3 Editorial Mistakes I’ve Made (in Life and Otherwise)

As many of you may know, I’m an editor and content writer in addition to being a self-published author. And as with many things in life, I’ve met a lot of people and interacted with a lot of different kinds of literary media in these capacities. But what I’ve seen in all these situations, is that so many mistakes are repeated. Why is that, you may ask? Well, that’s because there’s still a lesson that must be learned (be it in writing, or in living). And I’d argue that both of those are equally important in different ways.

That’s why this month, I wanted to share a few lessons I’ve learned with patterns I’m intentionally avoiding repeating. This isn’t to call out anyone or anything in particular; I just wanted to share what I’ve experienced to possibly give someone else a heads-up and boost ahead in the right direction (which, is also totally subjective, but I digress).

#1: Don’t assume that you know what you’re doing.

Hey, still trust your gut – but don’t be so full of it that you can’t tell your butt from your elbow, ya know? You might have the best intentions with your manuscript. There’s a great concept, and you have this innovative new style of writing that you’re passionate about. But then you meet an editor like me who tells you that writing an entire story in 2nd person (“you…”) is a crazy idea. Before you shrug and say you don’t care, take the time to learn why a professional like me might say that.

And as for life, look for patterns. If you notice that you always end up in the same undesirable place, re-trace your steps until you figure out what might be causing that. It doesn’t mean you keep messing up, but there may be a better path to get where you want to go. So don’t be afraid to take the road less traveled – you might find yourself somewhere pretty great. I learned recently that my mindset in relationships makes it hard for me to connect with people sometimes because it’s hard for me to take things slow and stay present. But that’s something I’m working on, and I can say that I’m already feeling more confident and better than ever.

#2: Don’t get locked into one concept too early.

Life takes time to develop, and so does your manuscript. The key is being ready to pivot to take everything into account. If you find yourself stuck on one idea, you might really miss out on the next great thing. Be ready to change things up whenever inspiration strikes. This could be as simple as adding or removing a new character, or working in a dramatic plot twist that adds immeasurable value to the story as a whole.

When things happen to you that you didn’t expect, it can be tempting to wallow and cry about it. Instead, look at challenges like opportunities to grow into your best self. Find your mojo again by joining a gym, trying a new sport, or taking up that hobby you’ve been dreaming about for months. The world is your oyster (although I admittedly have never fully grasped what that means, it seems to fit nicely here). Just be ready for anything and jump when the time is right. You don’t have to force it, you’ll just know.

#3: Don’t get lost in the noise.

The drawback to taking the above advice, is that you run the risk of losing your vision in the process. What causes that is a good old-fashioned case of forgetting what you’re working toward in the first place. Whether you have a huge dream in life to be a rockstar, or join the local fire department keeping your community safe, you gotta chase that. Sure, things in life sometimes happen to make that tougher, but that’s no reason necessarily to give it up. But sometimes it is.

What I’m trying to say here is that you gotta know what you want, and what you’re willing to give up to get it. The minute the scale tips in an imbalanced direction, you might have to pivot. You get what I mean? Nothing in life (and very few things in writing) are totally black-and-white. So much of it is a lovely shade of gray, and it’s up to you to balance light and dark in equal doses.

Hopefully this little rant helped you learn a few things about life and writing. But even if it didn’t, thank you for reading this far anyway. I hope you have a wonderful journey wherever you’re going, and that maybe our paths will continue to cross.

Follow me on Instagram, Facebook, and TikTok @angelinasingerauthor if this resonated with you 🙂

Advertisement

Life Moves Fast… Blink, and You’ll Miss It

I always struggle to think up new things to blog about. My life rarely feels all that exciting. Except for when it does. Then, it’s like a deluge of things and my head spins with all the added changes and adjustments. But that isn’t usually a bad thing – no, quite the opposite actually!

In previous seasons of stagnant progress, I often wondered when (or even if) things would ever change for me. And oh boy, did they change. When I graduated from college wondering what I would do for work, I had to network and work hard for over two years until I started getting real paid gigs. But when I recently bought my first-ever brand new car, I had this moment of “holy crap, I’m actually getting somewhere in life now”. You can read more about that experience in this recent blog post.

But to share with you what I mean, I’ll break it down into three categories:

1. I got a boyfriend.

I know, I was shocked too (JK, it was bound to happen eventually because I’m freaking adorable, obviously). But the WAY in which this one happened was so incredibly wild, I’m still processing it even over a month later.

I originally met Adam TEN YEARS AGO in band camp. I was the guitarist, he was the drummer randomly assigned to the same group. We didn’t talk much, but we definitely hung back while the louder, more confident kids led the conversations. Pretty typical for awkward teenagers (and boy were we awkward). In the decade that followed, we mostly lost contact until he hit me up on Instagram a couple years ago and we started chatting again. Then, this past December, Adam was like “hey, I haven’t seen you in forever, want to catch up sometime?” And so I was like, “Sure, why not?” I can always use more friends. I was partially right about that, it just escalated in a way I definitely didn’t expect. It turns out, we have all the same values and energy. It honestly blew my mind how crazy we connected, and just the sheer depth of our conversations. So I recently asked him, “Are you glad I let you out of the friend zone?” And Adam didn’t skip a beat, he just said “I never really saw it that way.” Enough said, we’re adorable and stuff. I definitely chased guitarists too long when I guess it was always meant to be a drummer 😉

2. I’m starting my guitar teaching journey.

Yesterday was a typical Wednesday for me, except for the fact my guitar teacher dropped the news that he was leaving the store to teach elsewhere. So that’s when I finally decided to take the plunge and go for it – it was time for me to finally start the process of applying to teach. He was already helping me with this process on the practical level, but now is the time I decided to push myself out of my comfort zone and actually go for it after years of toying with the idea. I’m equal parts terrified and excited, but I know that it will be so fulfilling for me, AND will bring some much-needed structure to my weekly routines.

3. My writing gigs are picking up.

I finally am seeing real progress in my professional work. I have clients that come back to me again and again, as well as a couple larger gigs that bring consistent assignments to me. These are HUGE blessings, and the only drawback I can see is that they’re keeping me from writing my next book because I’m often creatively spent by the time I get to it. But that’s okay – I know the creative process takes time, and that as long as I don’t give up, it’ll all happen the way it’s meant to (as seen in the above points 1-2). Of course, there’s still a long way to go, but there’s something really surreal about seeing your life finally start taking shape the way you’ve always wanted it to.

Where has your life been taking you recently? Share in the comments and let me know how you’ve been. And if you’re ever in the market for creative content writing or editorial work, please drop me a line via my freelance website HERE: https://www.angelinasinger.com/freelance