Editing hurts. Yes. It hurts when someone cuts your words, rearranges your sentences, deletes your creative use of language, etc. It hurts. The first thing a writer has to do is leave their ego at the door. Most writers write with passion and passion doesn't always reflect good grammar or proper use of punctuation. I recently edited for the CEO of a large corporation. She was taken aback by my edits and questioned if she wanted someone cutting her writing up like I did. But, while she might be a great CEO, her grammar, word choices and sentence structure were lacking. Most people, when writing with passion, give little thought to how their words are put together. The words spill out with feeling while grammar is laid aside. And that's ok. That's actually how it should be. We should write with passion.....then hire a good editor to make our points flow well and be cohesive. We editors make your passion shine by clothing your writing in easy-to-read prose with good ...

STOP right there in your tracks! You've written a great piece, whether it's a blog post or the next great American novel, and you're ready to publish. STOP! Don't do it! Have your work edited first. While many writers feel this step is bothersome, it's the most worthwhile step, next to your actual writing, that you can take. An independent editor is best because they bring an objective eye to your writing. Where can you find an independent editor? One of the best ways to find your editor is through Fiverr . Fiverr is a great no-commitment way to find your best editor. Test a few editors out on small jobs before you hire any for a bigger one. This will give you a chance to gauge their work to see if you're compatible. Not every editor is compatible with every writer. Test the waters before you plunge too deeply to make a change. So, this is your tip for today....STOP in your tracks and hire an independent editor. Your readers will thank you. Write oft...

I'm not only a writer, I am also a professional editor. As an editor, I often warn my clients about my frequent brutality when it comes to editing their work. I tell them they can't take it personally when I turn their lovingly slaved-over documents into marked-up-with-red, messy works that need fixing. But, I do it all in their best interest. I do it for them so they don't publish something that makes them look like an idiot. The public isn't very forgiving when it comes to bad writing. People just move on and don't read bad writing. I read this article today on The Writer's Circle and I find this to be solid, good advice. I use all these filters, and more, when I write and when I edit. I like all the points in this article and they would be helpful for any writer. Enjoy! For the love of writing on this Valentine's Day, ~Tricia

I read a few blogs regularly and those blogs often introduce me to new blogs. Today, a Facebook post led me to a fashion blog and it looked interesting and informative enough to click on. Fashion is important, to a point - the point where I don't go around looking like an idiot or dressing too young, etc. That can be challenging, though, since clothes in the junior department fit me best. It's not always convenient to be short. The fashion blog held a lot of useful information, but this young blogger desperately needs an editor. We can certainly look past a few typos, but this gal had no clue how to use the English language. She needs an editor. We all need an editor. I can't tell you how many times I've written a blog post, reread it several times, posted it, then came back and found typos or other errors! It happens to everyone. I'm not just irritated at poor, unedited writing. I'm also frustrated for the writer because, in the long run, it will affect ...

Revision is a necessary tool for successful writing. We write, we edit, we revise. Then, we revise again. And again. And again. Sometimes, our content needs less revision than our title, however. This was the case with my new e-book, Writing for Publication .  I wrote, edited, revised, had an outside editor look at it, revised again, rewrote part of it and updated other parts. After all that was done, I created a title page, using my own photography as I always do on my e-books, and uploaded the project to Amazon Kindle Direct Publishing . I waited a couple of days, then did a search for my e-book. Clicking through to page five in the list of books on writing, mine simply did not show up. I gave it another day. Nothing. My e-book still did not show up in any searches! So, I had to rethink my project and revise once again.  This time, revision involved my title and book cover. I spent a little time searching for writing e-books and made notes on what was showing up in sea...

I t's a well-known fact that no one can fully edit their own work.  As I teach writing and advise my students, I always recommend hiring an independent editor, especially if not working with a publishing house.  Many of my students have chosen e-publishing and independent editors are a must for any e-publisher.   But, many people avoid hiring independent editors due to the cost involved. Their work, along with their credibility as a writer, suffers as a result. PAY ATTENTION But, there are some ways you can save money on editing.  The number one way is to pay attention to your word processor.  Modern word processing programs all have built-in grammar and spelling alerts. Paying attention to them and using them will save you money on editing costs.  Why pay an editor to do what a word processor will do automatically?  All you have to do is pay attention.  For example, when Word puts a green squiggly line under a word or sentence, pay attentio...