Common Mistakes

There's a few things that tend to crop up over and over again and they don't mean that people are bad writers, but that we all miss a little something when we try to transfer the image we have in our heads to the printed word.

Dialogue attribution. I see lots of different types of attributions at the end of these sentences. Remember that he or she said should be good enough. Anything else like 'he said sadly' just wont do. Make sure the character demonstrates their emotional state. As a fiction editor, that's one of the things I see a lot of. More later.

Choices A Fiction Editor Needs To Make

I recently spoke with a woman in Toronto who had written a book and was looking to publish it. She was caught up in the old Catch22 that the fiction editor and the writer face together--how much should be changed to make the manuscript commercial enough for sale? I've heard stories about publishers wanting major rewrites ( 10,000 words or better) and people getting caught up in that machine.

So here's a little advice. Keep an open mind and look at all the suggestions an editor makes but make the final decisions yourself. Remember the best fiction editor will always be looking to make your book the best it can be and that should mean listening to your vision as well as having an eye to commercial value.

A New Venture For A Content Writer

Here's a blurb for a new venture I've just started with a friend of mine that uses his talents and my content writer abilities....

Today's business is global and to get the advantage you need to compete in all hemispheres on all continents or even right here in the GTA, it's important that you have a web presence.
But a successful seat at the Internet business table is about more than a solid Web design. Just as business cards that sit in your wallet do nothing to increase your profit margin, a website that doesn't get promoted through the right brand of Internet advertising will sit stagnant on the web.
That's why you need us as web consultants. We've got the experience in web design and search engine optimization to help you build a site and then promote it. We can help you get the Internet results you want from a new or existing web presence with the combined experience of over 20 years working with Internet based business.

Bluestripe Content on WordPress

With literally thousands of optimized blogs and articles written, I've started to streamline my efforts to Bluestripe Content and Bluestripe Editing (coming soon)

Brand New Article

Here's an article I just got published on the importance of good content.

Freelance Content Writing Sharpens Editing Talents

When you work on the Internet as a content writer doubling as a fiction editor,one necessarily feeds off the other. For example, the content writer side of what I do demands that I find ways to say things in smaller spaces and that helps me to look for ways to edit books down at the same time.

Content Writing

The reason the two disciplines work well together is simple. Both seo content writing and fiction editing arrive at the same point from different ends. All content writing jobs require that you 'edit' your thoughts before you write them and the editing work requires that you polish the words after they've been put down on the page.

Less Is More For Editors and Content Writers

Although you'd never know it by some of the excesses in print, in almost all forms of good writing less is more. That goes for both fiction editors, content writers and almost anyone else who uses the written word.

A Matter Of Focus

For the content writer, it's a matter of focus. You need to find new ways of saying things with as few words as possible. For the fiction editor,it's generally an exercise in sharpening the tools that you know you already use.

Thinking

Either way you approach the Less Is More rule, it's always a good idea to make sure that you revisit the skills that you've developed often, regardless of whether you see yourself as a content writer or fiction editor. Keep the thinking sharp and the writing or editing will follow.