#editingchat 4/15/11

VictoriaMixon Victoria Mixon
Otherwise, I’ll put today’s on a page on my site for reference & tweet it when it’s up. Thanks, everyone! Happy Friday! #editingchat
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VictoriaMixon Victoria Mixon
. . .but maybe through April. #editingchat
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Victoria Mixon
VictoriaMixon Victoria Mixon
Drop me a line if you want to do this again next week. I don’t know if I can keep it up every week indefinitely. . . #editingchat
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C. Andrew Wolfe
wolfe_ca C. Andrew Wolfe
@
@VictoriaMixon LOL — thanks for the #editingchat
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Victoria Mixon
VictoriaMixon Victoria Mixon
You’re welcome. Thanks for being here, guys! #editingchat
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Victoria Mixon
VictoriaMixon Victoria Mixon
‘the bong’ indeed. Sorry about that. I’m going to get some interesting followers for that one. #editingchat
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techtigger
techtigger techtigger
@
@VictoriaMixon can’t think of anything right now – thanks for hosting the chat! #editingchat
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Victoria Mixon
VictoriaMixon Victoria Mixon
And now it’s noon & my cuckoo clock is about the bong. Any quick last questions? #editingchat
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Victoria Mixon
VictoriaMixon Victoria Mixon
It can be extremely educational to read the crap written by great authors. #editingchat
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Victoria Mixon
VictoriaMixon Victoria Mixon
Not all of it. Some authors pub’d crap as well as classic lit, & their crap is now sold by & to those who can’t tell the diff. #editingchat
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Victoria Mixon
VictoriaMixon Victoria Mixon
Most of what’s considered ‘classic’ in lit is extremely good. The stuff that wasn’t died w/its authors. #editingchat
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Victoria Mixon
VictoriaMixon Victoria Mixon
Literary fiction is really my specialty. I make everyone’s writing as beautiful as possible, genre or no genre. #editingchat
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Victoria Mixon
VictoriaMixon Victoria Mixon
I work a lot with ‘edgy’ literary authors as well as classical literary authors. #editingchat
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jefro_net
jefro_net jefro_net
Last question from me – is there value in reading classic writers, even their stuff that isn’t so good? #editingchat
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Victoria Mixon
VictoriaMixon Victoria Mixon
Not that anyone writing Westerns much these days. #editingchat
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Victoria Mixon
VictoriaMixon Victoria Mixon
But I know a lot about fantasy & sci-fi as well. And Westerns, as it happens. #editingchat
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Victoria Mixon
VictoriaMixon Victoria Mixon
I personally love the mystery genre, which uses techniques very similar to thriller & horror. I don’t do much romance. #editingchat
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Victoria Mixon
VictoriaMixon Victoria Mixon
The Mystery Writers Club ones? I have a few I’ve picked up in 2nd-hand stores. They’re not very good, unfortunately. #editingchat
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Victoria Mixon
VictoriaMixon Victoria Mixon
As far as #genre specialization, editors often let you know on their website particularly if they’re pub’ing writers themselves #editingchat
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jefro_net
jefro_net jefro_net
Wow – where can we get hold of those story collections? #editingchat
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Victoria Mixon
VictoriaMixon Victoria Mixon
We’ve got about 7 minutes left for questions. #editingchat
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Victoria Mixon
VictoriaMixon Victoria Mixon
The quality is uneven from chapter to chapter. To say the least. #editingchat
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Victoria Mixon
VictoriaMixon Victoria Mixon
The Mystery Writers Club of the UK in the ’30s wrote story collaborations. Christie, Sayers, etc. #editingchat
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Victoria Mixon
VictoriaMixon Victoria Mixon
Anthologies are based on genre readership & collecting multiple authors’ readerships all in one place. It’s good marketing. #editingchat
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Victoria Mixon
VictoriaMixon Victoria Mixon
Also, anthologies have always been a feature of the fiction world. That’s a bit diff from story collections by a single author. #editingchat
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Victoria Mixon
VictoriaMixon Victoria Mixon
There are exceptions to every rule. But the gatekeepers don’t always allow them to set the standard by which they judge #editingchat Thieves
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Victoria Mixon
VictoriaMixon Victoria Mixon
So I cover a lot of genres, personally. #editingchat
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Andi Stenger
prettyandi Andi Stenger
Writers in need of editing advice. #EditingChat is going on NOW.
