Category Archives for Articles

The Editor’s Creed

Have you worked with a bad editor before?

One of the first conversations we have with too many clients is that they are apprehensive to hand their writing over to another absolutist who will strip their words. In the past, their editors would rigorously hack their work to pieces, barely leaving a semblance of the original author.

This works well in university writing labs and academic journal offices, but not so well for the conversational and personal nature of online publishing and content marketing.Continue reading

You May Know What You Are Trying To Say, But Your Readers Likely Don’t

“Well,” the writer says, the equivalent of a shoulder shrug in their tone, “I know what this means and I like it, so we’re keeping it.”

Externally, the editor gives an understanding smile. Internally, the editor puts her head in her hands and screams.

Sessions like these happen all the time between writers and editors when it comes to getting those crucial rough drafts ready for publishing—though perhaps not quite as dramatically. Still, there are always hurdles to overcome, particularly when it comes to ensuring a writer’s thoughts are understandable to his or her readers.Continue reading

How to Make Time to Write

If you’re anything like me, then you’re constantly running around with a long list of things to do.

Right smack dab in the middle of that list is:

“Write that thing you’ve been meaning to write.”

Whether it’s a novel, blog post, script, or poem, we all have that one project that’s collecting dust. But the fact of the matter is, we simply don’t have the time.Continue reading

Get Rid of “Is It Possible” and Other Unnecessary Permission Asks

I was writing an email the other day and having difficulty putting into words exactly what I wanted to say. Does that ever happen to you?

I wanted to make a strong, clear point, but I also didn’t want to offend the receiver. So I found myself typing out phrases like “I just feel like…” and “don’t be offended, but…” in every paragraph.

When I completed my email I gave it a final readthrough, and needless to say, it was not my best literary work of art.Continue reading