• woman sitting in front of laptop with headphones on, looking stressed; Footnotes vs. Endnotes

    Footnotes vs. Endnotes…Wait, They Aren’t the Same?

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    No, footnotes and endnotes are not the same, but both can be helpful in adding organization, structure, and even more personality to any written work, regardless of the genre. Our editorial team here at Xulon Press see footnotes and endnotes in many author’s works for several different reasons. Understanding which to use in your manuscript can help you enhance your piece and show readers that you know what you are doing. Here are some distinctive components of each that will help in choosing the right fit. Footnotes Traditionally, footnotes are utilized for academic material, like textbooks, or functional material, like…

  • woman editing a printed manuscript; do publishers edit your book

    Do Publishers Edit Your Book?

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    People often ask me whether publishers edit their books or not, and I always respond with “It depends.” If you choose the traditional publishing route, editors within your publishing house will not only edit your manuscript, but your literary agent will also make edits and note revisions for you to make. If you opt to self-publish your book, you will be responsible for having and paying for editing services for your manuscript. In this post, we’ll explore how book editing works both when your book is traditionally published and when you self-publish your book. How Book Editing Works When Your…

  • This question of writing skillset comes up a lot: “Do I need to be good at writing to write a book?” The answer is “yes” and “no.” Mastering grammar as a ...

    5 Benefits of Mastering Grammar

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    This question of writing skillset comes up a lot: “Do I need to be good at writing to write a book?” The answer is “yes” and “no.” In order to write a book that others want to read, writers have to understand the basics of writing and be willing to read a lot of resource books, and teach themselves how to plot out their writing in a way that readers will follow. Grammar is an important part of writing because, without strong grammar and sentence structure, a book is hard to read and comprehend. “Well, I can just hire an editor…

  • There are 2 crucial steps before your manuscript is sent off for editing. The first is self-editing. Here are our top 10 tips for how to self-edit your w...

    How To Self-Edit Your Manuscript

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    A common thought among first-time writers is that once they finish writing their book it’s ready to go straight to a professional editor. However, there are two crucial steps that need to take place before you ship your manuscript off for editing. The first is that you must do a few rounds of self-editing yourself. This is the time to read your book as if you’ve never seen it before. Look for plot issues and other trouble spots that could trip your readers up. Take the time to delete material that doesn’t need to stay, run spell check, look for…