Editing Newspapers & Novels

           After moving into our 55+ community, Trader’s Cove, we kept up with neighborhood news via the monthly newsletter. At the end of the year, the current editor/publisher stepped down due to health issues. I was excited to take over the task of issuing our community paper.

Formerly the Captain’s Log, I decided to name my creation Traders Post. It’s a small paper, typically four to eight pages including the full-page calendar of events, but it keeps me hopping! 

The first major change I made was launching a digital edition, which now has over 50 subscribers. Many of our residents are snow-birds or travel a lot in the summer. Receiving the paper in their email keeps them informed on the happenings of the community while they’re gone. Aside from posting the upcoming social events, I do an almost-monthly interview with newer members of our community to allow neighbors to get to know them better.

During the time I was working on my first paper, I was also reading through a friend’s novel—pre-publication. She rolled her eyes when I told her she had to change the name of a minor character introduced at the end of the book. She gasped when I told her the reason—there was already a character with that name in the beginning of the book! She tells me I have an eye for detail. I catch things like extra spaces and missing commas and words. So, she had me comb through and find everything I could that needed fixed. She was so grateful, she even mentioned me on her dedication page. Of course, I was thrilled! She tells me I have a good eye for detail. She even hired me to do copy edits on a later book.

I thank God for the gift of writing and for being able to spot those little errors before a work goes to print. I’m happy to have opportunities to use the gifts with which He blessed me.