EAGLE EYE OR BOUNDLESS BLOOPERS by Susan Marlene

Excellence is respected—even expected for publication, but bloopers are not welcome.  I have unfortunately offered my fair share of bloopers during the submission process.  Let’s look over some ways to add professionalism to our writings and increase their acceptance and circulation.
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Through the course of this past year we have visited many topics: goal setting, library resources, finding your best idea, the value of conferences, how to write endings, write your desired message and more. Applying these guidelines, tools, and skills will aide us significantly in our efforts to earn a living as a writer or publicly minister with our particular gift of words.

Once you chose your topic, target audience, and compete the project, I advise every writer to slow down. Let your piece rest—rather like one allows their bread dough to rise. So often eagerness to complete our projects quickly causes us to pass over mistakes or areas that lack quality. I personally have written prose or lessons that made perfect sense as I wrote. When I’ve read those pages at a later date, I wondered what I meant by this statement or that one. Ouch!

I’ve seen many encouragements for authors to finish their novel and leave it alone for a couple of weeks before diving in for the big edit. That allows your inner “eagle eye” to switch on, preventing boundless bloopers from directing your work to the rejection pile. I’ve been amazed at how I’ve ignored or not applied excellent advice from well-published authors. Of course, I go around the mountain a few times and find myself right where I started. Finally, I take the advice and use it while wondering what took me so long! (Be careful here, there are different genres and types of writing. Bad advice is out there—unintentional misdirection is costly to your spirit and submissions as well as your time. Be discerning and take time to look at writings that are similar to yours, but are published in order to get a balanced view of expectations for your market.)

Show that you are able to meet deadlines, while gaining experience by doing smaller articles, devotions or projects. This provides credibility and gives you a win, win, win for all the benefits you can enjoy such as: honing your skills, making connections, ministering with your message and possibly gaining some income!

Let’s take a look at the Christian Writers Market and the Writers Market publishing helps.
Now let’s try an internet website I was told about that could be quite helpful to us all. Special thanks to Miss Lee, the teacher I work with. She shared these useful websites for our group!

http://www.hemingwayapp.com/

• This website provides the grade level of your work. The color codes point to the weak spots you may choose to edit. You don’t have to make the changes it suggests, but this will add new eyes on your words that will make you aware of what an editor may not wish to wade through.

https://www.paperrater.com/

• Free online grammar, plagiarism and spelling checking site.

Consider what you have learned as you edit what your muse spilled on the pages of your manuscript or writings. Remember:

• Slow down
• Don’t ignore advice from professionals
• Submit the small stuff that is related to your writing goals