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Victoria Mixon
VictoriaMixon Victoria Mixon
Some editors do. It depends on the editor. I have #genres I love & those I don’t. But I have very broad tastes & background. #editingchat
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Victoria Mixon
VictoriaMixon Victoria Mixon
As large pubs unload their quality specialists & ramp up on sales/marketers they remove that expertise from their qualificatins #editingchat
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techtigger
techtigger techtigger
@
@VictoriaMixon do editors tend to specialize in particular genres? should a writer look for that? #editingchat
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Victoria Mixon
VictoriaMixon Victoria Mixon
But salespeople/marketers have always relied on someone else to manage quality of product for them. It’s not their job. #editingchat
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C. Andrew Wolfe
wolfe_ca C. Andrew Wolfe
Sorry bout that. It was an interesting short story collaboration, but arranged by a well known F author. Probably an exception. #editingchat
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Victoria Mixon
VictoriaMixon Victoria Mixon
Especially in this day of lack of editing, large pubs want someone else to have screened the quality & potential readership. #editingchat
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Victoria Mixon
VictoriaMixon Victoria Mixon
Yes, short story collections tend to be largely stories pub’d by lit mags, so large pubs know someone’s already vetted them. #editingchat
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jefro_net
jefro_net jefro_net
Excellent @VictoriaMixon Don’t worry about jumping on Big Sales Bandwagon. Concentrate on doing whatever you do REALLY WELL. #editingchat
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Victoria Mixon
VictoriaMixon Victoria Mixon
I don’t know. I didn’t read Thieves’ World. Sorry! #editingchat
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Victoria Mixon
VictoriaMixon Victoria Mixon
It’s really important to understand this if you expect to be published. #editingchat
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Victoria Mixon
VictoriaMixon Victoria Mixon
The sensibilities of the people creating fiction–artists–& of the people selling fiction–pubs–are intrinsically different. #editingchat
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Victoria Mixon
VictoriaMixon Victoria Mixon
Don’t worry about jumping on the Big Sales Bandwagon. Just concentrate on doing whatever you do REALLY WELL. #editingchat
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Victoria Mixon
VictoriaMixon Victoria Mixon
Then someone will go ahead & do it anyway–do it really well–& all of a sudden it will appear on the menu of What’s Done. #editingchat
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techtigger
techtigger techtigger
@
@VictoriaMixon i love reading themed short story collections – it’s a good way to find new authors to read #editingchat
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Victoria Mixon
VictoriaMixon Victoria Mixon
This is why I tell writers, “Don’t worry too much about the status quo. You will always be told, ‘It isn’t done.'” #editingchat
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Victoria Mixon
VictoriaMixon Victoria Mixon
And now they do well. #editingchat
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C. Andrew Wolfe
wolfe_ca C. Andrew Wolfe
Pfft. Then what was Theives’ World? #editingchat
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Victoria Mixon
VictoriaMixon Victoria Mixon
So suddenly everyone went, “Hey, we LOVE story collections! We’re all ABOUT story collections!” #editingchat
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Victoria Mixon
VictoriaMixon Victoria Mixon
Then someone took some chances–Melissa Banks’ Girls’ Hunting & Fishing Club, others–& they did well. #editingchat
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Victoria Mixon
VictoriaMixon Victoria Mixon
During the ’80s & ’90s. #editingchat
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Victoria Mixon
VictoriaMixon Victoria Mixon
You know, for a long time traditional pubs were saying, “We won’t publish story collections. Don’t even ask.” #editingchat
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Victoria Mixon
VictoriaMixon Victoria Mixon
Yes, I need help like anyone else seeing the forest for the trees. As a writer said in a query this week “blinded by the glare” #editingchat
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jefro_net
jefro_net jefro_net
Do you think readers want short stories, or longer books? Both? Does it depend on the genre? #editingchat
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Victoria Mixon
VictoriaMixon Victoria Mixon
