Kia ora, It’s taken a couple of weeks, but I finally feel like I’m finding my 2026 rhythm. How about you? Thank you for being here with me for another year of adventures and adventure writing! Over the holidays I mulled over a few ideas for how I can better help you get into theContinue reading “Finding my 2026 rhythm”
Tag Archives: books
2025 travel and adventure reading round-up
Kia ora, I’m starting 2026 by looking back on 2025. Or at least, I’m looking back on the books I read, and I read a lot! Here’s my one-ish-sentence summary of each, in the order I read them. I want to hear your opinions too, so if you’ve read any of these, reply and letContinue reading “2025 travel and adventure reading round-up”
Merry Christmas, Happy Holidays
Kia ora, I don’t know about you, but I am hanging out for the Christmas break. Don’t get me wrong – I’ve had a great year editing a lot of fantastic manuscripts for wonderful authors, but summer is here and the beach is calling. Wherever you are in the world, whether you celebrate Christmas orContinue reading “Merry Christmas, Happy Holidays”
Busting myths that travel & adventure writers have about editing
Too many new writers let common myths about editing hold them back from working with the very people who can kick their writing up a notch. I’m taking about editors like me. I’m not here to just check your spelling and grammar, and I’m never going to tell you that you’re a bad writer. I’mContinue reading “Busting myths that travel & adventure writers have about editing”
Are you a writer?
Kia ora, A writer I worked with earlier in the year got in touch recently with an update. He’d just finished self publishing his first book – the book we worked on together. “I guess I’m a writer now!” he said. I shared his joy, of course! Getting that first book out is huge. ButContinue reading “Are you a writer?”
Pull your writing out of the toddler zone
Kia ora, Have you ever got stuck talking to a toddler who’s telling you all about their trip to the playground and that they got to feed the ducks, and then they got chased by the ducks, and then they stood in duck poo, and then they found a stick, and then, and then, andContinue reading “Pull your writing out of the toddler zone”
Grief is strange
Kia ora, Grief is strange. I’ve had two pets from different sides of the family die in the last few weeks. Both deaths have hit me in different ways. The cat was my grandma’s. When Grandma died, the cat moved in with Mum. The cat dying felt like the proper goodbye to Grandma, so allContinue reading “Grief is strange”
What editors do behind the scenes
A writer admitted this to me after we’d worked together on her manuscript: she didn’t really want to work with an editor, but her writing mentor told her to, so she did. She thought editors were human spellcheckers and I’d just go through and fix her grammar. She didn’t know what editing is, what itContinue reading “What editors do behind the scenes”
Chickens and trust
Kia ora, I’ve had a special guest in my office this week: a chicken in a box. She’s egg bound and making unsettling gurgles. But I’ve followed the advice (have you ever given a chicken a bath and massaged olive oil on her cloaca?) and I’m keeping her out of the galeforce wind and rainContinue reading “Chickens and trust”
What book editing looks like behind the scenes
Kia ora, Last week I talked about a client who was initially hesitant to work with an editor because they didn’t really get what editing is and didn’t know what it would involve. (Here’s last week’s email if you missed it.) This week I’m going to show you my process of editing a manuscript. IContinue reading “What book editing looks like behind the scenes”
Deborah Shaw Adventure Editing 