editing

Blog Formatting and Editing Tips for 2018: Guest Post by Avery Phillips

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The art of blog writing can be very different from any other form. If you’re an author, making a blog post work can be counterintuitive. The blog reader is a different beast; the complex vocabulary and slow burn of plot that carries a reader through a book can turn people off a blog post quickly. … Read more

Self-Editing Workshop

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This month’s session in the INFLUENCE Magazine’s Writing Workshop Series is Self-Editing.  Finishing the first draft is just the beginning of the polishing process. Turn first draft dreck into final draft gold through the alchemy of self-editing. Learn how to make your own writing shine—make bad writing good, mediocre writing outstanding, and good writing exceptional. … Read more

Why I Give a Sample Edit

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“I’ve written a book. How much do you charge for editing?” Those words or variations of them appear in my inbox frequently. I know some editors do have a per-page or per-word rate, but I can’t understand how they can price their work that way. I find that one 75,000-word novel may take me thirty … Read more

Question from an Editor: Part 2 — What Should I Look for in an Editor?

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In response to the information I provided in my last post, my reader wrote: For me, being a first time author, professional editing appears to be the best choice, but as you know the act of locating and working with the right editor is a challenge in its own right. The internet is flooded with … Read more

The Importance of Accuracy

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You’ve heard a lot from me about editing your work and eliminating as many errors as possible. Yesterday, we experienced a dramatic example of how serious the simple transposition of two numbers can be. I was in the kitchen making a sandwich for Jack, and our helper Betsy was nearby  preparing Jack’s medications. Suddenly we … Read more

Guest Post from Randall Davidson: Ten Proofreading Tips You Cannot Afford to Ignore

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No matter how skilled of a writer you are, it is easy to submit work that is filled with errors. Even the best writers often miss the mark when it comes to proofreading. However, correcting errors in your work can give you the edge over the competition, making the following 10 proofreading tips of the … Read more