Meet My Editor!

I'm just thrilled to introduce you to the editor of 
The Jinx. Corinne walked me through the daunting task
of editing my first published book. I want to tell you
that she is an amazing person. She was encouraging and
patient. Most importantly, she believed in my story and
told me so. She's just a lovely person, and I hope one
day to meet her face to face!

1. Tell us a little about yourself.
Hello, my name is Corinne MacGregor. I'm an editor for
The Wild Rose Press. I started in the contemporary line,
and now I'm in the American history line. I live in
Colorado and write in my free time.
2.How did you get into the publishing industry?
I first entered the industry as a writer but have been
interested in editing for some time.
3.What are the biggest or most frequent blunders you
encounter in your work?
As for blunders, I'd have to say point of view issues
and "telling" vs. "showing." That was an issue for me
years ago when I was first starting out as a writer, but
it's something that can be learned and improved upon. I
see a lot of it in the work of beginning writers.
4.Do you have any advice for writers?
As for advice, read a lot, and sometimes venture to read
different styles or genres. Practice writing regularly.
Study your weak areas. For example, grammar if that's an
issue for you. In my experience, the days of having a
great story with poor structure and grammar getting
accepted are gone for the most part. Editors get
frustrated reading through sloppy work.
5.I'll leave this up to you, but if you want to
say anything about the Jinx, how it was working with
a newbie or your style of us going chapter by chapter,
the difference in editing contemporary vs. historic,
or anything else you would like to say. 
As for "The Jinx" it has a charming plot and
engaging characters. It's an enjoyable story,
and I was glad to work on it and with Jennifer,
a "newbie" lol. Jennifer was open to suggestions
and easy to work with. I encourage her to try her
hand at American history, wink,wink, so we might
work together again.As for history vs.contemporary,
I was still in the contemporary department when I
worked with Jennifer. The senior editor, Roseann,
and the authors I worked with were wonderful. I
only made a request to the historical line
because I love history so much. My shelves at
home are filled with history books, not
contemporary, so when an opening in American
Rose opened up, I asked for the position.
But I do have about five or six library
cards and read subjects other than history
often. In some ways, it's harder
to work with the historical manuscripts because
not only am I looking for the normal things
editors consider with contemporary work, but
there's an added layer. In historical novels,
I have to be aware of the dialect (ie: was
a certain word really out yet in 1850?)
If I have the smallest doubt, in that single
word, I look it up. Perhaps it wasn't used
reguarly until 1851. And the clothes,
setting, and events...yes, there's a
little more to think about, but it's fun!
(But it's not to say that I didn't have to
double check facts often with contemporary
stories. As any author of those will tell
you, there's a heck of a lot of research
involved, whatever the era of the setting.)
It reminds me of when I was working on my
degree in French. After passing my classes,
the department gave me additional exams,
all in French, before they would give me
the degree. I had to answer questions on
history, political science, French
literature, all kinds of cultural
things...but first, I had to translate
everything.

I have a page on myspace. Please drop by
and have a look if you get the chance. You
can see the things I've worked on and what
I'm editing now. I invite you to send me
an invite.
http://profile.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=user.viewprofile&friendid=378805484

I also have a blog on historical coaches and
carriages. I invite you to have a look and
vote on your favorite historical era.
(Scroll down to find the poll).

http://coachesandcarriages.blogspot.com/

Thank you, Corinne, for being my guest! The first
song on my playlist is  a favorite of hers, and
I picked the second song in her honor! Do click
on her My Space Link. The scenery is very nice,
and you can see the brilliant works she has
edited (plus mine;-D)