Month: December 2014

Happy Holidays!

KWhipkey Leave a comment

Winter Afternoon 9 by Eirian-Stock

All right, everyone, the time has come for me to disappear for a couple weeks. It happens every year, so don’t worry, I’ll be back with lots of new content, including more posts on editing, writing, publishing, art, and the martial arts. I even have a few (hopefully awesome) surprises in store, provided I can make them work. But in the meantime, I want to wish everyone a safe and happy holiday season. Your continued support of all my efforts is greatly appreciated. 🙂

To prove it, I’m giving away what is arguably one of my more ambitious prizes — a self-publisher’s dream package. It was announced a few weeks ago, but you still have time to enter. And because I’m never one to make people hunt for information, here’s the rundown one more time:

One lucky person will win the following . . .

  • A comprehensive, top-to-bottom, full manuscript edit (including structural & line edits)
  • A polished, publish-ready eBook cover design (provided by the talented Ashley Ruggirello of Cardboard Monet)
  • Assistance creating the all-important book blurb
  • A final proofread of the type-set, ready-for-print galley (typesetting/formatting itself is not included though)

Doesn’t that sound amazing? Here’s what you have to do to win:

Round One: Currently Happening

Starting right now, you can enter to win via the Rafflecopter form. Simply fill out the various possibilities, and your name will be added to the hat. Enter as many times as you’d like until the form closes at midnight on January 2nd, 2015.  On January 3rd, I will select 100 names at random via Rafflecopter’s handy little service. Those lucky people will move on to round two. (And yes, they will be announced on the blog, so you’ll all know who to congratulate.)

Round Two: Starts Jan. 3rd, 2015

This is where the competition gets a little fierce. The 100 winners will be required to submit a query, along with the first 5 pages of their manuscript, via email. (Specific instructions will be sent to the winners on the appropriate date.) I will review them all, and much like an acquisitions editor, I will select the final winner based both on potential and the quality of your pitch. I’ll be looking for the person I think will gain the most value from our help, so your manuscript definitely doesn’t have to be perfect yet, but it does need to be complete. Also, I will consider novellas, but not short stories.

My final decision will be made by January 30th, 2015, and the lucky winner will be announced. So sharpen those pitches, people. Make it so I absolutely have to pick you.

Good luck, and happy holidays! 🙂

Image by Ashley Ruggirello of Cardboard Monet

 

Slightly Damaged Books, Free to Good Home

KWhipkey 17 Comments

Well, I finally received my shipment of  Fairly Twisted Tales for a Horribly Ever After hardcovers yesterday. Yes, hardcovers, as in the edition exclusive to the REUTS Publications website. I ordered extras with the intent of showcasing them around Portland, but unfortunately, USPS had other ideas. I don’t know what happened to this poor box, but it must have fallen off at least one truck and narrowly escaped the jaws of the Mail-room Monster. It arrived on my doorstep in a mangled, barely-held-together-with-packing-tape, sad little pile. So I think you can guess what that meant for the precious cargo inside.

Yep, all but one copy were damaged. I cried. Okay, maybe not outwardly, but I did shed a tear on the inside. Some of the copies were salvageable, but a few were beyond what I would feel comfortable charging money for. Which brings us to today’s post. Not one to waste books (because that’s sacrilege — SACRILEGE, I tell you!), I’ve decided to offer the four worst offenders to anyone willing to give them a good home. Yes, they’re a little rough around the edges; yes, they’re not the pure-bred version we would have preferred, but that doesn’t mean they can’t still be loved. The interiors are pristine. It’s only the spine that got a little munched on. See? I’ll show you:

Image of damaged copies

Another angle of damaged copies

So, whaddya say? Want to give these little guys some place safe and warm? Turn my disappointment into your boon and enter to win here. I’ll choose four winners tomorrow morning and will ship them out by the end of next week. (US only, I’m afraid. Sorry!)

And don’t forget about the other fantastic giveaway currently running here at Nightwolf’s Corner, where you could win a full manuscript edit and custom cover design! That one’s located here; go enter. Seriously! It’s a ridiculous prize and someone’s going to be very lucky when they win it.

An Index of Editing Posts

KWhipkey 2 Comments

I’m not feeling especially well this week, so the post I had planned will have to be postponed until next Friday, unfortunately. But I did manage to do some minor reorganizing in the various categories available here at Nightwolf’s Corner. Given my new (this is a relative term, since obviously, it’s been about two years now) identity as Editorial Director for REUTS Publications, as well as my freelance editing career, I’ll be focusing more on posts pertaining to that — tips, tricks, life as an editor snark-fests, that sort of thing. Which means, I’ve now created a special category dedicated to all things editing. (Next week’s post will fall under this new header, actually, and will feature a break-down of the various editorial jobs in the world of fiction publishing.)

In case you’re curious as to what I currently offer by way of editing-related posts, here’s a quick index:

The second new category, for those of you astute enough to notice, is for the contests. I have two annual giveaways I like to do, and rather than clog up the previous category they were under, they’ll now be available under their own heading. Most of them will be closed by the time you peruse them, but they will at least give you a sense of when I do them, and what I tend to giveaway.

Speaking of contests though, there is actually a pretty exciting one currently available. If you missed last week’s announcement, Ashley Ruggirello of Cardboard Monet and I have teamed up to offer a self-publishing author’s dream, for free:

  • A comprehensive, top-to-bottom, full manuscript edit (including structural & line edits)
  • A polished, publish-ready eBook cover design
  • Assistance creating the all-important book blurb
  • A final proofread of the type-set, ready-for-print galley (typesetting/formatting itself is not included though)

Make sure you read the rules posted in last’s week announcement, and then enter via the form! Good luck to everyone participating. 🙂