in January 2025, the romance community answered with heart.
More info →
SLICK DEAL
On the eve of the New Year, 1956, oil tycoon, Oliver Wright dies suspiciously at a swanky Hollywood New Years Eve party. Some think it was suicide.
More info → 
