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

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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

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4 Tips on Managing Your Online Reputation

summer-1501608_1920Sadly, 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

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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

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Why Do I Need An Editor?

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I guess the “I” in that question should really be “we” because everyone needs an editor, even editors!

The issue is that after a while, we become blind to our work. Our eyes skip over the words because our brains know it so well. Having someone else read your work, especially aloud, will bring problems to the forefront really quickly.

I know it’s really hard to let someone see your work before it’s done. So, you don’t have to if that’s a real problem. You can keep working on it till you reach a point of comfort. There are, however, some key times that I really do recommend you hand it over. Continue reading → Why Do I Need An Editor?

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This Might Be the Hardest Part of the Writing Process

 

What part of the writing process is the hardest?

Fleshing out the original idea with enough detail is no easy task. Then again, writing draft after draft until said idea is clear and concise can also send a writer scurrying to find that happy place. Putting your pride and joy into the hands of an editor who might change this or that for whatever reason is pretty nerve-racking, too. Make it through all that, though, and you’re ready for a cool drink and an afternoon in the hammock.

Wait. What? Left something out, didn’t I? Continue reading → This Might Be the Hardest Part of the Writing Process