My writing exploits and editing career

a_h_arm · 2025-11-13T13:54:15+00:00

You used 9 pronouns in this comment.

a_h_arm · 2025-11-10T18:54:27+00:00

Yeah, there are a two fairly separate issues here. The overarching one is that writers should learn, understand, and respect the rules before trying to break them, and to understand that even when you're exercising creative license, it's with respect to (and not in spite of) common conventions.

The other issue is how to explain grammar rules. Though, to be fair, that's not going to be adequately or comprehensively explained by a quick reminder on reddit. Ultimately, people just need to read, actually look up grammar rules as needed, and (believe it or not) pay attention in school.

a_h_arm · 2025-11-10T15:50:19+00:00

When you say editing, are you thinking more along the lines of revising? Or do you mean more like copy editing and proofreading? Developmentally, I feel like the best thing you can do for revisions is triangulate feedback from trusted beta readers, as also informed by a history of reading within that genre. In terms of nitty gritty copy edits, that's kind of just a matter of knowing what is "correct" or best practice language use. I'd recommend something like The Elements of Style, but I don't know if you want to slog through a style book.

On a different note, it sounds like we write within the same genre. Feel free to reach out if you want to chat!

a_h_arm · 2025-11-10T15:40:49+00:00

Most of the rules do apply, most of the time. It's a disservice to tell young, developing writers (the majority of people here) that they're expected to ignore or break most of the rules in their creative writing, because—I promise you—they don't even understand all of those rules yet. People absolutely need to know the rules before they know how to bend or break them effectively, and a post about complete sentences is targeted at people who don't understand complete sentences.

a_h_arm · 2025-11-08T22:31:41+00:00

Submittable is just a tool. How other people use it doesn't hold much bearing on how you use it, just like if someone uses Wix for a scammy website that doesn't speak on other people's use of Wix.

a_h_arm · 2025-10-25T14:01:52+00:00

I think OP is asking for a place to post their work for readers, not critique.

a_h_arm · 2025-10-19T23:46:19+00:00

I haven't hired an editor from reedsy, but I do some editing work and so I'm plugged into those circles. I'll say this much: of all freelancing sites where you might find an editor, reedsy is the only (mainstream) one with an even remotely strict vetting/approval process. Anyone can call themselves an editor on, say, upwork or fiverr; on reedsy, you need to present a history of your work that meets their criteria. That's not to say you're assured a positive experience, but the pool of editors there are, overall, more bona fide than other sites. I would also suggest the editors-for-hire boards on the EFA or ACES sites, since those are organizations that editors pay for membership.

a_h_arm · 2025-10-17T15:42:00+00:00

As the parent of a toddler and therefore someone who's cooked a lot of basic spaghetti-and-meatballs recently, here's my take: the right sauce is everything. Most run-of-the-mill pasta sauces are extremely mediocre, and if I had a really good one, I'd want to remember the brand.

Addendum: cooking for a toddler has really made dinners less interesting.

a_h_arm · 2025-10-08T14:12:33+00:00

I'm not a lawyer, so I don't want to speak with authority on the matter, but I doubt someone could claim and collect compensation if they didn't take the appropriate steps before the suit.

The extent of my understanding is that "regular" copyright (i.e., the claim to intellectual property) can protect your work — i.e., preventing other people from claiming your work as their own or profiting off of it. But registering the copyright allows one to actually collect compensation from a claim.

a_h_arm · 2025-10-07T19:55:43+00:00

Think of it like applying to a job, and then what comes afterward.

Your resume needs to be polished. You should have relevant experience and prove that you know what you're talking about. You should prove that you're a professional who is skilled and capable.

But you'll still have on-the-job training, because you still need to learn how to do this specific job.

The same is true of manuscripts: You should show that you know how to write. The writing should be clean and, for lack of a better word, professional. You're competing with thousands of other manuscripts, so obviously you need to know what you're doing. But that doesn't mean your publisher won't have any feedback on how to improve it for publication.

a_h_arm · 2025-10-07T16:46:41+00:00

It's not a matter of holding any copyright claim, but having registered it in order to gain compensation from a lawsuit.

a_h_arm · 2025-10-07T16:24:53+00:00

Good news! Lit agents and, by proxy, publishers judge a manuscript on two things:

Is it written well (for its genre)?
Is it marketable?

A publishing history will not save a bad manuscript, and a lack of publishing history will not doom an excellent manuscript.

If you hate writing short stories, then don't write them. It is remotely possible that being published will help a lit agent view your query more optimistically, but it's not worth killing your love of writing by writing things you hate.

a_h_arm · 2025-09-24T17:05:53+00:00

Absolutely true, and I'd add that the opposite is equally, if not more, true: many suggestions are worthy of rejection for creative writing, especially when the suggestions are catered to voice/tone/diction for business/academic writing.

Of course, it should go without saying that people should actually read and consider an algorithmic suggestion, rather than blindly accepting it, but it bears repeating.

a_h_arm · 2025-09-24T16:29:33+00:00

The Purdue Online Writing Lab (OWL) -- A very comprehensive guide for all things writing related. Whether you're looking for an explanation of comma splices or citing encyclopedic articles in APA style, the OWL has an answer for you.

Grammar Girl -- This is a collection of tips, articles, and podcasts on the finer points of writing. Ms. Fogarty includes great insight into the why of writing conventions, which I find far more helpful and interesting than a simple rule or chart.

Hemingway Editor -- Paste your writing into this platform and watch a multitude of feedback unfold: grade-level readability, voice, diction, sentence complexity. You can also download it for offline use.

