Thursday, November 14, 2013

Branding for Authors & Their Books - Tomorrow Night at Author's Corner!!

Branding is a hot topic for authors, and fortunately it doesn't involve any scorching branding irons. For instance, Writer's Digest is featuring the topic in its January 2014 issue of the magazine, in an article titled "Branding Like a Master" by Jennifer Keishin Armstrong

Get up to speed on Author Branding by joining us tomorrow night for the November AUTHOR'S CORNER, sponsored by Mentoring/Made in the Valley.

We'll cover:
o  As an author, why should you know your brand?
o  What are the benefits of branding yourself and your books, and identifying your niche? How is this done?
o  How do you handle branding if your books are on different topics?
Learn all this and more!

Date: Tuesday November 19th, 2013
Time: 6:30 pm – 7:00 pm networking; 7:00-8:30 pm program
Where: OfficeSlice, 15165 Ventura Blvd, Suite 245, Sherman Oaks, CA, 91403
Parking: FREE under the building after 6:00 pm; also there is street parking or metered parking (be sure to check the signs).

I will be moderating and I produced the panel.

My Panelists are:

Libby Gill – CEO of Libby Gill & Company. Libby is a leading PR/Branding expert. She was the PR//Branding brains behind the launch of the Dr. Phil Show. Clients have included ABC-Disney, Paypal, GoDaddy, Microsoft and Nike. Libby is also a best-selling author of four books, with the latest released in August - Capture the Mindshare and the Market Share Will Follow: The Art and Science of Building Brands. 
www.LibbyGill.com

Karrie Ross – An award-winning book designer with over 35 years experience in design / marketing / merchandising. Karrie works with clients to create a unique visual image and marketing focus for their personal and/or book brands. She helps authors figure out what they’re really branding.  www.bookcoverdesigner.com

Gail Lara – Gail is Founder of “Mentoring / Made in the Valley,” a company dedicated to building exceptional training programs and product sales opportunities for Women in Business. Gail is currently writing her first book called The Art of Meaningful Gift Giving.
www.madeinthevalley.net

RSVP for this event to https://madeinthevalley.eventbrite.com/
Or call Judy Santos at OfficeSlice, 818 446-6125
Free to OfficeSlice Members or $15.00

More on Made at the Valley at www.madenthevalley.net and facebook/madeinthevalley.

For more on my editing, writing and book coaching services, browse my website:  www.writingandediting.biz.

Looking forward to seeing some of you there!

Write on!

Robin
Producer | Moderator - Author's Corner
Book Editor / Book Coach / Book Writer
(Ghost and Collaborator)

Thursday, July 11, 2013

Next Author's Corner Focuses on Websites July 16th


Author’s Corner / Made in the Valley
present a panel on …
Creating the Author Website

Host:  Gail Lara, Founder, Made in the Valley

NEW Location! THE OFFICE SLICE
15165 Ventura Blvd, Suite 245, Sherman Oaks, CA 91403
Gate attendant for under building parking on duty from 6:15-6:45 pm
or find neighborhood or street parking

When: Tuesday, July 16th, 2013
6:30 Networking
7:00 – 9:00 pm Program

Cost: $15  (free to Office Slice members)
(RSVP Info at bottom of blog)

Are you ready to create or re-do your author or professional website?
July’s panel will walk you through the process with a professional web designer, a website marketing expert,
and an author whose site just went up.

Moderator: Robin Quinn,
Award-Winning Book Editor/Book Coach/Writer,
pens webcopy for her author clients and shepherds
them through developing their websites. www.writingandediting.biz

Panelists

Paula Johnson – After more than two decades as a celebrated copywriter and designer, Paula learned to design websites in 2008. She has created more than 30 sites for authors and professionals including Idelle Davidson (Your Brain after Chemo) and Karen E. Klein (small business journalist). www.paulaljohnson.com

Jill Masters – Jill founded Survey My Site in 2007 to help people get results from their websites. Her specialties are in organizing, copywriting and optimizing websites for search engines like Google. She also performs online marketing, such as social media. www.surveymysite.com

David L. Folck – The author of the newly released book MRSA, MRSA Me! A First Person Story of Gross Negligence Medical Malpractice, the Lawsuit Which Followed, Thoughts on Fighting Back and Reform will share his author's journey, including creating his newwebsite. mrsamrsame.com/

RSVP for this event today and invite a friend!

