Writing and Editing Articles

editing

Scroll down and check out all the links for each of the following topics:

  • Basic Information for Writers About Editing and Editors
  • What are Some Vital Things Editors Will Look for in Your Writing?
  • Advice from an Editor series
  • Building Your Brand and Platform
  • Writing in the Online World Series
  • Beta Readers and Other Helpers
  • Software and Other Writing and Editing Tools
  • Various Editor’s Tips
  • An Editor’s Comments Series
  • Poetry
  • Inspiration
  • Specific Types of Writing
  • Language and Voice
  • Social Media and Writing
  • Speculative Fiction Posts
  • Writing and Editing Humour Series
  • Self-Editing Tips and Tricks Series
  • Opinion Pieces and Other Miscellany
  • Real Examples of Various Writing Issues
  • Creativity Series
  • Blogging Tips
  • My Beta-Reading Saga Series
  • What Makes a Blog Post Popular?
  • My Experiences
  • Thinking Ahead: to new paths: Mentoring and Coaching
  • Writing Through Grief

Note: The following series are especially for new writers exploring the writing life–but experienced writers will find much useful information, too. And … Each post in each series has a downloadable and printable PDF which you can use to explore and trace your writing life! Do them in order, and file them in a binder, and you’ll have a wonderful record of your writing journey 🙂

  • Self-Exploration for Writers series
  • Your Writing Life series
  • Author Considerations Beyond Just Writing series
  • Planning Your Writing series
  • Editing Levels series
  • Self-Editing series
  • When It’s Time for an Editor
  • The Editing Process: Addenda
  • Self-Edit Glossary

I also post articles on writing and editing at both Medium.com and Quora.com. You can find links to these posts here on this site on the NJH on Medium page and on the NJH on Quora page.

Basic Information For Writers About Editing and Editors: 
1. Why do writers need editors?
2. Different kinds of editing
3. Finding the editor you need
4. How much does editing cost?
5. Self-editing tips and tricks
6. Tips on working with an editor

What are Some Vital Things Editors Will Look For In Your Writing?
1. Self Editing Mechanics
2. What do editors look for?

Advice From An Editor series:
1. Introduction to the series
2. Target Audience
3. Finding a Traditional Publisher and/or Agent
4. Using Real Names in Memoirs
5. How to Prepare for Self-Editing

Building Your Brand and Platform:
Social Media for authors
Author Website or Blog or a Combination?
Why Authors Need A Website, Blog and Social Media
Planning Your Book Launch – A Checklist

Writing in the Online World series:
Changes in Audiences and Their Reading Habits
Changes for Authors
Changes in Publishing

Beta readers and other helpers:
Using beta readers to improve your manuscript
Tips on Giving and Receiving Critiques
True Confessions: Help Needed!

Software and Other Writing and Editing Tools:
Tips for using Windows 10 Speech Recognition Software

Various Editor’s Tips:
An Editor’s Response to a First Manuscript Read-Through
Editing Help with a College Term Paper
A Children’s Book Manuscript I Enjoyed Reading
An Editor’s Advice After Reading a Manuscript–about choosing a publisher and about audience and marketing
Notes About a Novel That Reads Like a Movie Script
Margin Comments in an Edited Manuscript
An Editor’s Tips on Marketability
An Editor’s Tips on Following a Publisher’s Rules
Essay Tips from an Editor
Writing Concisely: Tips from an Editor
Abbreviations Poetical
Quick-View Tips and Tricks for Self-Editing
Self-editing Checklist for Youth Writers
Common Editing Issues in English-Second-Language Manuscripts
What to do When You’ve Paid for an Editor and Still Get Poor Reviews
What to do When You’ve Paid for an Editor and Get Poor Reviews–Part 2
An Editor’s Answers to a Potential Client’s Questions–especially helpful for your first time seeking editing!


An Editor’s Comments series:
An Editor’s Comments About Commas
An Editor’s Comments About the Editing Process
Words of Encouragement From an Editor
An Editor’s Comments on Manuscript Length
An Editor’s Comments on Audience
An Editor’s Comments on Some Short Stories
An Editor’s Comments On Query Letters
An Editor’s Comments Through the Process of a Memoir
An Editor’s Overall Comments for A Free Sample Edit
An Editor’s Comments About An Extra-Long Manuscript That Needs Re-Typing
An Editor’s Response to a Request to Edit
An Editor’s Suggestions On Publishing Decisions for a Children’s Book

Poetry:
Poetical Fun
Poetry Writing and Self-Editing Tips Part 1
Poetry Writing and Self-Editing Tips Part 2
Formatting Your Poetry for Submission
Putting Your Poems in Order for Publication in a Book

Inspiration:
Writing Inspiration From the Visual Arts
Fieldstone Writing
Planter or Plotter or Pantser?
Writing and Art

Specific Types of Writing:
Flash Fiction and Other Quick Writes
Kinds of Flash Fiction
Stationery and Letter-Writing, Oh My!

