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Nothing on the internet is private

On November 12, 2021, Victoria Strauss released a blog post on the Writer Beware blog about an editor and their shady practices. Within the editors' circles, there was concern about this particular editor's practices and how it might reflect on editors as a whole. However, most of the conversations I saw centered around the shocking nature of the editor's emails and communications.

I don't want to get into the disconnect between client expectations and services provided by this editor, because that's not the hidden trap that I want to highlight. I want to focus entirely on the fact that the whole world now knows exactly how this editor communicates. And the reason we now know this is because a screen capture of email communications was shared as part of the Writer Beware blog post.

That is the hidden trap.

Nothing on the internet is private. Not emails. Not personal messages. Not even chat room conversations.

If a computer or electronic device is involved somewhere within the process of passing information from one person to another, then there is a very real possibility that the information could be leaked and made public.

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Guilty

Slay the Naysayers

Every writer encounters at least one naysayer, even in the early stages of their writing careers. You know the ones I'm talking about. They're the people who say things that make you feel bad about your choices, or they hinder your ability to make progress, they shake your confidence, or zap you of energy.

They come in all different shapes and size. And some of them are stealthy in their actions, not even realizing what they're doing and the negative impact that they have over your writing.

But there are strategies for dealing with the naysayers, so you can make progress towards your hopes and dreams. It all comes down to mindset.

In today's post, I want to share with you some of my personal experiences with the different naysayers and how I deal with them.

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Advice out of the mouths of babes

Some years ago, my daughter and I were having a conversation about what it was she would like to do for the coming year. She's a dancer, and at the time, she was interested in the idea of turning her dancing into a career. She was only 13 at the time, but even then, she knew that if she wanted to go professional, she was going to have to work hard to be the best she could be—and some.

The performing arts are just as competitive as the publishing industry, if not more so.

Anyway, I had received an email from her dance school about auditions for a competition dance team. She had never been part of a competition team, but she was being invited specifically to audition. When I asked her if she was interested, she hummed and hawed for a bit, then she said something that hit a little closer to home than she realized.

"I'm never going to make it if I don't take a risk and put myself out there."

BAM! The fist hit me in the gut, and she never lifted a finger. She was talking about her own dreams and her own aspirations, yet her words carried a message that was powerful.

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The #DigitalDetox Poem

As part of a #DigitalDetox challenge (something that I failed at miserably), I was supposed to write a poem. Well, this is the poem I wrote.

It's not a masterpiece by no stretch of the word, but it's not a disaster either. However, there was a theme to it that sort of shows where my mental mindset is at the moment.

It was written while I was driving, using the dictation app that I discovered on my phone.

Enjoy.

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Finding the Right Editor

Within my various writing groups (mainly online), it's not surprising that I encounter a variety of interactions about finding an editor. While some know that I'm an editor too and not just a writer, when I take part in these conversations, it is only to pass on my knowledge and experience about the things that writers should ask when seeking to hire a freelance editor.

The questions below are general. You might not need to ask every question, but getting the answers before you work with an editor will help to go a long way in forging a healthy working relationship with your editor.

In fact, these questions can apply to any freelancer that you might hire to be part of your team, be they a cover designer, book formatter, publicist, and, to a lesser extent, an agent. (Yes, an agent is technically a freelancer too.)

Within this post, when possible, I have also included my answers (as the editor).

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