Sunday's Links to Writing & Marketing Blog Posts

WHAT IS COPY EDITING, AND WHY IS IT A BIG DEAL?

By: Helen Boswell

Copy editing is different from content editing (an equally important step), though the two have some overlap. Copy editing involves making sure each and every word in your MS is correct in the following areas: grammar, spelling, punctuation, and consistency in style. This is usually the last step before publishing, after revisions and content edits are in place.

Your ultimate goal in copy editing is to make sure that your sentences are correct and also say what you want them to say. Regardless of whether you choose to copy edit yourself or hire someone to do it, you need your meaning to come across clearly in each sentence of your MS. If not, the results could be potentially disastrous.

Copy editing Tips:

1. Read your MS as you would read a book.

I use this method for both revisions and copy editing. You’ll catch a lot more errors as you read through your MS if you read it as a book than if you read it on your computer. I’m assuming that you wrote your MS on your computer or tablet and that you’re used to seeing it this way. Our brains do a marvelous job of filling things in for us when there are errors, and this cool article published in The Guardian explains why we do this. Incidentally, this is why you can read something fourteen times and not spot a glaring error; sometimes we just need a different perspective to see it! When you read, pay attention to clarity and consistency as well as grammatical/spelling errors (see point 2 below).

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Read the full article HERE

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If you missed my writing & marketing tweets and retweets yesterday, here they are again:

1. Fiction University: The Value of Indie Print: Necessity, Choices and Costs http://ow.ly/ATcol
2. My Critique Partner, Myself | Beyond The Margins http://ow.ly/ATcpR
3. Writers' Room 101: Pitching Tips - Script Magazine http://ow.ly/ATcy6
4. 6 Side Effects Only Writers Experience | Thought Catalog http://ow.ly/ATcBl
5. Top 5 Paid Indie Book Review Services Compared | Self-Publishing Review http://ow.ly/ATcDe
6. Assembly Required: Create an Ensemble Book Cast » Writeonsisters.com http://ow.ly/ATcEY
7. A Memoir Is Not a Status Update - The New Yorker http://ow.ly/ATcHL
8. Procrastinating on a Writing Project? Use the 300 Words Trick http://ow.ly/ATcJm
9. Why Creative Side Projects Are Good for You http://ow.ly/ATcNu
10. A Room of One’s Own, Revisited: How Important Is Solitude to a Writer? | Literary Ladies Guide to the Writing Life http://ow.ly/ATcP9
11. Your Blog Sommelier: Pairing ‘Agent Orange’ And Hugh Howey | Thought Catalog http://ow.ly/ATcSe
12. 8 Screenwriting Tips That Will Help You in the Long Run http://ow.ly/ATcT1
13. An Englishman’s Way of Speaking Absolutely Classifies Him* | Confessions of a Mystery Novelist... http://ow.ly/ATcTT
14. Fitting a Prequel into Your Series | Indies Unlimited http://ow.ly/ATcV1
15. 17 Tips How to Successful Run Book Giveaways | Savvy Writers & e-Books online http://ow.ly/ATcZ6
16. 6 Reasons You Should Self-Publish by Tiana Warner — The Book Designer http://ow.ly/ATcZM
17. Anne R. Allen's Blog: 10 Obsolete Beliefs that Can Block Self-Publishing Success http://ow.ly/ATd3C
18. Five Things “Thou Shalt Not Do” as an Indie Writer by Kimberly Shursen - Underground Book Reviews http://ow.ly/ATd5r
19. Hooking Your Reader by Carol Malone - Writer's Fun Zone http://ow.ly/ATdaT
20. WOW! Women On Writing Blog: 5 Tips for Submitting Your Work: Help From an Editor http://ow.ly/ATdbJ
21. Copy Editing Wizardry Tricks by Helen Boswell | @PenandMuse http://ow.ly/ATddM
22. 8 Important Questions to Ask Before You Publish Your Book http://ow.ly/ATdfB
23. Pinterest Business Analytics: This Week in Social Media | Social Media Examiner http://ow.ly/ATdgx
24. Writer Unboxed » The Dozen New Digital Rules Authors Need to Know http://ow.ly/ATdmv
25. On Agency Clauses | The Passive Voice | A Lawyer's Thoughts on Authors, Self-Publishing and Traditional Publishing http://ow.ly/ATdsk

Happy writing and running, Kathy