Sharon Honeycutt, Editor

You write. I edit. You shine.

Category: reading (Page 2 of 2)

Reading Lessons: A Man Called Ove: A Novel

January 16, 2017 /

So far, so good. I’m keeping up with my resolution to read more for pleasure. I know, I know. It’s only January 16, but still …

I mentioned at the tail end of my last post that I’d started A Man Called Ove: A Novel by Fredrik Backman and that even though I’d just started, I could tell he was a master at developing characters. Boy, was I right. The characters he created for this book—not just Ove, but the supporting cast as well—will live with me for a long time. I finished the book yesterday—amid a cascade of tears—and I just can’t quit thinking about those characters. That, my writer friends, is what you want your readers to feel.

How did he do it? Continue reading

2017 Resolution: I’m going to read more!

January 6, 2017 /

I don’t usually make resolutions for a new year, but this year I did. I resolved to read more best sellers in all types of genres—those I would naturally pick up and those I would naturally pass over.

I love to read, but you might be surprised to know I don’t do a lot of it for pleasure. As a full-time editor, it’s not uncommon for me to spend six to eight hours each workday reading clients’ projects. It’s hard at that point to sit down again and read for pleasure, so I end up saving my personal reading for bedtime … which means I read for pleasure for about ten minutes a day—if I’m lucky—before I fall asleep.

I realized that as both an editor and a writer, it’s really important for me to stay up-to-date on what’s selling and what people are raving about. Why? Continue reading

Client Spotlight: J. Matthew Saunders

February 18, 2016 /

Two of the best parts of being a freelance editor are the number of people I get to work with and the variety of projects they bring to me. I’ve had the pleasure of working with talented writers and amazing human beings. These are people who put a smile on my face each time their name appears in my inbox.

Because of this, I thought it would be fun to feature my clients once in a while and tell you about their projects and why you might be interested in what they’re writing.

J. Matthew Saunders

For this first spotlight, I’m featuring a client who first came to me early in 2015. He had written a vampire book and needed an editor. Was I interested? As soon as I read the opening pages, I knew I wanted to work with this author. These were very different vampire stories, and he was a very gifted writer.

First, let me tell you just a little about the author himself. J. Matthew Saunders isn’t your typical self-published author. He’s got three degrees–history, journalism, and law!–and had already written several short stories before he published his novel. On top of that talent, Matthew’s just a really nice guy and a pro to work with. Want to know more about him? Click here.

Okay, so vampires, huh? Continue reading

If You Write, You Should Read

January 7, 2016 /

You might be surprised to know how many times I ask myself, when I’m editing early drafts of books or books written by inexperienced (read “new”) writers, “Does this person read?” And I think you’d be surprised because I’m certain that in most cases, the answer is “Yes, I read. I read a lot!”

Writers need to read, and ideally, they should read a lot and from different genres. The more we read, the more we expose ourselves to different styles, different figures of speech, different ways of building a narrative, and different takes on perspective. Writers should be “forever” learners, and reading consistently is one way to continue learning.

If you’re a writer and you do read a lot, it’s possible I’m still asking myself that question I posed above as I’m working on your book. Why is that? Why isn’t your experience as a reader translating into your efforts to write?

One reason could be that you’re not reading as a writer. You’re reading for pleasure, or you’re reading to learn, but you’re not reading as a writer. You need to train yourself to do that. How, you ask?

Continue reading

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