Today on my blog I am delighted to bring you an editor interview with Lynda Kirby. Lynda is a good friend of mine and also a member of Oldcastle Writers’ Group. Lynda is also my go-to person when I am looking for editing work. As you all know, I am getting my new novella “Finding Forever” ready for publication and in my last post I talked about the value of finding beta readers. The next step in my process was of course editing and I thought what better than to interview an editor to get some inside information. I hope you all enjoy the interview and the information Lynda has supplied. If there are any further questions, be sure to put them in the comments and I will make sure she sees them.

Finding Beta Readers and Why You Should
Today I wanted to talk about finding beta readers and why you should. As you know, I finished writing my first novella, Finding Forever, back in September 2016. Taking the advice of all the editors I know, I let it sit on my computer for at nearly two months before I went back to begin editing. After my first round of edits, my inner critic was on overtime constantly whispering in my ear about how bad it was, how no one would like it, how I would fail, etc. I wasn’t sure what to do. I knew I could rely on the members of my writers’ group to read and comment on my work, but was that going to be enough?

My Year in Writing 2016 – Here’s What I Wrote
This post is dedicated to my year in writing 2016. I have to say, this was a great year for me, especially my personal writing. In fact, I’m a little bit blown away by the amount of writing I have completed. I’ve always dreamed of being a writer but never got around to giving this dream priority.

Editing for Writers in 5 Simple Steps

Mistletoe Magic – A Romantic Christmas Story
I love Christmas and the feel good cheer that comes with it. Last week I started writing a short Christmas romance story and I’ve loved every minute of it. It’s called “Mistletoe Magic” and I’ve decided to add it to my Wattpad. I’ve copied the start of it below and if you enjoy reading it be sure to visit my Wattpad link to see how the story ends.

Stinkwaves Magazine: My Latest Publications
Stinkwaves is a PG-13 literary magazine and where my latest publication can be found. I discovered this magazine when I was looking for child-friendly publications for a spooky poem I’d written for a Halloween last year. The poem was part of a Spooky Stories night that I was attending and it had been sitting on my laptop ever since.

Visual Verse An Anthology of Art and Words
Visual Verse is a collaboration. An anthology of art, poetry, short fiction, and non-fiction. They supply a compelling image and invite writers – published or unpublished – to submit a piece in response. There is a catch though and you must write it within one hour and it must be between 50 and 500 words.

Writing Challenge – A Page A Day For July

A Step Back in Time with Oldcastle Writers Group
As part of Oldcastle Writers’ Group, I was delighted to be able to take part in this wonderful event that we organised. The night was all about our stories and as you know from reading my blog, I wrote the story “The Curse of Johnny Murphy” which you can read on my blog in three parts.

Public Speaking For Writers
Public speaking for writers can often come with fear and dread. Well in my case anyway. I love writing but public speaking terrifies me. Even reading my work aloud is a chore. When I started with my writing group back in March I couldn’t even read out loud to the other women in the group and I would often ask one of the other ladies to read what I had written.
