Editing a thirteen-book Arthurian saga isn’t for the faint of heart. Mark pulls back the curtain on his years in the trenches with Once and Future Hearts—from navigating character continuity and protecting authorial voice to the diplomatic art of asking, “Are you sure, Tracy?” as the finale, Camlann, heads into its early-release Kickstarter celebration.
Writers love to worry about swearing — usually more than their characters do. The truth? Profanity isn’t “good” or “bad.” It’s a tool. A sharp one. Used well, it cuts cleanly through tension, reveals character, or snaps a moment into focus. Used poorly, it just bleeds all over the page.
In this post, Mark breaks down when swearing works, when it absolutely doesn’t, how genre affects your choices, and why every curse word has to be earned. If your characters are going to swear, make sure they mean it.
Passive voice sneaks into even the sharpest manuscripts, draining life out of your prose and leaving it limp as wet cardboard. Learn how to spot the culprits—“was eaten,” “were taken,” and those sneaky “by” phrases—and flip them into strong, active sentences that keep readers hooked.
If you’ve ever had a critique partner or an editor ask, “Wait, whose head are we in right now?” — congratulations. You’ve run into a POV problem.
What To Expect If You Hire Me As An Editor When you email me about editing your book, I will
