WINNER! And Proofreading

A couple weeks ago my fur-peeps, Sir Poops and Hair Ball, hosted a Secondhand Shoes Cover Reveal and a contest, Something Borrowed over at The Life of a Novice Writer.

Sad to say, not too many peeps were interested in the giveaway. So we didn’t have too many to choose from. And everyone that wanted their names thrown into the bowl expressed interest in the House of Night Series, not Twilight.

So Sir Poops and Hair Ball picked, Lorelei Bell. YAY!

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Also, I thought I’d let you all know I’ve been working really hard at getting the book done. It’s been formatted for the paperback and is still in the process of being formatted for the Kindle.

However, I’ve been proofreading and proofreading since I got the paperback format back. And one thing I’ve learned about this experience is this, MAKE SURE YOU PROOFREAD AND EDIT the format.

Once your novel has been formatted, the monkey ain’t over. Because what you’ll find will be missing punctuation, and words that have been respelled. And the sad thing is, is sometimes your eyes don’t pick everything up even though you’ll go through it like a thousand  times.

But I’m getting there and I’m fully in the moment. I also have a new appreciation for all the Indies before me. And I would also like to add, if there is a punctuation or misspelling in any Indie work, we should go light on them in reviews for it. It has nothing to do with competency. I think we should be more concerned about their storytelling abilities, sentence structure, and plots. Not to mention, I can’t tell you how many times I’ve picked up the FAMOUS AUTHOR’s novels and have found punctuation and spelling errors. I’ve also been disappointed by their storytelling and plots.

That’s all I have for today. Looking forward to the Holidays. I’ll be taking a six week hiatus form blogging, starting November 20th so I can finish this adventure and hopefully finish my next book. Plus, I need to tend to some ongoing medical issues.

As I leave this post today, I ask, Do you believe we should take it easy on the Indie author for their puncuation and spelling after I explained to you what happens during formatting?

Hugs and chocolate,

Shelly

Cover Reveal and a Giveaway

Today, I'm at my other blog http://www.shellysnovicewritings.blogspot/com doing a cover reveal and a giveaway.

Secondhand Versus Second Hand

Four years ago in my critique group I had to defend my choice of spelling. So here I go again. But I’d like to pose a question first. What if I wanted to be creative with the word or words I use? You know, make up my own thing. I mean fantasy writers make up new worlds, rules, peeps, and even languages. So if I want to dub my title Secondhand Shoes then I should, right?

Since I’ve been more verbal on the blogosphere about the release of Secondhand Shoes, peeps have been leaving comments. They politely let me know something about Second Hand Shoes. I get it. But I want to settle why I spell secondhand the way I do.

Just to let you all know, I own like twenty dictionaries and have been known to read them for fun. When I began my tenure at school, my family learned I was dyslexic. I had issues with reading and spelling in the wee years of my education. Even in college it reared its ugly head but I graduated with double honors. Really. But I have to admit that the first law firm I worked for informed me after three months I would never succeed past the reception desk to paralegal status because of my spelling issues. It was at that time I became obsessed with the dictionary because I wanted to be more than a receptionist.

So I give you the reason for why I spell secondhand as secondhand and not second hand.

Cambridge Dictionary

Secondhand- owned before

Second Hand- a long thin pointer on some clocks and watches that shows how many seconds have passed

Merriam-Webster Dictionary

Secondhand

1- received from or through an intermediary: borrowed

2- acquired after being used by another: not new

Second Hand

1- an intermediary person or means: intermediary

2- the hand marking seconds on a time

Okay. So these are the reasons for the title being spelled Secondhand Shoes. Lila’s wedding shoes were bought at a consignment shop and she’s one of those people that never expected the best for her life. In the beginning of her journey she accepts things as they are to keep her controlling mother off her case.

And now for some announcements.

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Lydia Kang over at The World is My Oyster is doing a giveaway in celebration for her birthday. Stop by and wish her well. Leave a comment and you could win a book of your choice.

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Jolene Perry is giving away an Arc of her book, Falling. Check her out at Been Writing.

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Lynda R. Young is also giving away an Arc of her new novel coming out. Check her out at WIP IT.

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E.J. Wesley is doing a Bury the Hatchet Blogtour in celebration of the release of his debut novella, Blood Fugue. Check him out at The Open Vein. You could win a Nook out of this deal. This tour ends October 19th.

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Gwen Gardner and Pal are having a blogtour starting next week through October 31st. Go check them out at Paranorm YA.

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I hope every one has a great weekend. I’m off today. Yay! But will be hair lopping Saturday and Sunday. So I’ll be lurking.

Hugs and chocolate,

Shelly