Free to OfficeSlice Members and 1 of their guests – Contact Judy Santos for Membership information.
Members may invite 1st-time guests at no charge (as your guest).
If you would like to invite a friend, contact Judy Santos to add their name to the guest list 818-446-6125 or email info@officeslice.com

Otherwise $15.00 to attend.
RSVP http://madeinthevalley.eventbrite.com/

For more info, contact Robin Quinn at quinnrobin@aol.com.

Looking forward to connecting with
Exceptional Authors and Businesses!

Wednesday, February 20, 2013

How Much Editing Does Your Book Project Need?


Some of the Author's Corner Panelists surround program host Gail Lara (center) and moderator Robin Quinn (second from left)

Below is my handout (on the different types of editing) from last night's AUTHOR'S CORNER panel. Our program's subject was "Going Local with Your Publishing Resources." I produce and moderate AUTHOR'S CORNER (a FREE event) four times a year in Van Nuys, California, and we address subjects of interest to those writing books. For more on the panel, see my last post. My next AUTHOR'S CORNER will be in May. If you have a project that needs editing, email me at quinnrobin@aol.com. Write on! Warmly, Your Word Sculptor Robin

Before an editor works on your project, it’s wise to have a sense of just how much editing needs to be done. Having a basic knowledge of the different types of editing can help you make intelligent decisions in terms of budget and your editing assignments.

Types of Editing
Developmental Editing: Editor is involved in the book project as early as possible and as it progresses. The editor collaborates creatively with the author on the concept, general approach, Table of Contents, and what will be covered in each chapter. Chapters may be reviewed as they are developed, or in batches. This type of editing can be helpful when an author needs help focusing and developing their concept before much is written.

Substantive Editing: Here the editor’s work begins after the author has produced a draft of the manuscript. Concerns can include the organization of the total book, organization of the chapters, proper tone and approach for your audience, coverage of the subject, logic and accuracy. Work often addresses reorganizing, editing, rewriting and clarifying the text.

Line Editing: Editor works on a completed manuscript that has a sound structure. A layer of writing is spread over the original writing. The focus could be to strengthen the writing (perhaps English is a second language for the author), to change the tone to a better one for the market, to clarify the meaning, to improve the read/flow, etc.

Content Editing: This type of editing also addresses manuscripts with a sound structure. Here the concern is the content, including the scope of coverage in the chapters (enough info or too much), accuracy, clarity, tone and reader friendliness.

Copyediting: Here the edit comes closer to the end of the editorial process. The manuscript is sound structurally, but needs fine-tuning or a final polish or cleanup. Issues addressed in a copyedit include grammar, punctuation, clarity, accuracy, typos, misspellings, etc. Another important aspect of copyediting is looking at consistency – of tone, punctuation, spelling, and so on.

Proofreading: A review for errors, including typos, punctuation and grammar mistakes, misspellings, extra spaces, etc. There is often a proofread of the manuscript before and after typesetting.

Additional Option: Ghostwriting – Sometimes a draft of a manuscript contains a solid concept but writing that is not professional. In certain instances, it will be easier to hire a professional writer to produce a marketable manuscript than to try to fix what’s already on the page. Or a ghost might be hired to work with a celebrity or busy expert who has a strong book idea (without much written), but no time to produce the total manuscript.



Robin Quinn specializes in nonfiction editing and ghostwriting in the areas of health, self-help, psychology and spirituality. She also works with select fiction projects.

Tuesday, February 19, 2013

TONITE! Author's Corner at Made in the Valley

TOPIC: GOING LOCAL WITH YOUR PUBLISHING RESOURCES

As a creative center, Los Angeles is rich in publishing resources. Tonite, we'll address how to use local resources to get your books done and out into the world!

PANELISTS
MODERATOR ROBIN QUINN – Award-winning Book Editor, Book Coach and Project Manager
specializing in Self-Help, Health, Psychology and Spirituality in Nonfiction as well as
working on select Fiction projects. www.writingandediting.biz

KARRIE ROSS – Book Designer (Covers and Interiors), Consultant on Web Presence
(including Branding, Marketing and Promotion), and Award-winning Author. www.bookcoverdesigner.com

RENÉ GAGNON – Co-owner of Allura Printing (On Demand Printing Company in Costa Mesa) and Allura Press (now a full-service Self-Publishing Company). www.alluraprinting.com

CIRCE DENYER – Social Media Consultant who works with authors. Social media management, video creation, Pinterest training, and more. www.easybytes.info

IRWIN ZUCKER – Publicist & Founder of the Book Publicists of Southern California (BPSC).
www.promotioninmotion.net | www.bookpublicists.org

Looking forward to connecting with Exceptional Authors and Businesses!

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