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February 21, 2020February 21, 2020

A Glimpse Into the Work Process of a Copyeditor

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Some people seek the spotlight. Me? I’m more of a behind-the-scenes kind of person, which makes me particularly suited to be a copyeditor. I really enjoy helping people build and clarify ideas until they morph into a nicely structured, publishable piece.

I know that you’ve poured your heart into that document. Whether it’s a magazine article or sell sheet, you need that piece of writing to showcase who you, your products or services are. Copyeditors don’t take that lightly. With that in mind, my goal as a copyeditor is to make the document work for you as best as possible. Continue reading → A Glimpse Into the Work Process of a Copyeditor

February 20, 2020February 20, 2020

A Glimpse Into the Work Process of a Content Writer

What does a content writer do?

Ok, this one really is fairly self-explanatory. But, since I’ve committed to explaining a bit about my work process as a freelance content writer, I’m going to go ahead and expand on it.

A content writer writes … well … content. In my case, I specialize in blog posts, white papers, business marketing materials, web pages, training manuals, general interest and niche magazine articles (print and online), and quite a bit more. I was that university student who absolutely loved writing essays.

I loved essay writing because it’s a clearly structured format. As long as you stick to that structure, you can argue anything you’d like (backed up by logic, of course). Continue reading → A Glimpse Into the Work Process of a Content Writer

May 23, 2019

Does Your Company Need An Editorial Guide?

Maybe you’re a business owner who knows that you really should get around to writing an editorial guide. But you’re not sure how or why you should bother. You’ve probably noticed that a lot of businesses – even small and medium-sized ones – go to the trouble of producing some kind of guiding document. Let me just say that there’s tremendous value in an editorial guide. It will save you money, help you promote your brand, and provide an easy way of dealing with a lot of problems that might pop up.

what are editorial guides, anyway?

You know all of that stuff companies write – email newsletters, website landing pages, blog posts? Oh, and don’t forget all of the internal communications and marketing materials. All of that copy has to be produced according to a plan. Editorial guides are that plan. Continue reading → Does Your Company Need An Editorial Guide?

April 10, 2019April 10, 2019

What Is Online Editing?

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Well, yes. Making edits online is pretty much the most basic definition of what online editing is all about. If that’s all you need to know, then great! I’m happy to help.

But, before you go, I should mention that there’s actually a whole lot more to it than you might think.

For instance, did you know that online editing is a common job requirement within film and photo production? Editing film and images online is something that happens in the studio during the post-production phase. It is one of the most important parts of film and photo development. But film and images are not really what I’m talking about here. Continue reading → What Is Online Editing?

April 4, 2019April 5, 2019

Case Study: How To Write An Award-Winning Travel Article

Image: Jill Wellington

“Rosemary really cared about my goals, and her editorial guidance brought out my best work.”

Case Profile

Tod Stewart is a Toronto-based wine, spirits, food, travel, and lifestyle writer with over 35 years of industry experience. He contributes to newspapers, periodicals, and trade magazines. He is also a consultant to the hospitality industry.

At A Glance

Problem

Tod Stewart was tasked with writing a high-quality article about his trip to Italy that would be entered into an international competition. But, time was short, and Tod needed help streamlining his experiences into an engaging and winning story. Continue reading → Case Study: How To Write An Award-Winning Travel Article

September 25, 2016February 20, 2019

4 Tips on Managing Your Online Reputation

Sadly, the Toronto Film Festival (TIFF) has come and gone without me darkening the doorstep of any of the venues showing the films. I did, however, get to see Snowden when it went into wider release a week or so after its festival screening. The movie is Oliver Stone’s dramatic interpretation of whistleblower Edward Snowden. In 2013, Snowden released to journalists at The Guardian documentation proving that the national Security Association in the US (and other security departments in other countries, including Great Britain and Canada) was illegally spying on regular citizens. Continue reading → 4 Tips on Managing Your Online Reputation

August 28, 2016February 20, 2019

How To Write A Video Script

screenplay-408252_1920 Writing fiction isn’t really my forte. I love trying, and if I try long enough, I might just create something great (or at least, good).

Writing nonfiction is my forte. Explaining the intricacies of any particular subject matter is fun. Yep, you read that right … fun.

Despite that reality, I don’t think the two are as distinct as some might think. In fact, I merge them as much as possible in everything I write. Now, I’m not suggesting that anyone fictionalize work that isn’t meant to be fiction. That would not be good. (Although, I would argue that some instruction manuals read like fiction. Have you ever tried putting something together with the help of instructions that seem to be written for an entirely different product? Uh huh.) Continue reading → How To Write A Video Script

July 29, 2016February 20, 2019

How To Edit A Thesis

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I’ve received a number of requests from clients asking me to edit a thesis. My first response is always to accept. I love reading theses. It takes me right back to my university days full of ideas and long theoretical discussions. The theories and solutions we devised over pints of beer or cups of coffee may not have stood up against a reality check, but they were fun nonetheless. Even writing my own thesis, though definitely arduous at times, was fun. Taking an idea and tracing its possible routes to a variety of logical conclusions is not something I get to do very often today.

When it comes to editing a thesis, however, a whole different set of skills is involved. The most important is communicating what role exactly the editor plays. More so than for any other type of writing, putting expectations down on paper, in a contract, is of supreme importance. Continue reading → How To Edit A Thesis

May 17, 2016February 20, 2019

5 Tips On How To Write Outside Your Comfort Zone

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You want me to write about what?

Yikes! You’ve just been hired to write expertly about a subject you don’t know anything about. What are you going to do? Take a page from The Hitchhiker’s Guide To The Galaxy and Don’t Panic!

Remember, being a writer doesn’t mean that you have somehow managed to become an expert on everything. It means that you’ve become an expert on how to approach a subject so that it looks like you’re an expert on everything. Got it?

Now, don’t get me wrong. I’m not advocating lying. Chances are good that someone who knows about the subject will read what you’ve written and call you on it. I’m reminding you that you’re not only an expert writer, you’re an researcher. Writers are used to asking questions and finding answers. That’s the skill that will get you through the task, and at the end, you might find that you are an expert in a new subject area after all. Continue reading → 5 Tips On How To Write Outside Your Comfort Zone

The Eloquent Word

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