Look again—proofreading

Author: Ellen Cline; Published: Nov 10, 2010; Category: Business Writing, Editing and Proofing; Tags: Business Writing, editing, proofreading; No Comments

Reading a lot can turn you into a tough audience, a real critic. I notice things and am appalled. Maybe most people don’t notice.

I’ve written emails to book publishers, small business owners and large company webmasters pointing out typos. Usually they’re appreciative. 

Are the typos in their ad for an editor part of the testing process? Did they really mean to misspell the name of their product?

This doesn’t mean that I don’t need my own proofreader or editor. We all do. I might be better than most at catching things, but let’s face it—if you’ve been working on a piece and seen it over and over as it’s been written and edited, sometimes you just can’t see it anymore. So having others proofread can be invaluable.

Fresh eyes can see a lot more than ones that have already read something 20 times. And don’t forget to get someone to double-check all the important details like phone numbers, email addresses and the spelling of the CEO’s name.

There are all the usual tricks such as taking a break before reading the piece again, reading it backwards, reading it aloud.

If someone has added a tiny change, even one word, beware. Cutting and pasting in even small edits can create new errors. Double “the” anyone? One changed word can lead to sentences that no longer make sense. So don’t slack off before you get to the final version.

Editing online text can be more forgiving. At least you can make changes easily, unlike after you’ve printed 10,000 paper copies of something. But still, typos online look unprofessional.

So use your word processor’s spellchecker, even if it’s not perfect. And use your eyes and whoever else’s eyes you can borrow to take a gander. Review what you’ve written. You may never achieve perfection, but you almost certainly can do better than people who never proofread do.

Writing Relay

Author: Ellen Cline; Published: Sep 29, 2010; Category: Business Writing, Editing and Proofing; Tags: Business Writing, collaborative writing, marketing, organizing information; No Comments

I’m always writing things for my clients. That’s what I do. But in some cases I might be writing with my clients.

This doesn’t necessarily mean we’re in the same room together brainstorming, writing things down, and tossing wads of crumpled paper on the floor. But we might meet over the phone or in person to talk about the document needed, its purpose, audience and the information to be included.

Sometimes I take the lead, starting a first draft. This lets me overcome that dread of the blank page that paralyzes some clients. Then the client might run the next lap, fleshing out the main concepts, with information that only they know.

Other times the client does the brain dump first and then I go in and do the cleanup on their rough draft, organizing all their information into something that has the right tone, length and if needed, with more of a marketing approach.

Any writing project can become more manageable when you have someone to help you with the parts you just don’t have time for or are just don’t like to do.  So if that’s writing the first draft, I can do that.  If that’s taking your rough and shaping it up, I can do that, too.

I can research the topic or you can simply tell me what you know. Or we can go into combo mode—give me the information you have and then I’ll go hunt down the rest.

Just because you’re the subject matter expert doesn’t mean you can’t get help shaping the knowledge you have into a well-organized article, web page, press release, or copy for various marketing materials.

So stop running the marathons on your own and sign up for the relay team. Let’s get your ideas down on paper and help you sell your stuff.

Blogging for the Dog

Author: Ellen Cline; Published: Aug 27, 2010; Category: Editing and Proofing; Tags: blogging, Persuading Readers, Point-of-View, promoting nonprofits, Public relations; No Comments

This summer I haven’t written for my own blog at all. I’ve been busy with a variety of projects, but the one that was the most involving, and fun, was National Assistance Dog Week.

Yes, I really was blogging for the dog:  Whistle, my client Marcie Davis’ assistance dog, to be exact. Just like his partner, Marcie, that dog is an overachiever. Being the co-host of the Working Like Dogs show on Pet Life Radio just wasn’t enough.  He also had to start blogging. But he needed a little help from me and Marcie to pull that off.

I wasn’t just blogging for the dog; I was helping Marcie promote National Assistance Dog Week to individuals and organizations around the country. We put together a website, www.assistancedogweek.org, with Evolution Web, promoted NADW and the website, posted events being held in various states and organized our own events here in New Mexico. 

We partnered with Assistance Dogs of the West and got Governor Bill Richardson to sign a proclamation, had an Assistance Dog Fair at Zoe & Guido’s Pet Boutique, and received press coverage for these events.

Then we got Betty White and Ali MacGraw to be guests on the Working Like Dogs show in honor of National Assistance Dog Week. Having celebrity guests brought lots of attention to Marcie’s show, and to NADW. Since then, I’ve also helped Marcie contact and book animal issues reporter Jill Rappaport from the Today Show, and entertainer and guide dog partner, Tom Sullivan.

I’ve been involved with helping my amazing client, Marcie Davis, with a number of her projects. She does so many different things, it makes my head spin. Besides Working Like Dogs and National Assistance Dog Week, she has a nonprofit called Soulful Presence and a company called Davis Innovations. All the work these organizations do is to help people and animals, both locally and globally.

Marcie is ceaseless in her efforts for others. But despite all the work she did, and does, nobody really knew about it. I’m trying to help her get more attention for her causes and projects, in hopes of building awareness and enabling her to be able to do even more good.