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maryeditorcummings.bsky.social

@maryeditorcummings.bsky.social
32 followers 40 following 62 posts

I help business leaders and academics transform promising messy drafts into highly engaging books | Book publishing | marycummingsservices.co.uk

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maryeditorcummings.bsky.social @maryeditorcummings.bsky.social · 03/07/2026
Yep. Very expensive data centre...
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maryeditorcummings.bsky.social @maryeditorcummings.bsky.social · 02/07/2026
I stumbled across a delightful short film on Prime. The One Note Man (2023), starring Jason Watkins. A charming, dialogue-free story about a lonely basoonist of routine whose role is to play a single note. One day his routine is changed forever. It's a joy to watch #storytelling #indiefilm
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maryeditorcummings.bsky.social @maryeditorcummings.bsky.social · 02/07/2026
I love second hand book shops. Do you?
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maryeditorcummings.bsky.social @maryeditorcummings.bsky.social · 02/07/2026
Absolutely. Physical books, no less. 📖📚
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maryeditorcummings.bsky.social @maryeditorcummings.bsky.social · 19/06/2026
So lovely. Thank you 😊
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maryeditorcummings.bsky.social @maryeditorcummings.bsky.social · 18/06/2026
Thank you 🤗 Which part of the UK are you? I'm in London. We had a lovely sunny May, a wet start to June, and now sun again. I wonder if this has made ideal conditions for growth. I have no idea, really. I still have so much to learn 😌
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maryeditorcummings.bsky.social @maryeditorcummings.bsky.social · 18/06/2026
When I'm not knee deep in manuscripts, I'm in my allotment. This is the first time I've had success with aubergine. Really proud of my cucumbers too. It won't exactly be a bumper crop, but I still love the excitement of seeing veg grow 🍆 🥒 #Allotment #gardening #hobbies #WhenI'mNotWorking
A photo of an aubergine plantA photo of a young cucumber vine trained to grow up wooden sticks for support
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maryeditorcummings.bsky.social @maryeditorcummings.bsky.social · 17/06/2026
I think the ban for under-16s will help, but the next challenge is, how to get them become more creative. There’s little point taking away social media if they feel there's nothing to replace it. My (now grown up) kids loved books/comics ... but that doesn't seem to be a general trend. #readmore
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Reposted by maryeditorcummings.bsky.social
The Guardian @theguardian.com · 10/05/2026
I knew my writing students were using AI. Their confessions led to a powerful teaching moment | Micah Nathan
theguardian.com
I knew my writing students were using AI. Their confessions led to a powerful teaching moment | Micah Nathan
The problem wasn’t just the perfectly polished, yet mediocre prose. It’s what’s lost when we surrender the struggle to translate thought into words
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maryeditorcummings.bsky.social @maryeditorcummings.bsky.social · 04/05/2026
Haha..Cute 🤣
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maryeditorcummings.bsky.social @maryeditorcummings.bsky.social · 04/05/2026
A good transition does more than move the reader from one section to the next. It makes them feel the connection. Weak transitions say, "Now I will talk about X." Strong transitions make X feel inevitable. #NonfictionWriting #WritingCraft #WritingTips #EditingTips #WritersOfBluesky #Booksky
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maryeditorcummings.bsky.social @maryeditorcummings.bsky.social · 22/04/2026
Have you ever read a book that made your heart ache? ❤️‍🩹Pachinko will stay with me for a long, long time. #Books #Pachinko #Booksky
A photo of the front cover of the book Pachinko by Min Jin Lee
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maryeditorcummings.bsky.social @maryeditorcummings.bsky.social · 21/04/2026
Caption this 🤣
A photo of a very lazy brown and white cat, sprawled on her back, with her paws over her eyes. She's on her favourite brown and black paw-patterened blanket.
