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bizzybody · 01-28-2015, 03:10 AM

Still reading Commander Cantrell in the West Indies

One SF author (I don't recall whom) told me he spent a few grand to have one of his books professionally edited and it still had some typos and other errors.

If you're writing a book in a genre you like and you have no friends and/or family who also like that genre, you need to find some more friends and/or family.

I'd take that gig for free on a book or two, read it in MS Word and fix spelling etc but not alter content.

If you want suggestions about what might make good changes I'll chip in my opinions. Ie. if you're having capital starships flitting about like fighter planes, no, just no... and if you use that atrocious trope of the impossibly dense asteroid belt... (though I may suggest ways to do something with a similar effect that is *not* physically impossible).

I have read *a lot of books*. In my packed away for years personal library are (IIRC) around 400. I used to be a voracious patron of public libraries before 2004 when I got an old Handspring Visor and got into ebooks. In two years of Jr. High (circa 1983-84) I read *every* SF&F book in the school's library, a large chunk of the biographies and made a good dent in the reference section. All that while and for years prior I'd also read many magazines, including but not limited to Popular Science, Popular Mechanics, and Mechanix Illustrated - including my grandfather's back issues that went back to the 1950's and 60's. I also read The Mother Earth News in the 70's and 80s. I have no idea how many ebooks I've read.

Reading comprehension, I has it.

I benefited from being just ahead of a "new wave" change in education that tossed out phonics and other "outdated" methods of teaching English. By the time I got to Jr. High it had caught up with my generation and the language classes there didn't cover one thing *I* hadn't already learned by 4th grade. Yes, I have met many people one year younger than I who went through the same schools, who have the most atrocious non-skill at the English language. I wonder how they manage to survive...

Roberta Pournelle's Reading Program needs to somehow be put back into production. readingtlc.com It's not what I used (mostly I just loved reading and learning) but it looks like a good program for people having difficulty.

01-28-2015, 03:10 AM	#21622
bizzybody Addict Posts: 294 Karma: 7742186 Join Date: Apr 2007 Location: Idaho, USA Device: Various PalmOS PDAs, Android Phones, Sharper Image Literati	Still reading Commander Cantrell in the West Indies One SF author (I don't recall whom) told me he spent a few grand to have one of his books professionally edited and it still had some typos and other errors. If you're writing a book in a genre you like and you have no friends and/or family who also like that genre, you need to find some more friends and/or family. I'd take that gig for free on a book or two, read it in MS Word and fix spelling etc but not alter content. If you want suggestions about what might make good changes I'll chip in my opinions. Ie. if you're having capital starships flitting about like fighter planes, no, just no... and if you use that atrocious trope of the impossibly dense asteroid belt... (though I may suggest ways to do something with a similar effect that is not physically impossible). I have read a lot of books. In my packed away for years personal library are (IIRC) around 400. I used to be a voracious patron of public libraries before 2004 when I got an old Handspring Visor and got into ebooks. In two years of Jr. High (circa 1983-84) I read every SF&F book in the school's library, a large chunk of the biographies and made a good dent in the reference section. All that while and for years prior I'd also read many magazines, including but not limited to Popular Science, Popular Mechanics, and Mechanix Illustrated - including my grandfather's back issues that went back to the 1950's and 60's. I also read The Mother Earth News in the 70's and 80s. I have no idea how many ebooks I've read. Reading comprehension, I has it. I benefited from being just ahead of a "new wave" change in education that tossed out phonics and other "outdated" methods of teaching English. By the time I got to Jr. High it had caught up with my generation and the language classes there didn't cover one thing I hadn't already learned by 4th grade. Yes, I have met many people one year younger than I who went through the same schools, who have the most atrocious non-skill at the English language. I wonder how they manage to survive... Roberta Pournelle's Reading Program needs to somehow be put back into production. readingtlc.com It's not what I used (mostly I just loved reading and learning) but it looks like a good program for people having difficulty.