Questions tagged [editing]
Editing is the act of improving a piece of writing. Questions with this tag should focus on specific editing techniques or ways to improve editing skills. Critiques or proofreading questions are off-topic here.
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How do I gain experience in editing?
After years of critiquing fiction as a hobby, I feel like I've gained some skill at editing. I'm now wondering how I can try my hand at actually editing fiction.
While I've got a decent sense of how ...
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One-page tales: what do I have to spit out and what is indispensable?
I've undertaken to write a book with 50 tales, one per page.
It is hard going, because the stories keep coming out too long. How can I "filter" the job, or extract short ideas and work?
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How to communicate two elements of different general syntactic/semantic type in the same sentence?
I have the following sentence,
NAME is a community that helps each other code better by rating each
other's efforts and helps managers pair with other fellow developers
I was suggested by the ...
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Is it correct to ask, "WHY LAUGHING?" [closed]
is it correct to ask, WHY LAUGHING
In a scenerio where the antagonist is laughing at the hero... is it right for the hero to ask... why laughing?
I know of "why are you laughing?" but I've heard ...
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Writer's Market
Is Writer's Market a viable place for a freelance editor to find possible clients? As I understand it, the book is geared towards writers finding agents/publishers, but I've never even paged through a ...
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How to make a dark story not-so-dark (Shining the light in darkness)
I'm writing a war story, and it's dark. However, I find that every scene turns out to be depressing because of it. Readers will be overwhelmed. Are there ways I can induce hope/shine the light in the ...
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Paragraph Indenting Rules
I have a question about dialogue indents. I'm proofreading a piece for my proofreading course and I've come across something that's stumped me.
The first 6 lines of the story are dialogue and they ...
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How much does imperfect grammar put off an agent?
I've written a novel and looking back the story line was good but the grammar wasn't great. I submitted the book to a few agents and received some constructive comments which I took on board. I have ...
user18794
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When to ask for feedback of novel?
At what stage in writing do you ask for feedback on your new story?
After writing a plot outline?
After the first draft?
After the second draft?
After you polish it for the public?
What kind of ...
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What is an appropriate waiting time before resubmitting after I received positive feedback?
Should I resubmit it through the regular submission channel or directly to the editor who replied (she included her contact info)?
I have revised the MS quite a bit this week based on their comments, ...
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Web-based WYSIWYG Markdown editor with commenting?
My question is similar to this one, but with (hopefully) a clearly defined use case: sharing and reviewing basic tech docs with a minimal, intuitive GUI.
I'm producing technical documents using MS ...
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How to hack Scrivener's appearance or add binder to full screen composition mode?
I really enjoy using Scrivener to write. I don't actually use all of its features -- in truth, I would be satisfied if the program only offered its full screen composition mode plus the binder on the ...
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Where to find beta readers? [duplicate]
Since I left my writer's group out of personality issues, invariably somebody becomes a know-it-all, it's been a real struggle to find people willing to invest time.
The friends/acquaintances I have ...
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Remote work advice? [closed]
I apologize if this is a tedious question but …
My wife and I may be moving overseas soon and I have been considering looking for work that I can do remotely, possibly writing. My background is that ...
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How should book credit and profit be given for an individual editor?
I have no prior experience as an book/Ebook writer, nevertheless I've been able to write my first full book (which I feel that I did a good job on). However, I have an issue with my mom, who has been ...
Tom Fernandez
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Maybe it *is* better to write rough drafts longhand?
I read a forward by Piers Anthony in the midst of his bestselling Incarnations series about how he used two drafts on paper then one on the typewriter and shebang. He admits to switching to a laptop ...
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How can I improve this scene? [closed]
This is the second to last scene in the first chapter. It starts with Lisa hunting and getting a deer and ends with Lisa getting bit by a venomous snake.
Now you might be thinking "You can't carry a ...
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Redouble, double, or double again?
I have seen double and double again a lot. Redouble, not so much.
I found out that redouble can mean to double again, to double, or in general to intensify whether that is double, triple, quintuple, ...
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Referencing real and fictional people/characters in novels - legal implications
I've been going out of my way to avoid referencing famous people in my novel as well as fictional characters, but I keep seeing pop culture references in other books I read as well as in TV shows, ...
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When proofreading a chapter, should I try to prevent a few lines spilling onto a new page?
I am proofreading a novel chapter for the first time. I do not have the other chapters to review. The book is a 2nd edition, and several chunks of text have been inserted, so the end of the chapter is ...
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Attracting and retaining volunteers to edit technical doc for open source projects
I volunteer as an editor for the Mozilla Developer Network (MDN), an organization that creates free open source software such as the Firefox browser. MDN has a large number of technical topics ...
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Can Extensive Outlining Take the Place of the First Draft?
Background: I've been writing fan fiction for five years now. I began when I didn't have a clue what I was doing, so my methods have evolved during those years. By now I have a solid process that I ...
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Doubts about editing?
I have been working on a novel, and I've gone around four chapters in. I keep re-reading the first chapters, and I am tempted to edit them. Should I wait until I at least have a finished first draft ...
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Confidentiality Concerns
I have recently joined a writers group, and one person has asked to read my entire book. She is lovely, but I am concerned about letting my "baby" go and possibly losing it. Am I being too paranoid? ...
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Websites for free feedback on stories?
