“Part 6: Heading Toward My Book’s Finish Line” Guest Blogger: Kevin Cullis

Editing. One of the more critical aspects of writing, no matter whether you are a first time author or best selling author Justin Cronin of The Passage (he’s a Mac user), is editing your book. Hiring a experienced editor to help you, not a journalist that can edit, provides you with tremendous feedback to where you’re going with your book, to what end will your reader want to purchase your book. The purpose of an editor is not to be an OB/GYN doctor that does a quick C-section on your “baby,” i.e. they rewrite your work to fit their thinking or style of writing, but to be a midwife, someone that allows you to do most of the work and helps to bring out your “baby” into the world with guidance, encouragement, suggestions, and hints. Editing includes developmental editor (a book’s subject matter), copyeditor (grammar, punctuation, style), project editor (moves your book along), and proofreader (catches typos).

Copywriting. You’ve heard the American Proverb quote, don’t judge a book by it’s cover. While my book cover visually catches my reader’s eye, my book’s copywriting catches their thinking about what’s inside my cover. Copywriting is the text that is on the back cover and the inside flap covers. It is intended to engage my reader to buy and is the sales content part of my book. If my copywriting does not catch my reader’s attention, they’ll put it down and move onto the next book.

When it comes to copywriting, it is not the same skill set that writers and editors have. Copywriters are specifically trained in writing sales copy, marketing, and getting customers to buy things, including my book. A book’s cover is the first step to garnering interest, much like how a meal is presented and looks to customers that intend to eat the epicurean delight. The second step is how a recipe smells to a customer’s nose, that’s a book’s copywriting.

Indexing. If you have a nonfiction book, indexing is the last part of producing your book and each term that is indexed has a corresponding page(s). If you change your writing, it may affect your indexed pages and you’ll have to reindex it, costing you time and money.

As my book neared completion, I needed to see what it looked like. I needed proofs.

Kevin’s Bio.

Kevin Cullis is a former Air Force officer. He has his Masters Degree in Administration, as well as over 12 years of face-to-face experience selling both Mac and PC hardware and software solutions to businesses. He loves helping entrepreneurs and small business owners integrate, utilize, and optimize the use of computers in their sales, marketing, and management processes. How to Start a Business: Mac Version ( https://www.createspace.com/3403435 ) is his first book. Contact him at kevin.cullis@gmail.com or visit his web site, http://wwww.macgetit.com.