Each year, members are asked to nominate those who deserve special recognition for service to the club, for work on a special accomplishment, or for achievement in writing.
It is a pleasure to nominate Hazel Hart. She is a person who excels at her writing and editing craft but does not seek applause. I met Hazel when my manuscript of Posts of a Mid-century Kid was a 150,000-word rambling of posts.
We met at the coffee shop in Emporia and that began my appreciation of Hazel and the editing process. Hazel told me to cut 50,000 words from my book. That seemed daunting but as I marked off posts, I began to see a new story emerge.
For the next year, Hazel and I would meet for coffee and she helped me craft 92,000 words into a clean manuscript. The first time she sent me edits, she advised not to stress out with all of the red down the side. I did anyway. We made a style sheet and with each edit, I saw the final book emerge.
One of my favorite memories with Hazel is when she asked me if I knew how many times my kitties made biscuits in my book? No, I didn’t but, it turned out to be many times. We also discovered that I liked the word “tiny” which appeared 100 times and had to be reinvented.
Hazel is a gifted editor. She has also become a good friend and I am indebted to her for her wise guidance and knowledge. She always hears the writer’s voice.
On top of her gifts as editor, Hazel excels as an author. She has published 13 titles of her own, from how-to books on writing to suspense and historical fiction. In September, Hazel released the 5th volume in a series of historical fiction set in Kansas, The Pierce Family Saga. This series has had tremendous success on Amazon, with volume 1 consistently ranking in the top 100 in several categories including frontier fiction and literary sagas.
Hazel is a multi-year winner of the Kansas Voices contest out of Winfield, as well as a frequent winner in the prose division of Kansas Authors Club contests.
For her talent as an author, as well as her skill in guiding others to improve their manuscripts, I nominate Hazel Hart for an Achievement Award.
Nominated by: Ann Vigola Anderson
We met at the coffee shop in Emporia and that began my appreciation of Hazel and the editing process. Hazel told me to cut 50,000 words from my book. That seemed daunting but as I marked off posts, I began to see a new story emerge.
For the next year, Hazel and I would meet for coffee and she helped me craft 92,000 words into a clean manuscript. The first time she sent me edits, she advised not to stress out with all of the red down the side. I did anyway. We made a style sheet and with each edit, I saw the final book emerge.
One of my favorite memories with Hazel is when she asked me if I knew how many times my kitties made biscuits in my book? No, I didn’t but, it turned out to be many times. We also discovered that I liked the word “tiny” which appeared 100 times and had to be reinvented.
Hazel is a gifted editor. She has also become a good friend and I am indebted to her for her wise guidance and knowledge. She always hears the writer’s voice.
On top of her gifts as editor, Hazel excels as an author. She has published 13 titles of her own, from how-to books on writing to suspense and historical fiction. In September, Hazel released the 5th volume in a series of historical fiction set in Kansas, The Pierce Family Saga. This series has had tremendous success on Amazon, with volume 1 consistently ranking in the top 100 in several categories including frontier fiction and literary sagas.
Hazel is a multi-year winner of the Kansas Voices contest out of Winfield, as well as a frequent winner in the prose division of Kansas Authors Club contests.
For her talent as an author, as well as her skill in guiding others to improve their manuscripts, I nominate Hazel Hart for an Achievement Award.
Nominated by: Ann Vigola Anderson
photo credit: Cheryl Unruh
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