Are there any websites or anything similar where we can get feedback from online readers (without paying for a membership or anything of the sort) for stories and other writings that are not quite ...
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What is the fine line between "confidence" and "presumption"? [closed]
I am about to apply to a grad school, and I have prepare the SOP for it (think it like a cover letter to apply to a job). I know the rule: show what I've got, not tell how I think I'm cool. I've tried,...
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Should I have my work edited by a freelance editor before seeking publication?
I have a friend who is a freelance editor and I was planning on employing her to look over my novel before shopping it out to publishers. However, I don't know if publishers like this or not.
Do they ...
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What is the fastest way to make an editor hate me?
I was reading an article the other day on "best practices" for presenting my work to an editor. It was very informative. But the inquisitive side of me started wondering what it was that might make ...
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What are some good writing analyzing software programs?
What are some good writing analyzing software programs?
I'm on a trial right now of something called EffectCheck which seems to give you the overall tone of your work and provide charts and bar ...
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Editing/Proofreading marks
What marks do professional editors and proofreaders use to indicate that a word is misspelled? There are many different sets of editing, proofreading, and typesetting marks and symbols, but the ...
eatshaw
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Alternatives to "The question sought to determine whether or not ..." [closed]
The phrase "The question sought to determine whether or not ..." is (to me) like fingernails on a chalkboard.
I "get" that the question is asked so that research can be conducted to determine X.
...
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Why does this software suggest capitalizing the word 'dragon'?
Why did Grammarly suggest capitalizing the word 'dragon' in this sentence? It says it does not fit the context so needs to be capitalized:
Small birds chattered and scooted about in the undergrowth ...
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How do I get rid of the tic of paired adjectives, predicates, etc.?
In technical writing, I have a tic of writing in pairs. Some examples from a recent piece:
"When you speak, be sure to be clear and concise."
"Face to face conversation is personal and private."
"...
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Can anyone please help me, Is my letter write? [closed]
My dear XYZ,
I am highly pleased your telephonic invitation that the marriage ceremony of you is going to take place on this (day). Accept my heartiest congratulation on your occasion of enjoyment.
I ...
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How can I write a polite reminder letter? [closed]
Can anyone please help me about creating a reminder letter, I sent a payment email 15 days ago. Now how can I write a polite reminder letter to the related organization?
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What are some cues and clues on 3rd person POV shift?
I am writing in 3rd person limited POV. I have noticed I have a section of text that seems to shift to omniscient. A lot of this happens when I'm forced to tell bits of information to the reader. By ...
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Revision Process Order
What would be the best/most fluid/easiest way to revise your manuscript? I've read A LOT up on this and have 2 pages of stuff to revise and check for.
Fixing the following things:
Main Plot Holes,
...
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Are there any translation check tools?
Are there any tools/programs that I can use when I translate a book into another language? I.e. I do not want to turn "wrathful grapes""into "angry raisins".
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Can you use et al. in a Bibliography?
In the text, I have, e.g.
"...a major role to play in role-playing (Smith et al., 1990)."
But can I use the same abbreviation in the bibliography?
Smith, K. et al. 1990. Playing major roles in ...
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Writing a Novel [duplicate]
So, I am writing a story. I have book 1 done, half of book 2 and of course the ending in book 3. I am not an English major, and I am not at all great with grammar, or using proper English. Which ...
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How to write when thinking in multiple languages?
When writing, scenes come to my mind in different languages mixed together.
For example in a single scene a description will be in French, some dialogues in English, with a few words of Spanish and ...
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What is it called when an author uses vague words for concrete concepts, "hedging"?
As an editor for an academic press, my pet peeve is when authors write sentences like "attempt to conceive of a possible approach to resolve X" instead of "try to resolve X". Obviously one big ...
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manuscript new versions and First Publishing Rights?
If you self-publish a version of a book, and then edit it, can you still traditionally publish it offering First Publishing Rights?
Essentially I am asking if a partly re-writen draft is it ...
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What's the best text editor for a technical reference manual?
It is my first time writing tech manuals and I don't know what to use. Some people recommend me LATEX but I think it's too complex.
I basically need a text editor that let me:
Type latin characters (...
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Superpowers in Writing - Cool for the sake of cool
I originally started planning/writing a short story that was more or less based on a few popular trends in YA/Sci-Fi writing (interstellar travel, superpowers, etc) just as an exercise to force myself ...
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What is an APA-certified editor?
Is APA-certified editor an actual credential?
If yes, is there a universally-accepted proof in the U.S. for that credential?
I tried a web search on "how to become an APA-certified editor." I ...
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Problem with hired freelance editor
I am not a native English speaker and hired an editor to correct the style of a book that is being published. However, this editor didn't work in the final version of the manuscript I sent but rather ...
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How to show that a character is quoting from a book?
I am editing a text in which the characters use quotations from the Bible quite often.
Example:
Jeremiah turned toward him, "Therefore, I urge you, brothers and sisters, in view of God’s mercy, to ...
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An organization writes its acronym in lower-case - do I have to, too?
I'm writing an article that includes reference to an organization - let's say National Ecological Council of Concerned Citizens - which, instead of NECOCC, uses the acronym necocc, i.e. lower-case ...
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Critical Elements Of A Story [closed]
I've been writing a story and i wanted someone to proofread my story before i actually send it off for further checking. This person is my teacher and he wants me to categorize all my chapters in ...
