• One important job of a writer is to read high quality books of other writers. If you are not a reader, you cannot be a writer. By reading excellent books you will learn what excellent writing sounds like, and reads like, through osmosis. It feeds the soul. When you read lesser works you will be jarred by the “junk food” differences, and this will enrich your own writing.
• After you have done your best writing, run your project through an online editor like ProWritingAid, and possibly have a beta reader go through it for you, then make your final changes. It is now time to send your manuscript to a professional human editor. Doing it this way, rather than sending your raw first draft to your editor, will save you money.
• To give you an honest edit, you must be able to accept candid, constructive criticism. This may not be only for grammar, spelling and punctuation, but for style, story continuity, and suggested rewriting. This is not to hurt your feelings, but to improve your writing to the best it can be. A good editor doesn’t just proofread your work unless it’s the final edit before publication.
When you subscribe to the free Editor’s Note e‐newsletter, or sign up to get your manuscript edited, you will receive 23 editing challenges and 10 writing tips. Learn more about how to write well and self‐edit. Your email will not be shared and you may unsubscribe any time.
In one of my first memories, around four or five years old, I was being taught to spell “necessary,” the next day “unnecessary,” and that’s how it went until I began school. My grandparents taught me to spell and read new words every day. Sometimes they were words like “American,” or “Czechoslovakian,” and then a history lesson with the twirling globe. But they were never “cat,” “dog,” or “Jane.” My mother read stories to me every night. They instilled a love of words in me so strong that to this day I am an addicted reader (and writer).
I love discovering new writing talent, especially among self-published writers. At the same time, it is disappointing to download a book with promise of a good story and find that I can’t read past the first page or two, because it has not been properly edited. It always makes me wish the writer had been my client. The grammar hits wrong notes and the words do not sing. Instead of a magical mind movie, I am constantly interrupted by cacophony when it should be the soundtrack for the movie.
Since the mid 1980s, I have edited for fiction and non-fiction writers, for many screenwriters, ad agencies and businesses for their collateral materials; acted as desktop publisher before the Internet for organizations as diverse as the FBI Retired Agents Association to the National Astrologers Association. I write and edit copy for retail clients, for print and digital. I have written
hundreds of produced radio and television scripts, and ghostwritten for others with a special interest in health fields. My education and experience is extensive for both writing and editing.
I look forward to hearing from you and sharing a happy and beneficial editing experience!
Edwina
When you subscribe to the free Editor’s Note e‐newsletter, or sign up to get your manuscript edited, you will receive 23 editing challenges and 10 writing tips. Learn more about how to write well and self‐edit. Your email will not be shared and you may unsubscribe any time.