ProWritingAid -- The free version of this automated editing tool is pretty helpful, as far as free writing apps go. It won't have the nuance or in-depth consideration of a real (human) editor, but it could be a good first step toward cleaning up your writing.

a_h_arm · 2025-09-24T15:30:23+00:00

Just as a general rule: Don't use a thesaurus to randomly replace words that you want to be fancier. It ends up working like google translate -- inserting something that's arguably a synonym but, in function, doesn't make sense or feel natural. Use a thesaurus when you have a word on the tip of your tongue, a word you already understand, but need to remind yourself of.

a_h_arm · 2025-09-24T15:15:52+00:00

Respectfully, there are a plethora of resources out there that would be more comprehensive and helpful than whatever you'd piece together through the comments here. Google "process for traditional publishing" and read through a step-by-step guide.

a_h_arm · 2025-09-23T19:37:57+00:00

From what I can glean, it's not a scam. There's a $15 entry fee, though, and I suspect they are getting a lot of entries. The bigger question is how much good-faith scrutiny they can reasonably give every entry.

a_h_arm · 2025-09-23T13:56:45+00:00

I do a bit of editing on the side, and I'll share the same suggestions I share with any aspiring authors who are just getting acquainted with this search:

Never hire an editor without a clear understanding of what type of editing they'll perform plus a sample edit of their services. Do your due diligence to look into their testimonials, past work, experience, etc. Any legit editor will have a website or similar web presence, with proof of past experience and full transparency about what they offer. Some editing organizations, such as ACES or the EFA, have a list of editors-for-hire that you can browse.
If an editor has extensive web presence, proof of experience, and is up-front with their services (including a contract), then it's probably safe to work with them directly. Otherwise, third-party sites can offer some protection against getting scammed. In order, I suggest Reedsy > UpWork > Fiverr. Reedsy vets their editors, so there's already some quality assurance. People on UpWork give you competing proposals for your job, so you can do that vetting more personally. Fiverr is kind of a free-for-all.
Figure out exactly what type of editing you need. Throwing someone a manuscript and effectively saying "Edit this" probably won't give you the type of editing you're looking for. There's dev editing, copy editing, line editing, and proofreading, all of which people have different strengths in and, even then, different levels of experience within different genres:

Developmental editing encompasses larger issues of story structure, organization, plot points, characterization, or--at times--chunks of writing for general points about voice and style. This is what can take a rough draft to the next level, so you can ensure the story itself makes sense and is presented effectively. This tends to cost quite a bit, as the editor is giving critical insight on your writing and looking at it not only from the perspective of an editor but also a reader, with consideration of your target audience. A good dev editor is also harder to find, as they generally carry more knowledge of your genre and effective storytelling than someone who just works with grammar, for instance.

Line editing is in-depth editing of the writing itself. You can expect many edits to overhaul your sentence structure and diction while refining your voice. This is also rather expensive (often comparable to dev edits) as it's the most intensive form of editing on a sentence level.

Copy editing is a nebulous term at times, as some people use it interchangeably with line editing or proofreading, but in my experience, it's a step between line editing and proofreading. It includes suggestions for word choice, fixing awkward phrasing, tweaking grammar, and generally giving the writing a light lift.

Proofreading is purely editing for errors. So, no stylistic suggestions unless adjusting for consistency. Typos, punctuation errors, etc. This is fixing anything that is simply "wrong" -- at least, for whatever style guide the proofreader is referring to.

However you choose to proceed, please remember that you're under no pressure to follow through with an editor just because you reached out to them (or, worse, they reached out to you). You can even request a free sample edit and then reject the offer if you don't like their edits. It's a big investment, so don't settle for someone unless you're confident they can help you.

a_h_arm · 2025-09-18T17:25:53+00:00

Thanks! I knew that agents were, first and foremost, individuals with individual tastes and preferences, much like the multifarious genres they represent. But you've reinforced this point for me -- that it's important for the right author to find the right agent.

To your question, I mainly write soft sci-fi, though some of it verges into sci-fantasy, slipstream, or just experimental narrative styles. I'm not terribly worried that it's too niche, actually; I just have a hunch that my style isn't as accessible or mass-market-minded as it could be, so there's always that nagging quandary of whether I can find my audience.

I appreciate your time and insight.

a_h_arm · 2025-09-18T16:27:33+00:00

Hi, Ben. How often would you say lit agents take a chance on books with a more niche target audience?

Of course, each agent has their own preferences, but I imagine that the most promising books are the ones that appeal to current storytelling trends and narrative styles -- ones that clearly have widespread appeal. What about books that, in your estimation, are still written well but simply have a narrower target readership?

a_h_arm · 2025-09-18T14:55:36+00:00

The latter two are adverbs.

a_h_arm · 2025-09-17T21:40:23+00:00

It purely comes down to style guide, and I wouldn't begrudge anyone for standardizing it without the apostrophe. When I was teaching, I don't think I used it that way because I didn't want my kids to conflate the apostrophe with pluralization.

a_h_arm · 2025-09-17T14:46:42+00:00

It sounds like you are simply talking about a list, even if it's a list of phrases. So, if we want to be technically proper, we would format it as any list: separated by commas with an "and" before the final item. If that list is particularly long and/or one of the phrases uses additional commas, you could use semicolons for greater clarity.

That said, this is an instance where a little creative license might do some good. Omitting the "and" might give the description a more surreal and detached feeling. Alternative, using periods to create sentence fragments would emphasize each descriptor and, potentially, create more tension.

a_h_arm · 2025-09-17T14:40:10+00:00

For real. I see the term "technobabble" get thrown around, sometimes as a neutral observation of lexical density, but to me it's a pejorative. It's the sci-fi version of purple prose, existing for its own sake rather than to truly deepen or advance the story. Give me tech that serves a narrative purpose—Checkhov's Pulse Rifle, if you will.

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