Empowered Editing

Celebrating Bookstore Romance Day

8/18/2023

Photo by Pixabay, Pexels

If you're a big fan of romance novels like me, I'm sure you're looking forward to the fifth annual Bookstore Romance Day! Though, despite the word "day" in the celebration, the amazing bookstores have been spoiling us ever since they've stretched the event out into a weekend.

If you're not familiar with Bookstore Romance Day, you can check out their website. To give you a gist of it, bookstores all around America put their romance stories out in display, and provide platforms for romance authors to speak and share their amazing perspectives and knowledge.

Every year, I get super excited about joining online panel sessions and listen in from Canada! It's a thrill to learn about how authors became inspired to write their novels, and how they made their characters come to life. There are also all kinds of other topics that come up too, such as how they market themselves on social media, and how they find the tropes that work for their stories.

There's lots of spectacular insight going on during Bookstore Romance Day, or rather, weekend! So if you're looking to learn too, check out their website and see which sessions resonate with you.

And if you're ever curious on how to write romance in general, may I suggest stopping by my Ko-fi page? There, you'll find a free or pay-what-you-can outline for romance writing, based on the awesome guide Romancing the Beat by Gwen Hayes.

Enjoy the romance in the air! - Maria

0 Comments

The Significance of the Name, Empowered Editing

7/16/2023

Photo by Alina Vilchenko, Pexels

For this post, dear readers, I am going to share the significance of the name "Empowered Editing".

Let me start by setting up the scene.

I was in the middle of walking with my husband through the park when an idea popped up in my head. I have a lot of great thinking time when I'm out among trees and flowers, walking through lovely grass and breathing in fresh air. And with my wonderful husband by my side, we held hands when I thought of the name for my editing business.

I needed to tell him. And here's a snippet of our chat.

"Hon, I thought of it!" I grinned at him. I was sure my eyes were sparkling, as I squeezed his hand.

He looked at me, mirroring my excitement. "Yeah?"

"Empowered Editing!"

He squeezed my hand back. "That is so you."

And it really is so me.

There are two reasons why. First, it's a cute play on words on how it's "M"-powered (I know, super silly, but I love it!) And second, for those who know me, I love empowering others. I love to talk and act with compassion, as well as apply positive psychology whenever I can. For instance, if a close friend is having a bad day, I'm there to listen and encourage. If a colleague just completed a task that's been on their to-do list for forever, I will encourage them to revel in their success and celebrate with them. As for editing, I like to empower writers by doing similar things, mainly by providing constructive criticism centred around the heart.

You may have come across the term "heart-centred". I'd like to define it to be clear, and Carleen Marie says it well. The heart-centred approach "brings the deepest, most meaningful...experience". There are many amazing editors out there, who will work with you to bring the best out of your work. In my work—both educational and editorial—I like to make it a meaningful experience for who I'm supporting.

I'm here to treasure your work as much as you do, if not more. You can tell me what's important to express in your work, and I will ensure that message is loud and clear, just the way you want, while meeting standards of the industry.

Catch ya later! - Maria

​blog

Celebrating Bookstore Romance Day

The Significance of the Name, Empowered Editing

blog