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Manuscript Prep

I edit using MS Word and utilize Track Changes, inline edits, and comment boxes. To make the process easy on both of us, please send me your doc or docx file formatted like this: Body of the text – Times New Roman font, 12 pt. 1.5 inch line spacing No cushion between paragraphs Left aligned or justified. No tabs or double returns between paragraphs. Use the first line indent feature in Word. Use Curly Quotes. If your document has straight quotes in it, do an Advanced Find and Replace in Word using Wild Cards to seek out and replace those straight quotes. Remove double spaces between sentences and stray spaces before…

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Run a final spelling and grammar check. Make sure your character names are spelled correctly. Cut junk words. Here are 43 to delete. Cut adverbs. Cut even more. Instead, use stronger verbs. Remove unnecessary dialogue tags. Purposeful actions or emotion beats are more powerful and still show readers who is speaking. Do a search in your writing for was or any other verb form of to be (am, are, is, were, was, being, been, and be). This is a hint that you may have slipped into passive voice. Is a person doing an action or is an inanimate object acting upon something or itself? If you’re unsure how to identify passive voice, using the Hemmingway…

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