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maryeditorcummings.bsky.social @maryeditorcummings.bsky.social · 20/04/2026
Friendly writing advice from a developmental editor: There's a moment when you stop fixing sentences and start asking bigger questions. Why is this chapter here? What does it give the reader? Does it earn its place? Do you agree? #NonfictionWriting #WritingAdvice #Editing #WritersOfBluesky
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The Bookseller @thebookseller.com · 20/04/2026
Nearly a third of children cannot use books when they start school, with some even trying to swipe and zoom on the pages, a survey from Kindred Squared has shown 👇 #BookSky
ebx.sh
Children ‘trying to zoom in on pages’ as survey finds third of new pupils unable to use books
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maryeditorcummings.bsky.social @maryeditorcummings.bsky.social · 13/04/2026
There's a moment in every edit where you stop fixing sentences and start asking bigger questions. Why is this chapter here? What does it give the reader? Does it earn its place? That's when the real work starts. #NonfictionWriting #DevelopmentalEditing #EditingCraft #WritersOfBluesky #Writerslife
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maryeditorcummings.bsky.social @maryeditorcummings.bsky.social · 05/04/2026
Very true
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maryeditorcummings.bsky.social @maryeditorcummings.bsky.social · 30/03/2026
"The easiest reading is damned hard writing." (Thomas Hood) When I read a book that feels effortless to read, I think of the labour that made it feel that way. It may have taken hundreds of hours to write, and as many to edit. Both are invisible crafts. #nonfiction #writing #writerslife #Booksky
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maryeditorcummings.bsky.social @maryeditorcummings.bsky.social · 28/03/2026
Such a powerful story. Woody Brown's book deserves to be made into a film!!
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maryeditorcummings.bsky.social @maryeditorcummings.bsky.social · 20/03/2026
".. Eiither write something worth reading or do something worth writing." Benjamin Franklin. I love that nonfiction writers have done both. Distilled their knowledge and experience into something others can benefit from. 🫡 #Nonfiction #AuthorLife #NonfictionBooks #BookSky #Writingcommunity
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maryeditorcummings.bsky.social @maryeditorcummings.bsky.social · 19/03/2026
Editorial feedback hurts! Having said that, I always encourage my clients to pushback where appropriate. They're the experts in their field, after all. But we usually meet somewhere in the middle.
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Authors Publish | Magazine for Creative Writers @authorspublish.com · 18/03/2026
These #publishers pay up to $1,500 for #essays & other #nonfiction submissions like articles, memoirs, etc. 👇 🔗 authorspublish.com/40-magazines...
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maryeditorcummings.bsky.social @maryeditorcummings.bsky.social · 18/03/2026
The edit isn't an attack on your first draft. It's a conversation between who you were when you started and who you've become by the time you've finished. As a writer, you've likely learned so much during the process. Would you agree? How have you grown as a writer? #Nonfiction #WritingTips #Booksky
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maryeditorcummings.bsky.social @maryeditorcummings.bsky.social · 16/03/2026
A month ago I was in New Zealand. I miss it so much 🥹 one of the most beautiful places on earth. We only got to visit the North Island. Next time the South 💖💖
A photo of a picturesque hillside with a river running through it. The Karangahake Gorge in New ZealandThe view from the Sky Tower in Auckland New Zealand over viewing the Auckland HarbourA view of the sea and a small Volcanic Hill in New Zealand
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maryeditorcummings.bsky.social @maryeditorcummings.bsky.social · 16/03/2026
Glad I'm not alone 😁
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maryeditorcummings.bsky.social @maryeditorcummings.bsky.social · 16/03/2026
Do you read the acknowledgement section of a good book? I find it fascinating. I think it gives a glimpse of the author as a person and all the people who held them together. Do you read or skip the acknowledgements? #BookLovers #Nonfiction #BookPublishing #Books #NonfictionWriting #Booksky
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maryeditorcummings.bsky.social @maryeditorcummings.bsky.social · 12/03/2026
The music you have chosen to accompany your poem forces one to slow down while reading it. Really lovely idea ✨️
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maryeditorcummings.bsky.social @maryeditorcummings.bsky.social · 12/03/2026
Not at all. I've literally just started to try my hand at poetry. I have set myself the challenge for personal reasons, and so far, I'm loving the mental stretch. ☺️
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maryeditorcummings.bsky.social @maryeditorcummings.bsky.social · 12/03/2026
It's beautiful - with the music too 😊
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maryeditorcummings.bsky.social @maryeditorcummings.bsky.social · 12/03/2026
Who's old enough to remember Woolies? Pick'n'Mix, of course. Books. Stationery. My Mum searching for wool and knitting needles. Any fond memories for you? #throwback
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maryeditorcummings.bsky.social @maryeditorcummings.bsky.social · 12/03/2026
Absolutely 👌
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maryeditorcummings.bsky.social @maryeditorcummings.bsky.social · 12/03/2026
... maybe change the world one person at a time 🌟💕
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A.C. Harper (he/him) @harperac.bsky.social · 25/02/2026
Some stories don’t change the world. They just change one person. Sometimes that’s enough. #books #readingcommunity #booksky #authorlife #authors
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A.C. Harper (he/him) @harperac.bsky.social · 12/03/2026
Absolutely spot on. Lived details turn big ideas into something you can feel and remember.
