Service Description

Lyndsey Smith, the chief editor for Horrorsmith Editing and Cozy Nook Editing and the acquisitions editor for Horrorsmith Publishing, is a certificated professional editor who specializes in speculative fiction genres, plus mystery and thriller. Mary Danner is the chief editor at The Mad Editor, specializing in horror fiction. Together, they have crafted an extensive training program for up and coming authors and have recruited cover artists, publishing assistants, and established authors to help provide the complete writing experience. This virtual summer camp is for teenagers ages 13 to 17 who are looking to strengthen their writing, learn about professions in the industry, and obtain specialized guidance on how to navigate the publishing roadmap. Here is the abbreviated two-week schedule: Week One: Day 1: Determining genre and genre expectations, story structure, book maps Day 2: Pantser vs. plotter, how to outline, writing sprints, overcoming writer's block Day 3: Effective hooks, pacing, character development Day 4: Using research, point of view, deep POV Day 5: Common grammar mistakes, punctuating dialogue, filter words Week Two: Day 1: Types of editing, how to find an editor, working with an editor, editing as a career Day 2: What does a publishing assistant (PA) do, how to find a PA, working with a PA Day 3: Marketing resources and avenues, series or stand-alone fiction Day 4: Traditional or self-publishing, Q&A with two speculative fiction authors. Day 5: What does a cover artist do? How to select and work with a cover artist? Q&A with industry-recognized cover artist. All attendees are asked to come to camp with an original short story. The attendees will utilize lessons taught during the first week to identify areas their stories might struggle and develop those struggles into enhanced strengths. Students will submit their short story to the instructor the last day of the first week. These stories will be edited by professional editors over the weekend and returned for workshop to the summer camp attendees with the same care, attention, and thorough suggestions we would give career authors. On the last day of camp, attendees will vote on a cover image from a few different sketches presented as part of the cover artist Q&A. This image will be used as the cover for a new attendee anthology under Horrorsmith Publishing. All attendees will receive an eBook and a paperback copy of the anthology upon publication.

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