Good at my day job

Kia ora,

At the weekend, a friend and I went on a day trip to pick up fruit trees for the garden. Sure, we could have got them from a nursery in town, but these ones have been grafted from trees that tolerate the cold and windy weather that blasts this part of the South Island. I’ve got them all in the ground, so now we wait for fruit!

I’ve also got big plans for the vege garden. Not sure if my gardening skills can live up to my grand plans. I’ll keep you posted.

While my gardening skills are questionable, there’s one area where I’m much more confident in my abilities: my day job! 

One of my editing superpowers is checking details. I’m talking more than just “is this the right place for a semicolon?” In a recent edit, the author mentioned the result of a Formula 1 race that was playing in the background of a bar. Never one to assume, I looked up the Grand Prix in question and found that they’d mixed up their races (easily done). That was an easy fix that helped the writer build trust with their readers.

In another edit, something didn’t seem right about a route the author described. So I headed to Google Maps and plotted it. I figured out the wrong turn and asked the author to check it. Yep, they’d mixed up their left and right (also easily done).

One writer was impressed enough with my fact checking that they included this line in their testimonial: “I was impressed with how Deborah researched the topics I covered in the book to make sure they were factually correct.”

When you’re in the weeds of your writing, it’s easy to miss details like these. Races blur together, left turns become right turns. That’s where having an inquisitive second pair of eyes can really help – not to catch you out, but to catch you before your readers do.

Cheers,
Deborah

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📚 What I’m reading

A Light Through the Cracks, by Beth Rodden. 

Confession: On the flight back from Adelaide last week, I got distracted by another book. I’ve almost finished that one, so I’ll be back to Beth soon. (The other book is Cultish, by Amanda Montell. Not adventure related at all, but fascinating!)

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📅 Availability

Currently booking manuscripts from early November. 

If you’re thinking of getting your manuscript published early next year, reply to this email and we can set up a call. My schedule is filling up quick!

I can give you a free sample edit, and we can jump on a video call to chat about the editing process too.

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✍️ Ways to work with me

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