Editing angles to improve your writing by Barbara McNichol, nonfiction book editor with offices in Colorado and Arizona
From the category archives:
Self-publishing guru Dan Poynter has done it again. He gives writers shortcuts to writing, publishing, and promoting their books—this time in the form of an new ebook: Books: Tips, Stories, & Advice on Writing, Publishing, & Promoting. This easy-to-read, story-filled guide makes good writing a priority. Dan’s tips in the BE PRECISE chapter advocate cutting [...]
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by Barbara McNichol When you select a dentist, no doubt you weigh many factors before making that appointment. Quality and value considerations top the list. I recently explored how book authors in my circle view the relationship between QUALITY and VALUE when it comes to improving their writing through editing. Not only did I bask in [...]
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By Jerry Brown, APR (used by permission) Good editing is a blessing, bad editing a curse. Unfortunately, there are more bad editors than good ones. The reason for this unfortunate situation is that too many of us don’t know when to quit editing other people’s copy and when to keep editing our own. Be ruthless [...]
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by Barbara McNichol If you don’t want your editor spending copious amounts of time changing weak verbs into emotional or visual ones, what can you do? First, watch out for “is” words and their various cousins. Stay alert to phrases like “is happening” or “was being good”; change them to “happens” or “behaved.” Search out [...]
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by Barbara McNichol F. Scott Fitzgerald has said you don’t write because you want to say something, you write because you have something to say. When an author is too “into” doing the writing itself, the “something to say” part can get lost. I recently edited a book that fell into this trap. The author [...]
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Editor’s note: I hope you enjoy these fun ways of picking titles from Daily Writing Tips–a fabulous resource for writers. Picking a title can often be the hardest part of a writing project. Sometimes the title just comes to you, but more often than not, you have to put quite a bit of work into [...]
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by Barbara McNichol Seth Godin’s ideas find a welcome place in my inbox every day. His ability to observe our world with a twist and express his thoughts with wit tickle my appreciation for language and his ability to think outside the box. I recently rediscovered his 2008 blog post Advice for Authors, which still [...]
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by Dawn Goldberg (used with permission) Editor’s note: Dawn writes a wonderful, encouraging ezine for writers called FUEL. This post from FUEL spoke to my soul because it applies to all kinds of writing, not only to marketing pieces but to the essence of your book, too. Enjoy. You have a product or service that [...]
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by Barbara McNichol Recently, an author and I settled in to have our project-finalizing conversation before starting to edit her manuscript. Price determined. Timelines set. Anticipation high. Before we signed off, she asked with gentleness and genuine interest, “How can I be a good editing client for you, Barbara?” Quite frankly, this question blew me [...]
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by Barbara McNichol Daily Writing Tips has become a key resource for sharpening my mind about the proper use of the English language. But recently, a controversial post rocked my world by saying it’s okay to use “they” as a singular pronoun. Example: “Each person is entitled to their opinion.” To quote the post’s author Mark [...]
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