Ever since the advent of the Internet and email, experts and other folks with common sense have warned us to be careful about what we write online. Every time a new form of electronic communication or social networking comes along (Facebook, Twitter, texting via smartphone, etc.), we are reminded of this sage advice. The latest case in point involves veteran CNN correspondent Jim Clancy, who just lost his job because of some things he posted on Twitter.
Category Archives: Articles
Author Amy Tan discusses the writer/editor relationship
Here are excerpts from an interesting article about best-selling author Amy Tan’s search for a new editor after her longtime editor died of cancer. According to Tan, “it’s kind of like getting married.”
As an editor, I can attest to the intimacy and trust involved in a great editor/writer relationship. This sometimes involves very lively creative discussions, but having this kind of partner is essential for writers, as well as business owners and organizations, to communicate their messages in the most effective way.
The importance of hiring an editor
The writer of the This is Horror website, Jasper Bark, says it best: “Without editors, gentle reader, most people in my profession would be screwed.” Whether one is a writer of fiction or corporate communications, it is crucial to run one’s work by a second set of eyes, not just to spot mistakes, but to offer suggestions as to clarity, tone, etc. And it is just as crucial that those eyes belong to a trained professional editor.
Please contact us to find out about our professional editing services.
Congress Learns to Dumb Down its Communications for the Public
A recent study found that members of Congress are talking to us at an average 10th grade level, down a whole grade from 11th in just seven years. According to some accounts, that’s a sad or even alarming trend. However, the picture is different when one learns that Americans, on average, only read at an 8th or 9th grade level. In that respect, the politicians are doing what they are supposed to do — talk to us in a way that we can clearly understand.
It seems that the recent study says more about Americans’ education values and intellectual curiosity than it does about politicians who, as good communicators, know their audience.
A Well-Written Newspaper Article
This article in today’s New York Times “N.Y./Region” section, entitled “Playing a Beatle, and Dying of Cancer,” does just about everything right. It’s funny, it’s sad; it informs, it entertains; it’s about small things, and big things. It’s well worth a read.