You should see some of the un-edited stuff I’ve sent to mags in my time. #editingchat #verysad
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jefro_net
jefro_net jefro_net
Experienced writers need mentors too 🙂 #editingchat
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Victoria Mixon
VictoriaMixon Victoria Mixon
So when you bring a short story to an editor (a good one), they shd be mentoring you in your craft. Teaching you to be a writer #editingchat
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Victoria Mixon
VictoriaMixon Victoria Mixon
My clients come out the end of the editing process knowing a TON more about how to write–the techniques & purposes, the life. #editingchat
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Victoria Mixon
VictoriaMixon Victoria Mixon
Editing like I do isn’t just about the ms. It’s about mentoring the writer. And all aspiring writers need mentors. #editingchat
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Victoria Mixon
VictoriaMixon Victoria Mixon
The truth is wonderful writing needs editing, & who’s authorized to tell a writer readers don’t want the best possible writing? #editingchat
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Victoria Mixon
VictoriaMixon Victoria Mixon
That lasted about a week. #editingchat
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Victoria Mixon
VictoriaMixon Victoria Mixon
There was, for a tiny while, a sense of what’s “fair,” as in: the pubs thought it wasn’t “fair” to be edited b/f submitting. #editingchat
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Victoria Mixon
VictoriaMixon Victoria Mixon
@techtigger Oh, yes. You can get anything edited you want. I do short stories. They’re fun. #editingchat
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Victoria Mixon
VictoriaMixon Victoria Mixon
Out of sheer innocence. #editingchat
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Victoria Mixon
VictoriaMixon Victoria Mixon
And may are so inclined. #editingchat
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techtigger
techtigger techtigger
@
@VictoriaMixon is it all right to get a short story edited for submission to a contest, or should you do it yourself for that? #editingchat
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Victoria Mixon
VictoriaMixon Victoria Mixon
Which means we can put out even worse crap than the traditional pubs do, if we are so inclined. #editingchat
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Victoria Mixon
VictoriaMixon Victoria Mixon
The danger, of course, is that. . .they give us the chance to publish ANYTHING we want. #editingchat
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Victoria Mixon
VictoriaMixon Victoria Mixon
But now ebooks & self-pub give us the chance to publish what we want. #editingchat
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Victoria Mixon
VictoriaMixon Victoria Mixon
For decades, those of us interested in wonderful literature just had to live with it. #editingchat
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Victoria Mixon
VictoriaMixon Victoria Mixon
More & more, that’s how the traditional industry is establishing itself system. #editingchat
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Victoria Mixon
VictoriaMixon Victoria Mixon
& that large pub has your distribution network in place to shoop those mediocre books/severe crap straight to readers w/$. #editingchat
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Victoria Mixon
VictoriaMixon Victoria Mixon
&, as we see every day, you can write a highly-mediocre book–even severe crap–& if you have a huge name, you have a large pub #editingchat
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Victoria Mixon
VictoriaMixon Victoria Mixon
You can write the most gorgeous book ever & self-pub, & it will not sell if no one knows about it. #editingchat
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Victoria Mixon
VictoriaMixon Victoria Mixon
But they also take a bigger bite, & nowadays the constraints within which they work mean they rely more & more on big names. #editingchat
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Victoria Mixon
VictoriaMixon Victoria Mixon
The financial rewards depend on things largely outside yr control. Large pubs sell more books. LOTS more books. #editingchat
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jefro_net
jefro_net jefro_net
Assuming a given level of writing quality… i.e. all else being equal #editingchat
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Victoria Mixon
VictoriaMixon Victoria Mixon
All this is changing fast, though. Faster every day. #editingchat
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jefro_net
jefro_net jefro_net
I don’t expect to be a bazillionaire from my writing, but is it more lucrative in the long run to go with a big pub? #editingchat
