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Editorial Notes

Edit yourself like a pro. I'm a writer, editor, and book coach who has worked with more than 4,000 students, entrepreneurs, and corporate/institutional clients over the last 30+ years. You'll hear from me in your Inbox every 1st and 3rd Wednesday at 2pm EST :) Reader Testimonials: "You're one of the cheeriest, funniest, most helpful writer-oriented people I know! Thanks for being out there!" "Love your newsletter, especially your light-handedness! Thanks :-D" "I enjoy your insights and style. Thank you for providing the newsletter!" "I am LOVING your newsletter and am very happy I discovered it 😊" "You're awesome—keep up the good work!"​ "Can't tell you how much I enjoy reading your newsletter. You uncomplicate things authors are puzzled about." "I so enjoy your writing and sense of humor. You make editing sound like fun!!" "I love everything about Editorial Notes. Keep up the great content!"

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Nice/Clear, Fishy Fish, and You're My Type (of Edit)!

Editorial Notes = clarifying information, additional insight, annotations Hiya Reader, I love my morning coffee. I NEED my morning coffee. My morning coffee is black, medium roast, and hot enough to shock me awake. I also enjoy tea, dark chocolate, the occasional soda of the brown fizzy variety. So, imagine my horror to learn that it is actually possible to die from caffeine consumption! (Granted, I don't come anywhere close to a toxic level of daily caffeine, but I nevertheless appreciated...

Editorial Notes = clarifying information, additional insight, annotations Hiya Reader, As a child of working parents in the seventies and eighties, I grew up on a steady diet of engineered, processed food. White bread “fortified” with a fraction of the nutrients taken out in processing, carcinogenic pink bologna, square slices of “cheese food” glowing yellow-orange in plastic wrap. “Read the labels,” I taught my children. “If you can’t pronounce it, if it doesn’t seem like a name for food,...

Editorial Notes = clarifying information, additional insight, annotations Hiya Reader, A dear friend of mine once observed that "there are really only 600 people in the world; the rest is done with smoke and mirrors." The older I become, and the more people I meet and talk to, the more this quip seems somehow true, even if not literally. Where would all that smoldering glass come from? I prefer my friend's observation to the more prosaic theory of six degrees of separation, though I have...

Editorial Notes = clarifying information, additional insight, annotations Hiya Reader, I'm old enough to remember when neither alcohol nor medications were advertised on television. The latter group of ads always makes me laugh when the announcer speeds through the disclaimers. They always remind me of this classic SNL spoof commercial for a children's toy with the ominous disclaimer: "Do not taunt Happy Fun Ball"! As a copy editor (and former aspiring law student with a deep love for rules),...

Editorial Notes = clarifying information, additional insight, annotations Hiya Reader, In my freshman year of high school, I remember a paper assignment for my English class — not the topic, but the writing process. This was a time before personal computers were really a thing (not before they existed, but a thing) so I wrote everything in longhand before typing up the full essay, whiteout correction fluid near at hand. (Sidebar, but relevant: You may or may not be surprised to know how many...

Editorial Notes = clarifying information, additional insight, annotations Hiya Reader, I'm back from my residency! I accomplished a short ton, failed to accomplish a metric ton, and learned a long ton. The TL;DR takeaway: If you've never experienced a residency, whether as a writing fellow or on a private retreat of your own design, put this activity on the top of your bucket list. The Studio Barn Let's get into it, shall we? Think a friend would appreciate Editorial Notes? Send them this...

Editorial Notes = clarifying information, additional insight, annotations Hiya Reader, The following issue is a reader favorite from the Editorial Notes archives, to keep your inbox company while Helene is on sabbatical at her writing fellowship. She'll be back next week with a new edition! I have no idea where it comes from, but I am attracted to unusual timepieces. As much as I collect anything tangible, I suppose I collect clocks. (Related: the Pomodoro Technique is helpful for many...

Editorial Notes = clarifying information, additional insight, annotations Hiya Reader, The following issue is a reader favorite from the Editorial Notes archives, to keep your inbox company while Helene is on sabbatical at her writing fellowship. On vacation when our children were tweens, my family of four chugged across the Virginia Piedmont in our beloved Volkswagen Westfalia Vanagon. If you aren't aware, these vehicles are huge, box-shaped, and heavy. They're designed for a life in the...

Editorial Notes = clarifying information, additional insight, annotations Hiya Reader, The following issue is a reader favorite from the Editorial Notes archives, to keep your inbox company while Helene is on sabbatical at her writing residency. I unlocked a new level of peeve this week. It's not related to writing, but it does qualify as writing-adjacent: My library blocked me from putting any more digital titles on hold because I'd "reached the maximum allowable." I have many questions. For...

Editorial Notes = clarifying information, additional insight, annotations Hiya Reader, I'm beyond excited to report that I will be squirreled away as a resident writing fellow for the next few weeks. This honor is awarding me the unimaginable luxury of time to consciously focus on absolutely nothing at all except my writing. I'm determined to make the most of my days, with major progress on the memoir I've been slaving over for six looooooooong years (my daughter would write this as...