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Wit & Travesty

Monthly McGruder Updates: June

UPDATES

Monthly McGruder Updates via Wit & Travesty

It’s been a long time since our last update, and we’ve done a lot since then! Thanks for sticking around and checking in on us. Do give us an update on your writing life in the comments or on social media!

Update on Summer Goals

Writing Schedule: Travis has done more for himself in this regard. He’s been meeting with his writing group again, which always lends to a regular writing schedule. My kind of regular writing is more blog post and social media related. I am currently participating in Camp NaNoWriMo with the best cabin mates a writer could ask for! I’m sticking to my pleasant word count goal of 10,000 words, and I hope to get more chapters for Throwaway Queen finished.

Agent & Job Soliciting: I’ve applied to quite a few literary agencies and have gotten pleasantly-worded “no’s” from them. These are probably the nicest rejections I’ve ever received. A few even gave some constructive criticism that I could apply to my manuscript to get more acceptance emails in the future. I’m not too fazed by it since I’m still pretty early in the process.

As for jobs, we’re constantly applying and facing similar rejection. That’s how life is and we’re still trying to enjoy our summer regardless. We’re not sure what the rest of 2017 holds for us, and it’s easy to feel ebbs of discouragement.

We Had Our First Writing Retreat

Well, we’ve heard a lot about writing retreats and decided to take one ourselves! We stayed in this nice condo up in the mountains . . . and didn’t get much writing done. We didn’t take it super seriously, but the time we spent resting, reading, and working on other goals made it easier for us to write more in the future. I should give Travis credit: he actually did some writing and I got lost in a good book, Present Over Perfect.

We Launched Our #HalfYearMarkGoal Instagram Challenge

So far so good! We’re happy that a few people are participating and we hope to see more trickle in as July unfolds. You can check out our post about the challenge here or head over to Instagram to join! I’d highly recommend joining in the fun if you a) are motivated by online accountability to achieve a goal b) want ideas of what to post on Instagram or c) want to attract more like-minded followers to your Instagram. It’s a win-win, trust me.

We’re Upgrading Our Editing & Beta Reading Services

I’m particularly excited about this. As many of you know—or maybe don’t know—I have five years of professional editing experience and I want to use that experience to help other indie authors get publish-ready! In the coming weeks, I will be revamping our pages to include information about pricing, packages, services, and more to get a better idea of what I can do.

I’ve always been passionate about helping other writers. I want to train to eventually be a literary agent or even a publisher someday. But for now, I’m pretty jazzed about polishing manuscripts for reader consumption.

I’m also setting up a more official page where you can contact Travis or I for beta reading services. We will still do it free of charge, but we want something official so you know we’re available for these kinds of things.

Urg, I’m just really excited for this and I hope you are, too. A big THANK YOU to writing friends that have trusted me with editing your work in the past. You’ve made me confident enough to price my work better and even call myself a freelance editor.

Wit & Travesty Turns 3!

Last but not least, we’ve reached our 3rd blogging anniversary! Take a look at our posts—old and new—and you’ll see that we’ve come a long way. We have grown as writers, editors, readers, and humans.

We just want to thank you for following our blog, being interested in our lives via social media, sharing your dreams with us, and being the best internet friends we could ask for!

Sometimes it feels like no one is listening or paying attention, but we can tell that you are moved by our words and our #writerslife advice. In the coming years, we plan to share, start dialogs, and be a solid part of the warm and illustrious writing community.

Well, don’t mind us if we’re feeling a bit misty-eyed and yet pumped for our upcoming plans. What have you been up to this summer? Share with us in the comments or via social media!

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8 Comments on Monthly McGruder Updates: June

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Monthly McGruder Updates: July

8 comments on “Monthly McGruder Updates: June”

  1. Shirley A Crow says:
    July 2, 2017 at 8:30 am

    Love your goals. I need to take a writers retreat or maybe a retreat from writing when I finish my wip.

    ― Reply
    • Whitney says:
      July 2, 2017 at 2:23 pm

      Well put! We need both kinds of retreats so we’re continually mentally prepared to write. Thanks for your insight!