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Victoria Mixon
VictoriaMixon Victoria Mixon
Micro-pubs are in between, distribution-wise. #editingchat
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Victoria Mixon
VictoriaMixon Victoria Mixon
Although self-pub gives the greatest freedom of creativity plus greatest financial reward/book, it has the worst distribution. #editingchat
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Victoria Mixon
VictoriaMixon Victoria Mixon
The pros of large pubs are at the backend, in distribution. #editingchat
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Victoria Mixon
VictoriaMixon Victoria Mixon
But you’re gambling on their distribution network. #editingchat
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Victoria Mixon
VictoriaMixon Victoria Mixon
Micro-pubs can alleviate that to some extent, being gatekeepers of quality but not necessarily complete bottlenecks. #editingchat
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Victoria Mixon
VictoriaMixon Victoria Mixon
The cons with self-pub also start at the gate, w/the *lack* of gatekeepers. #editingchat
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Victoria Mixon
VictoriaMixon Victoria Mixon
There are pros & cons to them all. The cons w/large pubs start right at the gate, w/the gatekeepers. #editingchat
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Victoria Mixon
VictoriaMixon Victoria Mixon
That’s a heck of a good question. #editingchat What do you think about self-pub vs. work w/small pub vs. large
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jefro_net
jefro_net jefro_net
What do you think about self-publishing vs. working with a small publishing house vs. a large publisher? #editingchat
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Lydia Ondrusek
littlefluffycat Lydia Ondrusek
@
@VictoriaMixon mmmmm…. #editingchat
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Victoria Mixon
VictoriaMixon Victoria Mixon
They don’t necessarily expect you to have the whole series written. They can make a 2- or 3-book deal w/the publisher. #editingchat
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Victoria Mixon
VictoriaMixon Victoria Mixon
And they want to know you can write, so you have to have that 1st volume shining like a diamond to show them. #editingchat
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Victoria Mixon
VictoriaMixon Victoria Mixon
The agent wants to know you know how the series progresses & ends and may ask you for synopses. #editingchat
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Victoria Mixon
VictoriaMixon Victoria Mixon
Finish the 1st volume totally & completely–polished–& plan the others. Then query the 1st, saying it’s the 1st of the series. #editingchat
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C. Andrew Wolfe
wolfe_ca C. Andrew Wolfe
@
@VictoriaMixon How does one pitch a project like that? #editingchat
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Victoria Mixon
VictoriaMixon Victoria Mixon
Watch Publisher’s Weekly. Lots of the “new” sales are really 2nd & 3rd volumes of trilogies. #editingchat
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Victoria Mixon
VictoriaMixon Victoria Mixon
Trilogies, etc. Readers like series protags, & publishers like books readers feel compelled to buy to finish the story. #editingchat
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PJ Kaiser
PJ_Kaiser PJ Kaiser
RT @VictoriaMixon: Welcome, all you writers, & I hope you have questions about editing. #editingchat
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Victoria Mixon
VictoriaMixon Victoria Mixon
Oh, serials are big, especially in fantasy and sci-fi. #editingchat
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C. Andrew Wolfe
wolfe_ca C. Andrew Wolfe
Is anyone still interested in stories written as serials, or did that go the way of the dinosaur? #editingchat
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Victoria Mixon
VictoriaMixon Victoria Mixon
@jefro_net It depends. What’s your ms about it? #editingchat
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Victoria Mixon
VictoriaMixon Victoria Mixon
I can’t watch my own ID for this, or I’ll get confused by random other stuff people send me. #editingchat
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jefro_net
jefro_net jefro_net
Hi A. Victoria Mixon – What can an editor do for my ms? #editingchat
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Victoria Mixon
VictoriaMixon Victoria Mixon
Okay, so my sidekick’s telling me you guys are chatting up a storm @ the chocolate, but since I’m only watching #editingchat I’m missing it.
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Andi Stenger
prettyandi Andi Stenger
Writers who have questions about EDITING – check into #editingchat NOW.