Language and Voice:
Language and Voice in Writing and Editing

Social Media and Writing:
Social Media for Authors
A Collection of Editing Marks

Speculative Fiction posts:
Mapping and World Creation (with a focus on Science Fiction and Fantasy)
The Hero’s Journey
Utopian or Dystopian Story Writing
World Building Through Mapping
More Aspects of World Building–Part 1 (conflict, political systems, technology, magic, values, small details, economic system, cultural groups)
More Aspects of World Building–Part 2 (realistic hangouts, world naming, food, alternate realities, time/era, transportation, morality, architecture, overall considerations)
Characterization in World Building
Links to Some Great Posts on World Building
Tips for Writing Super-Hero Stories

Writing and Editing Humour series:
Editing Humour
Punctuation Humour
Spelling Humour
Humorous Quotes about Writing
How to Get Ready to Move

Self-Editing Tips and Tricks series:

A Writer’s and Self-Editor’s Reference Library
Overall Tips for Self-editing
Some Surprising Self-editing Tips
Working with a Partner, Writers’ Group, and Beta Readers
When to Hire a Professional Editor
How to Save Editing Money

Opinion Pieces and other Miscellany:

Kids Don’t Know How to Work Today?
25 Things About Me in 2009–and 2017
Downsizing, Simplifying, Passing Things On
My First True Blog Post
Spring Break of a Different Sort
Retire or Rewire?
Perfect Blogging Schedule
I am a Writer–so There!

Real Examples of Various Writing Issues:

Word Choice Issues
Awkward Word Order
Making Sense
Flow and Awkward Phrasing
Repetition
Timing
Show vs Tell
Formal or Casual Language
Foreign Terms, Slang, Dialect and More
Exclamation Marks, Thoughts in Italics, and Other Unusual Approaches

Creativity Series:

What is Blocking Your Creativity?
Creativity: Planning and Organizing
Creativity: Be Unique, Original
Activities to Stimulate Creative Thinking
Creative Writing Relationships
Try Lots of Different Writing Formats

Blogging Tips:
What Makes a Blog Post Popular?
More Ideas About Popular Blog Posts

My Beta-Reading Saga series:

1.  Bury or boldly leap
2.  Am I a real writer?
3.  Takes one to know one: confessions
4.  Good stuff, happy dance
5.  Covid 19 writers retreat

What makes a blog post popular? My experiences:

1.  What makes a blog post popular?
2.  More ideas about popular blog posts
3.  My most popular blog post
4.  Popular blog post: collective nouns

Self-Exploration for Writers series:

1. Muses and Mentors
2. Reading that Inspires Me
3. Listening and Viewing
4. My Life Experiences Related to Writing
5. Inspiration and Dreams
6. Writing Formats and Focuses
7. My Writing Skills
8. My Readers/Audience
9. Preparing to Write

Your Writing Life series:

1.  Tribe, Team, Community
2. Writing Pursuits
3. Writing Related Activities
4. Plotter or Pantser; Introvert or Team Player
5. Ideas for Writing From Your Own Life

Author Considerations Beyond Just Writing series:

1. Publishing
2. Marketing
3. Writing as Business, and
4. Options Beyond Usual Publishing.

Planning Your Writing series:

1.Research
2.Target Audience, Genre, and Purpose
3.Seeking Help
4.Useful Planning Documents
5.Style Guides & Manuals
6.Developing Creativity and Story Skills
7.Personal Style Sheet

Editing Levels series:

1.Editing Levels Overview
2. Developmental Editing Checklist
3. Substantive/Structural Editing Checklist
4. Stylistic Editing Checklist
5. Copyediting Checklist
6. Proofreading Checklist

Self-Editing series:

1. Self-Editing Your First Draft
2. Some Practical Self-Editing Tips
3. Overcoming Fear of Self-Editing
4. Self-Edit with Fresh Eyes, Mind, and Body
5. Writing and Self-Editing Tools and Resources
6. Your Self-Editing Team
7. Do I Really Need a Self-Editing Team?

When It’s Time for An Editor:

1. Do I Really Need an Editor?
2. What Editor Should I Hire?
3. Specialized Help Some Editors May Offer
4. What Does Professional Editing Cost?
5. The Author-Editor Relationship
6. Important Notes to Editors (and Writers, too)
7. Some Editing Reminders for Writers: So You Aren’t Surprised
8. Specialty Editors and Other Publishing Professionals
9. Writing Coaches, Ghost Writers, and Co-Authors
10. Some Editing and Publishing Red-Flag Issues
11. If You’re Unhappy With Your Editor’s Work

The Editing Process: Addenda:

1.  Sample Edits
2.  Editing and Publishing Timeline
3.  Editing Contracts

Self-Edit Glossary:

1. Audience, Authorial Voice, Backstory, Capitalization, Chapters, Characterization
2. Cliches, Conciseness, Conflict, Critiquing, Description, Dialogue
3. Endings, Flow & Pacing & Organization, Formatting, Imagery & Figurative Language, Openings, Paragraphs, Plot
4. Point of View, Purpose, Punctuation, Scenes, Sentences
5. Setting, Show Don’t Tell, Spelling
6. Style, Synopsis, Titles and Headings

Thinking Ahead: to new paths: Mentoring and Coaching

1. Coaching
2. Mentoring
3. Mentoring Writing and Self-Editing
4. Mentor Tutoring
5. Specific Services I am Considering Offering

Writing Through Grief:

What would you like to know about editing, writing and publishing? Please feel free to contact me with your questions, and I’ll answer them in upcoming posts!