Category Archives: Uncategorized

Books on Editing: Editing Tips for Writers by Tyler Wagner

What how-to editing book will help YOU hone your self-editing skills? This series of editing book reviews will help you figure it out.

3 Ways Editing is like Dealing with an Unruly Toddler

The end of the year is all about looking back on twelve months, 52 weeks, 365 days of living. And this sort of retrospection is important in our writing lives as well as in our personal lives. That’s what last week’s post was about how to approach something you wrote in the past with anContinue reading “3 Ways Editing is like Dealing with an Unruly Toddler”

Developmental Editing: Reflect, Listen, and Plan to Give Your Work New Life

Last week I noted that the first step of successful developmental editing is finding a reader. This week, I’m going to talk about the second step, in which you lay your soul bare and embrace all the feedback the reader gave you. This step can be intimidating, but you WILL survive it if you reflect on whatContinue reading “Developmental Editing: Reflect, Listen, and Plan to Give Your Work New Life”

Different Kinds of Editing; or, How Developmental Editing is like Raising a Toddler

One of a writer’s most important tasks is editing, but one of the most common misunderstandings I see with writers, particularly new writers, is that editing is all about grammar, mechanics, and sentence-level issues. But that type of sentence-level work isn’t editing; it’s proofreading. Now, proofreading is important. It’s SUPER important. It’s how you polishContinue reading “Different Kinds of Editing; or, How Developmental Editing is like Raising a Toddler”

How the Soft-Hearted Writer Can Survive Rejection (and even thrive!)

You have to be tough to be a writer. It’s a well-known truth. From Stephen King’s On Writing to the Instagram and Twitter writing communities, we all know writing results in lots of rejection necessary critical feedback Both are impossible to avoid and, in the long run, make you a better writer, so you needContinue reading “How the Soft-Hearted Writer Can Survive Rejection (and even thrive!)”

Five Ways Writers Can Use Microsoft OneNote to Improve their Writing Lives

Any time I mention Microsoft OneNote to writers, I get one of two responses. “Huh?”  Or… “Nah…”  Needless to say OneNote doesn’t seem to inspire writers the way other writing apps such as Scrivener do.  BUT (I’m sure you sensed a BUT coming), it is a useful tool for research, outlining, character profiles, and brainstorming. WhileContinue reading “Five Ways Writers Can Use Microsoft OneNote to Improve their Writing Lives”

What’s in a Name: Writing the Perfect Email, part 2

Last week, I discussed the 4 elements of the perfect email, and this week, I want to go more in-depth on one of those elements–addressing the recipient of your email by the correct name.  This one is a little personal for me.  Hi, I’m Dr. Jones, Ph.D, and I have come to expect that mostContinue reading “What’s in a Name: Writing the Perfect Email, part 2”