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February 12, 2011: CreatorCamp Calgary 2011 - How to Make Your Blog Editor Happy
- 1. How to Make Your Blog Editor Happy Reg Tiangha February 12, 2011 #CCyyc2011
- 2. Who am I? • Born-and-Raised Calgarian • Freelance writer • IT guy by day, Volunteeraholic by night • @regtiangha
- 3. Blog Credentials • Calgary Herald – Q Blog (2006 - 08) – calgaryherald.com/q • Calgary Stampede (2009 – Present) – blog.calgarystampede.com • Downtown Calgary (2010 – Present) – GetDown.ca • Personal Blog: – reginaldtiangha.com/blog
- 4. General Tips for Writing/Editing • You’re not a writer if you’re not writing. • You can’t edit something that doesn’t exist. • “Art is never finished, only abandoned.” • There is no need to waste words. • Take a break before editing. • Multiple drafts before submission are normal.
- 5. Tips for Writing for an Organization (Or: How to Make Your Editor Happy) • Be mindful of style guidelines. • Be mindful of requirements. • Always make your deadlines. • If you have questions, ask! • Don’t lie. • Run a spelling/grammar check before submitting.
- 6. Questions?
Editor's Notes
- You can’t claim to be a writer if you don’t actually write anything. You can’t edit anything until something is down on paper. So get it down on paper first and don’t stress about the wording too much. You can spend forever on a piece and never finish. You need to be able to gauge when you’ve hit “good enough” and once done, it’s okay to walk away. If you end up cutting something out or rewording/rewriting large chunks, save the originals to a different file rather than delete them. You may be able to use those words somewhere else later on. Editing is easier/better once your mind is clear and fresh, so try and take a break after the first draft is complete before running through an editing pass. No one gets it right on the first try. Corollary: Make sure to budget time for rewrites and don’t leave things until the last minute!
- Each organization may have their own style guidelines. For example, some may require writing in Canadian Press style or Associated Press style, require American, British or Canadian English, require citations in MLA, APA or Chicago format, etc. Make sure to know what style format the organization you write for uses and make sure to follow it; else your editor will have to fix it on your behalf. Ex: If your editor wants 250 words, don’t submit 400! Else, they’ll either ask you to rewrite it or will have to hack it down themselves. Ex: If your editor needs a piece submitted by end-of-day Thursday, don’t submit it on Friday morning! Be truthful in what you write; never lie. Editor’s make your writing better, but don’t waste their time by making them fix easy mistakes. A super simple thing to make your editor happy is to run a spelling/grammar check before submitting. It’ll capture the easy things and flag things that may be worth a second look. You don’t have to follow every suggestion, though when it comes to grammar if there’s a certain tone, style or voice that you’re trying to maintain.