Penny Carroll

Writer & Editor

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  • How-to

    How to use dashes: a guide for authors

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    Get a handle on how to use en and em dashes in fiction and non-fiction books.

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  • How-to

    How to use hyphens correctly

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    Confused about how to use hyphens in sentences? Here’s my guide to hyphens, with plenty of tips and examples to help you out.

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  • Author interviews

    Christina Gustavson has a sixth sense

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    Christina Gustavson

    The Swedish crime novelist shares how her career in forensic psychiatry shapes her writing and offers tips for aspiring crime writers.

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  • Editing, How-to

    5 ways to improve your manuscript

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    Good news: these tips don’t involve any writing!

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  • Editing

    What is an author-sensitive editorial approach?

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    My editing values are all about making sure your work is valued and you feel comfortable throughout the editing process.

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  • Author interviews

    Samantha L. Valentine is writing it like it is

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    This romance author is passionate about real diversity in fiction.

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Hi there!
Hi there!

I'm Penny, a writer and editor. On this blog I share writing tips, editing advice and interviews with authors to get you inspired. Read more

 
Recent Posts
  • How to respond to structural edits
  • Rose Monroe is raising the stakes with her Mafia romance series
  • Breaking up is hard to do
  • Diane Hester is reshaping the past with fiction
  • How to make your dialogue shine
Categories
  • Author interviews
  • Editing
  • How-to
  • Proofreading
  • Writing

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The funniest things can trip you up when you’re ta The funniest things can trip you up when you’re tackling copyedits. This post is designed to save you on those days you’re googling ‘show words on T-shirt fiction’ and getting zero helpful results. Save it now and sign up to my newsletter for practical tips like this every fortnight! Oh, and for more help on the text message situation, I’ve got a verrrry popular blog post on my website. Head to my bio for the link. #editing #copyediting #formatting
Thoughts I’ve had while sipping my daily coffee la Thoughts I’ve had while sipping my daily coffee lately… Authors, do any of these hit home? Let me know in the comments! ☕️ #writing #editing #writingadvice
PSA to all my writer friends… If you want your man PSA to all my writer friends… If you want your manuscript to look professional for editing or submission, these small formatting tweaks go a loooong way. They show you understand industry conventions, care about your editor/agent/publisher’s eyes, AND the chapter heading style makes it super easy to navigate your file, which is a win for everyone.  Bonus tip: Please don’t bother with special fonts or colours for things like letters or fictional newspaper articles etc. They’re hard to read and can corrupt easily. Leave it for your book designer!  Double bonus tip: Download my free DIY Editing Cheat Sheet for more quick and easy tweaks.
I talk a lot about what I will do in my edits, but I talk a lot about what I will do in my edits, but sometimes what I’m not doing says just as much! Here are a few of my editing don’ts, in case you’re wondering what really happens when you hand your words over… ✍️ #editing #writersofig

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