My first contact with
Kathy Ide was when she was the editor for my book, Pirate’s Prize, fairly early in my writing career. She loved the
book, which warmed my writer-heart. Then soon after, we were at a writing
retreat at the edge of the Sam Houston National Forest
in Texas
Welcome, Kathy. What
would you like for our readers to know about you personally?
One thing that often surprises people when they find out I’m
a professional freelance editor is that I didn’t go to college … well, except
for a hockey game at the University
of Minnesota
I also seem to have a natural affinity for catching mistakes
in written material. I’m one of those people who notices when billboards and
magazine ads and signs in grocery stores have misspelled words or punctuation
marks in the wrong place. I used to drive my family crazy complaining about
those things. Now that I get paid to do it, they don’t mind so much.
Tell us about your
family.
I have an amazingly supportive husband—there’s no way I
could be doing what I do without Rick, that’s for sure. When I lost my day job
15 years ago, after working for 30 years as a secretary and graphic designer
for companies, he asked me what I’d do for a living if I could do anything. I
immediately said, “Write!” But we’d just bought a house in Southern
California based on my income with a well-established career. So he
asked, “What would your second choice be?” I told him the members of my
critique group seemed to really like what I did for them. He suggested I see if
I could turn that into a career. And I did!
I also have two grown sons. Both have moved out of the house
(twice) and are now living in other states: one in Texas
and the other in Colorado .
Since my hubby and I live in Southern
California , our extended family members come to visit us a lot! We
love being the “bed-and-breakfast” for our relatives while they explore all the
tourist options within an hour or so of our home.
Have you written
other nonfiction books?
I’ve self-published two books for writers: Christian Drama Publishing and Typing without Pain.
Do you have any other
books in the works right now?
Of course! If my Proofreading Secrets of Best-Selling Authors
does well, I plan on doing more books in the Secrets of Best-Selling Authors
series: Editing Secrets, Publishing Secrets, Marketing Secrets, Keyboarding
Secrets … and maybe Secrets of
Best-Selling Fiction Authors, Best-Selling
Children’s Authors, etc. The possibilities are almost endless.
I’m also working on a series of devotionals with a unique
twist. When I get a contract for the book, you’ll definitely hear about it!
And I have a novel manuscript that I’ve been working on for
years, off and on. It’s near-future speculative, which is a bit of an odd duck.
But I believe it will find the right home someday.
I know that more and
more publishers are looking for speculative books right now. Maybe it’ll be
soon. What kinds of hobbies and leisure activities do you enjoy?
My husband says that editing is my job and writing is my
hobby! That’s because editing results in a much better income than writing. But
I love both! And I tend to spend a lot of my free time doing things related to
one or the other. Traveling to speak and teach at writers’ conferences is
“work” but it’s also tremendous fun. Running my two organizations for editors
(Christian Editor Connection and The Christian PEN: Proofreaders and Editors
Network) takes several hours a week, but I enjoy that too.
I’ve always been an avid reader. But to be honest, it’s
harder now to find books I can just enjoy, without doing at least some editing
in the back of my mind! When I find a book that captivates me so much I stop
analyzing it, that’s a real treasure.
Still, all work and no play, even when you enjoy your work,
is a recipe for disaster and burnout. So I make sure to spend leisure time with
my hubby (I drive to his office to have lunch with him every week, and we have
date night at the movies at least once a week), my BFF (she comes over to
exercise and pray every week, and she brings her family along for dinner and a
movie or a Wii game a couple of times a month), and my totally adorable
five-year-old goddaughter, Zoe.
We just bought a motor home, so I’m looking forward to some
leisurely trips in that.
I also love going to the theater, and Southern
California has a lot of options for that. I’ve seen Phantom of the Opera, my favorite, a
half dozen times—three times with Michael Crawford.
Why did you write the
featured book?
Proofreading Secrets of Best-Selling Authors started when I was
proofreading galleys for Moody Publishers. If I wanted to make any change, I
had to prove I was right by citing a rule from The Chicago Manual of Style or look up the spelling in Merriam-Webster’s Collegiate Dictionary.
I found myself looking up the same rules and words over and over, so I made a
little “cheat sheet” for myself. That list got longer and longer. And I started
rewriting the explanations from the Chicago
manual in words that made sense to me.
When I shared that list with other writers and editors, they
wanted a copy. So I started printing them and giving them away. When the list
got longer, and more people wanted it, I self-published it as a book and sold
it. I called it Polishing the PUGS:
Punctuation, Usage, Grammar, and Spelling Tips for Writers. It became so
popular, I was awarded the nickname “the PUGS lady”!
When I found a commercial publisher for the book, I decided
to change the title, put in more PUGS guidelines (based on input from my
readers), and add a new feature: tips from multi-published authors on how to
proofread a manuscript for typos, inconsistencies, and inaccuracies.
Which best-selling
authors are featured in your book?
Lisa
Tawn Bergren
Renae
Brumbaugh
Mary
DeMuth
Suzanne
Woods Fisher
Anita
Higman
Randy
Ingermanson
Kathi
Macias
Gail
Gaymer Martin
Susan
Meissner
Deborah
Raney
Gayle
Roper
Lynette
Sowell
Kay
Marshall Strom
Cindy
Woodsmall
And it is a great privilege
to appear with these wonderful authors. What do you want the reader to take
away from the book?
Mostly, I’m hoping readers will grasp the importance of
carefully proofreading their manuscripts. One of the things that prevents me
from enjoying more books is all the mistakes I find. And these days, with more
and more writers going with indie publishing, the number of books that are not
carefully proofread is growing like crazy.
In my book, I highlight a few of the industry-standard
guidelines for punctuation, and I address a handful of grammar rules, and I
reveal some of the most commonly misspelled (or misused) words I come across in
my editing. And many people have told me how great it is to have a handy go-to
reference. But I’m hoping my readers will take that a step further and study
the rules for themselves … and get in the habit of looking up words in the appropriate
dictionary, even if they’re absolutely positive they know how to spell them!
(My hubby says the definition of positive is being wrong at the top of your
voice.)
Where on the Internet
can the readers find you?
A year ago, I would’ve just told you to check out my
website: www.KathyIde.com. But now I’m all
over the place on the Internet! I have two Facebook pages:
My book has its own Facebook page: www.facebook.com/ProofreadingSecrets
And here are my social media “homes”:
Twitter: www.twitter.com/KathyIde
Pinterest: http://www.pinterest.com/KathyIdeEditor/
I’m also very active with my two organizations for editors.
The Christian PEN: Proofreaders and Editors Network (www.TheChristianPEN.com)
This is a professional support organization for aspiring and
established editorial freelancers, offering tips and tools on the website, a
free e-mail discussion loop, online courses, and added benefits for
contributing members.
Christian Editor Connection (www.ChristianEditor.com )
Here I personally connect writers, agents, and publishers
with established, professional freelance editors who fit their unique needs.
I've been blessed by that association, too, Kathy.
Readers, here are links to the book. By using one when you order, you help support this blog.
Proofreading Secrets of Best-Selling Authors - paperback
Proofreading Secrets of Best-Selling Authors (Writing With Excellence)
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