Blog Archives

The Editing Podcast S2E10: How to use quote marks or speech marks in writing

29/8/2019

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Denise and Louise discuss how to use quote marks (or speech marks) in writing ... and when not to use them.

Click to listen to Season 2, Episode 10

Summary
Listen to find out more about:

What quote marks are and how they're used
Whether to use straight or curly quote marks
Choosing single or double quote marks
Where the closing quote mark goes in relation to other punctuation
When not to use quote marks

Other resources

Chicago Manual of Style
Penguin Guide to Punctuation
New Hart’s Rules
How to punctuate dialogue in a novel (free webinar)

Music credit
‘Vivacity’ Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com). Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 License.

Louise Harnby is a line editor, copyeditor and proofreader who specializes in working with crime, mystery, suspense and thriller writers.

She is an Advanced Professional Member of the Chartered Institute of Editing and Proofreading (CIEP), a member of ACES, a Partner Member of The Alliance of Independent Authors (ALLi), and co-hosts The Editing Podcast.

Visit her business website at Louise Harnby | Fiction Editor & Proofreader, say hello on Twitter at @LouiseHarnby, connect via Facebook and LinkedIn, and check out her books and courses.

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Writing and editing for the web: The Editing Podcast

28/8/2019

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Learn these top tips for writing and editing for the web with our Editing Podcast guest Erin Brenner.

Summary of Episode 27

Why working with web content is different from writing for the page
In which programs should we create content for the web?
Pre-upload checks on the writing
Pre-upload checks on metadata links, and alt-text
Quality control: self-editing versus third-party professional help
How many editing passes?
Fact-checking and authenticity
The order of play for editing web content
Style sheets and web content
Language choice and style for web content

Editing bites

Erin Brenner’s Web Style Checklist
They Ask, You Answer by Marcus Sheridan

Other resources

Erin Brenner, Right Touch Editing
‘Customer service: A cautionary tale of red flags and safety nets’ by Vanessa Plaister on the CIEP blog
The AP Stylebook (Associated Press)

Music credit

‘Vivacity’ Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com). Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 License. http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/

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The Editing Podcast, S2E8: Publishing with an independent press: In conversation with Salt

19/8/2019

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In this episode of The Editing Podcast, Denise and Louise talk to Jen Hamilton-Emery, co-director of Salt, one of the UK's premier independent literary publishers.

Click to listen to Season 2, Episode 8

Summary
Listen to find out more about:

The Salt story: awards, authors and publishing goals
Author retention
Indie publishing and the digital revolution
The submission process
The author–publisher relationship
The publishing process
Rights, sales and royalties
Print runs
Resources for authors

Find out more

Visit the Salt website

Editing bites

Typographic Style Handbook: A Guide to Typography by Michael Mitchell and Susan Wightman
Understanding Show, Don’t Tell by Janice Hardy

Music credit
‘Vivacity’ Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com). Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 License.

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The Editing Podcast, S2E7: So you want to change your editor ...

12/8/2019

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In this episode of The Editing Podcast, Denise and Louise offer guidance on how to change your editor, and manage the process in a way that ensures everyone comes out smiling!

Click to listen to Season 2, Episode 7

Summary
Listen to find out more about:

Why authors change editors
Planning ahead and giving notice
Whether the editor should get involved in sourcing a replacement
Checking T&Cs and cancellation policies
Information and tools to share with the new editor

Editing bites

The NCW Podcast (National Centre for Writing)
Oxford Dictionary of English Idiom
Cambridge Dictionary of American Idioms

Other resources

The Editing Podcast, S1E1: The different levels of editing
The Editing Podcast, S1E10: How to find an editor
The Editing Podcast, S1E7: Style sheets for writing and editing
Blog article: How do I find a proofreader, copyeditor or developmental editor?
Blog article: What's a style sheet and how do I create one? (includes a free downloadable style-sheet template)
The different levels of editing (free webinar)

Music credit
‘Vivacity’ Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com). Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 License.

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The Editing Podcast, S2E6: Word formatting tips: Find/replace, wildcards and the ribbon

5/8/2019

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In this episode of The Editing Podcast, Denise and Louise offer some quick tips on formatting your Word file ... final tidy-ups to get your file in shape, and that accord with mainstream publishing standards. And there's a free PDF that includes all the search strings we talk about (or try to)!

Click to listen to Season 2, Episode 6

Click on the image below to download the free booklet and grab all those search strings we try to explain!

Editing bites

Wildcard Cookbook for Microsoft Word: Amazon UK and Amazon US
Word Tips

Music credit
‘Vivacity’ Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com). Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 License http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/