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maryeditorcummings.bsky.social @maryeditorcummings.bsky.social · 12/03/2026
Love that 👏
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maryeditorcummings.bsky.social @maryeditorcummings.bsky.social · 12/03/2026
Nonfiction writers: your anecdotes are doing more work than you realise. A well-placed story illustrates the point, makes abstract ideas feel real, and makes your reader think, "Yes. That's exactly it." Do you agree? #Nonfiction #WritingCraft #StorytellingTips #WritersOfBluesky #Booksky
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maryeditorcummings.bsky.social @maryeditorcummings.bsky.social · 11/03/2026
“The most important things are the hardest to say. They are the things you get ashamed of, because words diminish them - words shrink things that seemed limitless when they were in your head to no more than living size when they're brought out." Stephen King, The Body #BookLover #Booksky #Quotes
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maryeditorcummings.bsky.social @maryeditorcummings.bsky.social · 10/03/2026
I agree. I'm currently working with a female author who will be traditionally publishing a thought leadership book. Working with her is inspiring and her published book will inspire millions more, but books like hers are few and far between. #LBF #writerslife #bookauthors #nonfiction
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maryeditorcummings.bsky.social @maryeditorcummings.bsky.social · 10/03/2026
Okidoke!
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maryeditorcummings.bsky.social @maryeditorcummings.bsky.social · 10/03/2026
Awesome, Anders 😎 Your book Erased sounds like the type of book I love reading. I'll check it out. I promise I'll switch my eagle-editor eye off 😉😁 (Well... ok... I'll try 😜)
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maryeditorcummings.bsky.social @maryeditorcummings.bsky.social · 10/03/2026
Good writers don't need editors. Wrong. Good writers understand exactly they need an editor. We all need an objective reader who isn't inside our own head. #Nonfiction #Writing #WritingAdvice #AuthorLife #Books #Publishing #WritingTips #BusinessWriting #Booksky #WritingCommunity #WritersOfBluesky
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Emma Cameron @ecameron.bsky.social · 10/03/2026
Thousands of authors including Kazuo Ishiguro, Philippa Gregory and Richard Osman have published an “empty” book to protest against AI firms using their work without permission. #Don’tStealThisBook - the only content is a list of their names. #AI #booksky www.theguardian.com/technology/2...
theguardian.com
Thousands of authors publish ‘empty’ book in protest over AI using their work
About 10,000 writers including Kazuo Ishiguro, Philippa Gregory and Richard Osman join copyright campaign
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maryeditorcummings.bsky.social @maryeditorcummings.bsky.social · 09/03/2026
Proofreading tip: Read your manuscript aloud. Every word. You'll hear and catch things that your eyes will miss. Your mouth will also get a good workout, so think of it as multitasking 😅 #ProofreadingTips #WritingAdvice #Nonfiction #Booksky #Writingcommunity ##WritersOfBluesky #Authors
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maryeditorcummings.bsky.social @maryeditorcummings.bsky.social · 09/03/2026
At some point the darlings have to go 😌... or saved for book #2 (or 3, or 4 😁)
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maryeditorcummings.bsky.social @maryeditorcummings.bsky.social · 09/03/2026
Actually, it's a great tactic, à la, B.J. Fogg "Tiny Habits - The Small Habits That Change Everything." Nowadays I live by tiny habits. They help me chip away at whatever project I have on the go.
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maryeditorcummings.bsky.social @maryeditorcummings.bsky.social · 09/03/2026
Your readers don't know what you cut. They only experience what you kept. That's worth remembering next time cutting feels like loss. #Nonfiction 📚💙 #Booksky #WritingCraft #WritersOfBluesky #writers #writingcommunity #bookwriters
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maryeditorcummings.bsky.social @maryeditorcummings.bsky.social · 08/03/2026
This is what I'm reading - The Vanishing Cherry Blossom Bookshop by Takuya Asakura. A lazy read, but perfect for a quiet Sunday. #Books #BookLovers #Booksky #Fiction
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maryeditorcummings.bsky.social @maryeditorcummings.bsky.social · 08/03/2026
Thank you. Enjoy what's left of it 🤗
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maryeditorcummings.bsky.social @maryeditorcummings.bsky.social · 08/03/2026
If you're a writer, a reminder that reading IS working. So if you're on the sofa with a mug of your fave hot bev and a good book, you're being professionally diligent ☺️Happy Sunday #SundayReads #WritersOfBluesky #BookLovers #Booksky #Books
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maryeditorcummings.bsky.social @maryeditorcummings.bsky.social · 06/03/2026
Yes, absolutely. I love that 🌸📚
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