Word count: 719 words Reading time: Less than 3 minutes Do you recite your writing ALOUD before submitting it? You should! Read on to learn why…. I grew up in a family that didn’t eat turkey for Christmas every year. My favourite holiday entrée? Fresh crab! We never wrapped gifts …
Word count: 738 words Reading time: About 3 minutes I provide the next issue of my “Please edit” feature, in which I give advice and counsel for a short piece YOU have written…. Today is the next installment in my regular “Please edit” feature. Once a month, I invite you to …
Word count: 598 words Reading time: About 2.5 minutes Do you use readability statistics to help improve your writing? If not, learn how to use them as quickly as possible! Here’s the reason why… I understand that not everyone likes readability statistics. These handy-dandy tools, that measure the readability of …
How to improve your readability — without spending a dime Read More »
Word count: 653 words Reading time: Less than 3 minutes Today I answer a question from a reader who wants to beef up her verbs. What do I suggest to help? Read on to learn more…. A reader named Linda submitted the following question to the Publication Coach: I subscribe …
Reading time: About 3 minutes I travelled to Calgary to teach this week — and the airline flight provided a clear lesson on the importance of self-editing. Regardless of what my family will tell you, I try really hard not to rant. And by “rant” I mean, “complain in a …
Are you ready for your final destination? Read More »
Reading time: About 3 minutes What’s even more important than what you’re writing right now? Why, the headline you put on top of it, of course. Here are some tips on how to write better headlines. I’ve written before about how to produce good headlines. But as the year’s end approaches …
7 tips for better headlines and 10 hilariously bad heads Read More »
Reading time: About 3 minutes Today’s column encourages you to save most of your writing but describes the circumstances under which you might want to discard it — or, at least, put it on hold. Let me start with a confession. You are not reading the newsletter I originally intended …
When you should discard your writing Read More »
Reading time: 2.5 minutes Did you read last week’s excerpt from William Zinsser’s book? If not, I provide a link to it, below. Most importantly, I give you the grade level at which it was written. Read on for the final part to my series on how to edit like …
Reading time: 2.5 minutes Have you been wrestling with the idea of readability statistics? Do you see them as unfair? Unliterary? Even illiterate? Here is part 3 of my series on how to become your own best editor. Just about every time I write about readability statistics I hear back …
Do you struggle with rewriting yourself? Here is part 2 of my series on how to edit like a professional. Following up on last week’s column about how to edit, let me revisit the passage I rewrote and explain what I did and why. Here again is the original piece, …
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