      ― Reply
  2. Trish Heinrich says:
    July 2, 2017 at 2:41 pm

    Congrats on the anniversary! And on Camp NaNo, I couldn’t stay committed to camp NaNo in the spring for some reason. I am intrigued by the free Beta reading, might have to look into your rules, etc for that. My writing life has been busy! I recently released my freebie prequel to the series that I will launch in October and I’m trying to solidify all the marketing I’m learning into a coherent plan and making sure my two books are ready to go by October. It’s fun, exhilarating and terrifying! About your writers retreat, I smiled when I read that you did more reading than writing because it makes me feel better about taking a break now and then when my soul needs it. I’m excited to see where everything takes you both on the next year!

    ― Reply
    • Whitney says:
      July 2, 2017 at 11:06 pm

      Thanks for the well wishes—and yes, you need to be “all in” a NaNoWriMo goal or else it doesn’t really stick. As for beta reading, maybe I’m using the wrong term? Monthly, I usually get writers who send me a copy of their book in exchange for an honest review—maybe that’s not beta reading? Or people charge for it? I always see it as a free book. But you’ve got a lot of writing done with two books ready by October—are these your first published books? Ahh, the next phase of publishing is so daunting to me. That’s why I hope to get a literary agent who can help me navigate all this and make my debut the best it can be. Thanks again for commenting and following along on our adventures! Yay for internet friends!

      ― Reply
      • Trish Heinrich says:
        July 3, 2017 at 11:04 am

        I’ve always understood Beta reading as getting private feedback on a WIP, but maybe the term can be interchangeable? I’ve been working on these two books for about two years, including time learning how to market prior to launch. It was originally one book, and my editor recommended splitting it, which was definitely the right thing to do. Indie Publishing is an adventure, that’s for sure.

        ― Reply
        • Trish Heinrich says:
          July 3, 2017 at 11:05 am

          And yes, they are my first books published. Very exciting, scary stuff!

          ― Reply
        • Whitney says:
          July 5, 2017 at 8:57 am

          Hahaha, after doing some research it sounds like we’re both right! Beta reading can be specifically receiving a free copy of the book and leaving a review OR you could give additional private feedback—it just depends on how both parties interpret it. So I think I’ll make that point clear on my list of services. As for pay, it sounds like people might charge for the feedback, but usually not very much. Many beta readers (like me) see the free copy as payment enough.

          ― Reply
          • Trish Heinrich says:
            July 5, 2017 at 9:08 am

            That’s good to know. I can be more specific when asking for Beta (feedback) reading from people.

            ―

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Whitney was great to work with. The whole experience was professional, yet flexible. Helpful, yet kind. My manuscript improved so much through Whitney's guidance that I received my first book deal!
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Whitney helped me with two short projects written for children, and she was very pleasant to work with. She has an eye for detail, helping me with small grammar errors as well as insights about adding scenes that would enhance my story. Her turnaround time was extremely quick, which I really appreciated when on a deadline!
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Working with Whitney was a breath of fresh air! I enjoyed every minute of my experience with bringing my book to life! Whitney not only did an exceptional job, she is also a very kind, patient, and I hope to continue to do business in the future!
Jonathan Baker
Whitney and I worked together in a writing feedback group some years ago and have remained in touch since then. From the beginning, I was struck by her absolute responsibility as an editor. Even in the capacity of a group member, not even being employed or contracted by me to edit my work, Whitney was unerringly punctual, thorough, and accurate with her feedback. Her advice is genuinely insightful and I believe the marketability of my work was noticeably increased due to her guidance. I so value her skills that I still turn to her as a resource after three years of working with her in-person have passed.
Rachel Barnard
I won a contest via Wit & Travesty in the summer of 2017. The prize was a professional edit of the first 100 pages of a WIP. My middle grade fantasy was only 90 pages, so she read the entire manuscript. She was communicative and positive about the project. Her edits markedly polished up my manuscript and were easy to understand.
Angelika Offenwanger
Whitney did a copy-edit on my third novel, Checkmate. She was a pleasure to work with, and helped me give my novel that final polish that it needed before publication. Put her on your list for editors that help your work shine!