March 2020 - Forever Young Autobiographies

Ask Nicola Q&A: Your most burning book questions about types of editors

What you should know about the 4 different types of edits

Hi and welcome to Forever Young Autobiographies – Ask Nicola.

As a print editor, I get many queries about planning, writing, polishing and publishing life stories for family and friends.

And in this series I aim to give you a peek into how I help fellow writers.

Today’s Ask Nicola answers the following question:

I have finished the first draft of my book. What are the different types of editors? And which one is most important?

Book review: Journalist Stephanie Wood’s Fake by Penguin Random House

‘Love in a world of liars, cheats, narcissists, fantasists and phonies’ by an ex-Fairfax Media staff writer

I love the book title of Fake by Stephanie Wood.

Such a simple name for such a complex story of love, lies and loss in the modern world of internet dating.

Fake was released by Vintage Australia (Penguin Random House Australia) last year and has been nominated for the Australian Book Industry Awards 2020.

Wood is an award-winning long-form writer and a former senior staff writer at Fairfax Media’s Good Weekend magazine.

A survivor of a toxic relationship, her book is a firsthand account and stark warning to others.

Fake has many highlights that can help us start and finish our own writing, whether that be an autobiography, memoir, biography or other life-story project.

Let’s take a closer look…

Talking about coronavirus

I hope you and your family are healthy during this virus pandemic.

My family and I are thinking of you especially if you or a loved one is suffering with the virus.

Dialogue like a pro: See how easily you can use speech marks and quotes in writing

The quick and simple way for writing dialogue and using quotation marks

Writing dialogue can scare some people.

They feel like they are off the beaten track in the punctuation wilderness.

But the truth is great quotes really lift an autobiography, memoir, biography or life-story project.

And learning to use speech marks is nowhere near as strenuous as hiking cross country.

As a newspaper print editor I’ve helped many reporters easily understand how to use quotes in writing.

And I can help you too no matter if you are just starting to write or polishing a manuscript.

So get comfy in your fave writing spot and get set to write dialogue like a pro…

Writing tips: The ultimate guide of life-story tips for new writers

All the writing advice you need to write a life story today

If starting a life-story project has you feeling worried or anxious you need some lifesaving writing tips.

This week I’ve prepared the ultimate guide of writing tips for new writers.

It aims to equip you to confidently put pen to paper today!

This guide is part two in the ‘ultimate series’, which includes the ultimate guide about planning to write life stories, the ultimate guide to polishing your writing and the ultimate guide to publishing a life story.