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Victoria Mixon
VictoriaMixon Victoria Mixon
@littlefluffycat Here. Have a chocolate. #editingchat
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Victoria Mixon
VictoriaMixon Victoria Mixon
Welcome, all you writers, & I hope you have questions about editing. #editingchat
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Lydia Ondrusek
littlefluffycat Lydia Ondrusek
@
@VictoriaMixon is shenanigans the same as sharesies? #editingchat #amwriting #writing
1 hour ago Favorite Retweet Reply
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Victoria Mixon
VictoriaMixon Victoria Mixon
If you weren’t here last week, you can check out that #editingchat here: https://victoriamixon.com//editingchat-4811/
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Victoria Mixon
VictoriaMixon Victoria Mixon
Jeez, it’s like AA. #editingchat
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Victoria Mixon
VictoriaMixon Victoria Mixon
Hi, guys! It’s Friday #editingchat, I’m A. Victoria Mixon, Editor, & I’m full of chocolate.
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Victoria Mixon
VictoriaMixon Victoria Mixon
@jefro_net Mmmm. Chocolate. #editingchat
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Andi Stenger
prettyandi Andi Stenger
don’t forget the #Editingchat hashtag like I did a minute ago … still eating chocolate
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jefro_net
jefro_net jefro_net
I would, but you seem to enjoy it so much #editingchat
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Victoria Mixon
VictoriaMixon Victoria Mixon
I can’t believe nobody’s calling shenanigans on me for just sitting here eating all these chocolates. #editingchat #amwriting #writing
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Jevon Bolden
jevonbolden Jevon Bolden
RT @VictoriaMixon: Half-an-hour, guys. #editingchat 11-noon PST. And I just ate a designer chocolate to prepare. #amwriting #writer
1 hour ago Favorite Retweet Reply
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jefro_net
jefro_net jefro_net
Interested in talking directly with an independent editor? Join A. Victoria Mixon for the next hour on #editingchat
1 hour ago Favorite Retweet Reply
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Victoria Mixon
VictoriaMixon Victoria Mixon
Two minutes. #editingchat Sorry, I missed the 5-minute mark. I was eating another chocolate. #amwriting #writing
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Victoria Mixon
VictoriaMixon Victoria Mixon
Not that I object to that. #editingchat #amwriting #writing
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Victoria Mixon
VictoriaMixon Victoria Mixon
Ten minutes. #editingchat Do you guys have questions? B/c otherwise I’m just eating chocolate & blithering. #amwriting #writing
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Victoria Mixon
VictoriaMixon Victoria Mixon
Half-an-hour, guys. #editingchat 11-noon PST. And I just ate a designer chocolate to prepare. #amwriting #writer #bewarechocolatededitor
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Victoria Mixon
VictoriaMixon Victoria Mixon
Today 11-noon PST #editingchat See last week’s: https://victoriamixon.com//editingchat-4811/ #amwriting #writing
2 hours ago Favorite Reply Delete
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Andi Stenger
prettyandi Andi Stenger
2-3pm EST RT @VictoriaMixon: Today 11-noon PST: #editingchat Bring your questions! And cookies if you’ve got ’em. . .#amwriting #writing
5 hours ago Favorite Retweet Reply
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Victoria Mixon
VictoriaMixon Victoria Mixon
Tomorrow 11-noon PST: #editingchat Bring your questions! And cookies if you’ve got ’em. . .#amwriting #writing
14 Apr Favorite Reply Delete
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Kathleen Kelly
KathyKellyRN Kathleen Kelly
@
Poop. I’m working! RT @VictoriaMixon #editingchat, this week Friday 11-noon. See last week’s: http://tinyurl.com/3thecof Be there or be L7.
12 Apr Favorite Retweet Reply
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Victoria Mixon
VictoriaMixon Victoria Mixon
#editingchat scheduled again for this week Friday 11-noon. See last week’s: http://tinyurl.com/3thecof Be there or be L7 #amwriting #writing