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!"
Nice/Clear, Fishy Fish, and You're My Type (of Edit)!
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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 this sobering reminder that although common and legal, caffeine is a drug. Consume it wisely, my friend. Think a friend would appreciate Editorial Notes?Send them this link to sign up:
(And if you’re the appreciative friend, you can subscribe at the same link.) Example of the WeekSometimes this is a good example—or a great one. Sometimes this is a bad example—or just a funny blooper. Sometimes a combination. You never know. Thanks to reader SK for sending this to me. One dollar sauces for fifty cents, on sale for twenty-five. Huh? Clarity is kindness for your audience. Actionable Tip of the WeekA trick to add to your self-editing toolbox right now! If you are among those who struggle with description, this week's actionable tip is tailor-made for you. Read it here. Reader Question of the WeekColleen wrote: It’s a little embarrassing, but I’m not really sure I understand what a developmental edit is for or why I would want/need it. I also don't quite get the difference between a copy edit and a line edit. Is that just two ways of saying the same thing? Colleen! Don't be embarrassed. I promise this is not the first time I've had these questions, and it's unlikely to be the last! Continue reading... Want to Submit a Reader Question to Helene?Give in to the urge.
Link of the WeekA super interesting test to finally settle the question Dennis Miller once posed in his standup routine: "How do I know if the color blue to you is the color blue to me?" I ❤️ Hearing from You!Comments? Just reply to this email or click this link. I respond to every email—that's a promise. Thanks for reading!~Helene, your writing sherpa P.S.Have a project in need of developmental, line, or copy editing? Let's talk! Here's just one testimonial from a satisfied client: “I finally found time to give your comments the attention and respect they deserve. In doing so I find that your written notes and side edits are extremely helpful, both those that point out what works and those that indicate what still needs refining. You were clear, specific and spoke to issues that resonated with me. Thank you, thank you, thank you for all your insights and comments. I am so grateful.” |
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!"
Editorial Notes = clarifying information, additional insight, annotations Hiya Reader, I recently attended a wedding, and like many, the reception included numerous speeches/toasts from family and very close friends of the bride and groom. We've all been through drunken/embarrassing/horrifying speeches at such events, and while many of those shameful exhibits stick in my memory, this is not the vignette I want to share. Instead, I'll say this: if you are chosen to toast a couple on their...
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...