Wednesday, June 12, 2013

Day 157 of the 365 Days of Blogging

The author, Dane F. Baylis

ANNOUNCEMENT

 

Three Editors to Speak at VCWC July 9 Meeting on
“Working with a Professional Editor”
Discussion will cover fiction and nonfiction, both line and concept editing


(Ventura, CA – June 10, 2013) Three professional editors from the region will take part in a panel discussion “Working with a Professional Editor,” at the July 9th meeting of the Ventura County Writers Club. Club president, Kate Sexton, will moderate the session. Joining the panel are: Greg Elliot of Agoura Hills, author, editor, screenwriter, and writing professor at UCLA, Tammy Ditmore of Newbury Park, professional book editor, and southern California publishing legend, Shelly Lowenkopf of Santa Barbara, former Executive Editor for several California publishers, recipient of the “Life Time Achievement in Writing” award from USC for 30 years teaching masters writing classes, and author of over 35 books. Mr. Lowenkopf has personally seen over 700 books to publication as an editor.

Both fiction and nonfiction writing will be covered.

“Editing is a very grey area for most writers,” stated Sexton. “A properly edited book can make the difference of getting an agent and a deal, or not. This does NOT mean spell checking or school teacher grammar. Publishing today has created its own standards that help American English evolves. Grammar taught in school lags behind the public discourse. To have a book that sells, the author must submit a top quality manuscript.

The panel will cover both copy/line editing and, what Ms. Sexton thinks is more important, content/concept editing. "Where does your story really start? Do you have real conversations by your characters or do they sound stilted because of not contractions? Is there enough dialogue or is the manuscript filled with narrative? And how to judge?"

The 90-minute panel will address these questions and more.

“When I programmed last November’s Ventura County Writers Weekend,” said Sexton, “the Editing Panel sold out faster than any other session, including meeting literary agents. To me this meant writers are confused or have questions that need answering and we hope to do so with this panel.”

Time will be set aside at the end of the formal panel for questions from the audience. There will be no Opening Act this evening so more time is devoted to the panel topic.


CALENDAR INFORMATION

July Meeting of the Ventura County Writers Club
July 9, 7PM
Pleasant Valley Senior Center
1605 Burnley Street, Camarillo, CA
Topic: Three Editors’ Panel on “How to Work with a Professional Editor”
Open to Members and non-members. No fee
For information on the Ventura County Writers Club, visit:
http://www.venturacountywriters.com

Copyright © 2013 Ventura County Writers Club, All rights reserved.
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Ventura County Writers Club
P. O. Box
Thousand Oaks, CA91359

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PASSION, OBSESSION, INTENSITY

 

OR

 

CHILLAX AND PUSH THE EDGES OF YOUR OWN ENDURANCE. WHAT HAVE YOU GOT TO LOSE BESIDES YOUR MIND?

 

Okay, I'm not talking about that conversational version of the three things mentioned in the title. The ones you refer to when you're speaking to your less creative acquaintances. You know, "Oh, I have a passion for surrealist literature." "I'm obsessed with Cinema Noir." "I think Bukowski's poetry has a definite gutter intensity."
 
Uh-uh. Put down the bris and tilt your beak down far enough so you actually have to breath the same air as the rest of us. Listen up, Gus, what I'm talking about is actually becoming these things in order to engage one hundred and ten percent with your own work. The kind of motivation that drives your tush off the couch and to your writing, music, painting, film...whatever it is you're always telling people you're passionate about. I'm not talking about your twenty minutes sharpening pencils, fifteen minutes putting page numbers on your notes, or the half hour waiting for the muse bitch to call.
 
No, I'm talking bleary-eyed, hands trembling, what the hell IS my middle name kind of effort!
Sitting down at six-thirty in the morning and not getting up until you feel like your mind is a sponge left out on a July day in the Mojave. Then - after feeding the cat, taking a walk around the block, calling your therapist and booking back-to-back couch sessions next week - you sit right back down until the sponge becomes some dessicated artifact. That's the kind of all-in slog through your talent and determination you need once in a while.
 
It's time to rediscover the hairy limits of mental, emotional, and artistic stamina. Why? Just to be able to say, "I'm really passionate about this new...novel, fiber art, jazz influenced blues number, sculpture made only from reclaimed parts of early model Edsel's"...and REALLY frigging mean it. To be able to stand in a room full of posers and be totally overwhelmed by the need to get the hell out of there and back to your true desires! Imagine what a kick it would be to be so consumed by your work that you re-devote yourself not just to the creation and marketing of this present iteration, but you salivate like one of Pavlov's dogs when someone else starts talking about something you haven't even tried yet.
 
Okay, now go out there like Pollock, Stravinsky, Kubrick, and Calder rolled into one and kick some artistic butt! I'm going to have a snack and a nap. Motivating you guys is really stressful.
 
 
Meanwhile...live, love, write.
 
 
Want to follow or subscribe to this blog? There are gadgets for that on the right side of the page. You can leave comments in the form below. I can be reached directly at dbaylis805@gmail.com . You can also find links to some of the sites I visit from time to time on the right. I'm also looking for submissions to the Your Work/Your Love page. Authors retain all rights.
 
 
Tomorrow,
 
Dane F. Baylis
Author.
 
 

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