Try these three editing tricks! [The Writer’ s Life](
September 21, 2023 "Humor has bailed me out of more tight situations than I can think of.
If you go with your instincts and keep your humor, creativity follows.
With luck, success comes, too."
– Jimmy Buffett Hi {NAME}, Among all the wonderful tributes and pictures flooding the internet in celebration of the life of Jimmy Buffett, an unfortunate image made the rounds. [Remembering Jimmy Buffett CNN screenshot with text that said Jimmy Buffett's Career Spans Over 50 Decades] Can you quickly spot why I said unfortunate? Jimmy was well-loved throughout his lengthy career — but it spanned 5 decades, not 50. (Although 500 years of Jimmy would've been awesome!) I'll give you three simple tricks in just a minute to make sure you catch those kinds of errors … Honestly, one of them is a little weird, but it works! It's a bad look if your client uses your copy and it has grammatical errors … typos … or something worse, like misquotes or untruths … The latter could actually damage their business. I once wrote a promotion where I literally contradicted myself later in the very same letter. Luckily, the copyeditor caught it! Those reasons are why, here at AWAI, we pay copyeditors to edit every single piece of copy we publish. And we publish a LOT of copy … Articles, blogs, ads, web pages, news items, sales promotions, guides, products, scripts … All of it goes through designated copyeditors we value and pay well. And that's on top of what we pay the writers! Copyeditors catch all kinds of mistakes. But they do more than that, too … When they read a piece of copy, they're looking for ways to clarify and strengthen it. They catch the misspelling of names … misattribution of quotes … outdated references … incorrect calculations … incongruent information … And sometimes even bigger, more embarrassing mistakes that could become legal issues. They even make suggestions for reorganizing the copy so it reads better (which can boost the effectiveness of the copy, adding even more value to their already valuable role!). Copyediting is about taking good copy and pushing it the last few steps across the finish line to make it clear, concise, and as effective as possible … To millions of businesses like ours, copyeditors are like GOLD. If you're the kind of person who loves editing other people's writing … If you catch little mistakes and silently correct other people's grammar in your head all the time … Copyediting could be your perfect "in" to the paid writing world. (And now is the ideal time to [grab your copy of our self-paced copyediting training program … it's on sale here](.) Now, as promised … Three little tricks you can use to catch errors whenever you read your own copy … The first one is: Read it out loud. If you're not already doing this, you should! Not only will it help you catch errors, but it will help you write more conversationally, too. A variation on this is to have your computer read the text back to you, so you'll hear if there are any missing words, mix-ups, or even hard to understand passages. The second one is a little strange, but it works … Read your copy backwards. After you've read through it from top to bottom (preferably out loud) … Start at the bottom and read each sentence as you move up the page. This will help your brain notice the words it's reading, rather than skipping over what it thinks it already understands. And the third one probably seems old school, but it also helps you catch errors that might sneak by in your familiarity with your copy … Print out a hard copy and highlight the words as you read through it. Highlighting or underlining the words as you go through your copy will help you focus on each of the words, and errors or words that are missing will be more obvious. There's something different about reading your copy on paper that changes your perspective. If you really want to mix things up for your brain, change the font before you print it out! If you use these three tricks, you'll at least catch most if not all of the errors in your copy. Turning in error-free copy will make you very popular with your clients, so start applying these techniques today! And if you're looking to make money and enjoy the writer's life by improving, correcting, and elevating someone else's copy … Or have been stalling on jumping in as a writer for any reason … [I highly recommend you check out copyediting as a way forward.]( You'll simply use the fundamentals of copywriting to improve copy and content that has already been written … Allowing you to make great money in this industry, get hands-on experience working with copy, and make great connections for your own future writing endeavors, all at the same time. Right now, you can grab our copyediting program at a massive discount … [So, check it out today.]( To your success, Rebecca Matter
President
AWAI Now Accepting New Members
Ready to claim the ultimate "YES" writing career? - Yes! Take charge of your projects. (Goodbye, bosses!)
- Yes! Schedule your day as you see fit.
- Yes! Work from the comfort of home.
- Yes! Give yourself a raise every month.
- Yes! Take a vacation whenever you please.
- Yes! Be there for the moments that matter. Thousands of others have already done it. Now it's your turn.
[Claim Your Freedom Now]( What's Hot at AWAI … 📝 Interested in the editing side of writing? [We have the perfect thing for you!]( 🙌 [Why AI is driving demand for this specialty in the digital world.]( 😬 Don't feel "ready" to start your copywriting career? [Watch this!]( 😄 We love seeing our members succeed! [Check out their success stories]( if you need a little inspiration to get started. 🤩 [The ONLY career accelerant I trust enough to use on my own family.]( Two wins to celebrate … [Social media post about editing poetry for a client and doing research for their own book] Great job balancing your client work and personal passions, Melanie! 🎉 You've got the recipe for success! (Editing is a great way to get a foot in the door with prospects. To get started as a copyeditor today, [check this out](.) Have your own story to share? Email us at mysuccess@awai.com, or [post it over in the Facebook group](, so we can celebrate your win too! TODAY! Get all this for $1 …
[PWA Product Spread] The Professional Writers' Alliance (PWA) takes the stress out of running your writing business. With ready-to-use business forms, templates, and checklists … VIP job board access … networking opportunities … and a mountain of tips, tactics, and "been there, done that" advice from working freelance writers … You'll minimize the "unbillable" hours you spend working on your business and maximize your time writing — and getting paid. [Claim Your $1 Access Here]( Featured Jobs You can find these jobs and thousands more on [WritersWanted.com](: --------------------------------------------------------------- Copy Editor — Lee Enterprises Full-time, Longview, WA The Longview Daily News is seeking a full-time talented copy editor who excels at editing local stories, wire copy, and photo cutlines to join our news team to ensure a high quality paper is published. --------------------------------------------------------------- Senior Copy Editor and Writer (Deputy/Chief Copy Editor and Writer) — UI Health Full-time, Chicago, IL Writer is responsible for curating UIC's weekly newsletter (UIC Today) along with providing strategic leadership regarding copy editing, writing, and editorial support to inform, inspire, and engage the brand and reputation of the University of Illinois Chicago. --------------------------------------------------------------- Writer/Editor — The Bowen Group Full-time, Chantilly, VA Applying the rules of spelling, composition, and grammar to writing or editing tasks. --------------------------------------------------------------- Trouble viewing this email? [View in your browser, here](. For questions or requests: [contact us online](. --------------------------------------------------------------- ©2023 American Writers & Artists Institute Do you know of someone who would benefit from reading The Writer's Life? Simply direct them [here](. --------------------------------------------------------------- --------------------------------------------------------------- American Writers & Artists Institute
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