Tag: editing & proofreading

One of the things freelance writers are often called upon to do is rewriting. That is, they’re charged with finding new ways to present information that’s already been written about elsewhere – sometimes because the original format is not suited for the target audience and sometimes to avoid copyright infringement.

This isn’t always easy. Sometimes, the source material is highly technical and therefore difficult to explain to non-expert readers. (Much less frequently, it’s the other way around, with source material written in such a simplistic fashion as to bore the experts.)

And sometimes, when the material comes from a proprietary source, rewriting is a delicate task that requires writers to choose their words carefully and present ideas differently, so as not to blur the boundaries of intellectual property.

Despite these challenges, freelance writers can thread this needle. In this post, we’ll discuss some of the ways freelance writers can achieve their aim while still turning out high-quality copy.

Striking the right tone

We’ll start by addressing the question of how to strike the right tone.

As noted above, rewriting can involve adapting highly technical material for a lay audience – say, using an article from a medical journal as the source material for a blog post on new developments in medical research. If this is the case, the writer handling the assignment should assess two factors: first, the average actual level of technical knowledge displayed in the original material and second, the average likely level of technical knowledge among members of the target audience.

The next step is to estimate the gap between those two averages. Once the writer has an idea of how large that gap is, he or she can choose words that bridge that gap.

Unfortunately, there’s no mathematical formula for making this call. Instead, there’s a subjective element, meaning that the writer has to decide how much to adjust the original material.

If, for example, the source material reads like this …

ORIGINAL: Using genome-wide data from 253,288 individuals, we identified 697 variants at genome-wide significance that together explained one-fifth of the heritability for adult height.

… the writer might offer the following to a general audience with little or no specialized knowledge …

SIMPLIFIED REWRITE: Researchers have determined that 20% of the differences in adult height can be explained by a combination of nearly 700 different genetic variations.

… and the following to readers with a moderate level of specialized knowledge:

MODERATE REWRITE: An analysis of genome-wide data from more than 250,000 individuals has led researchers to conclude that combinations of 697 specific genetic variants account for 20% of inherited differences in height.

Both of these rewrites succeed because they convey the main idea of the source material, using language that is appropriate for the target audience. Even better, they transform dry, technical prose into something that reads more like a story than a laboratory report.

Avoiding copyright violations

But rewriting isn’t always about tone and sizing up target audiences. Sometimes it’s a more straightforward task – something along the lines of summarizing news coverage of a particular topic.

If so, writers must remember that the journalistic material they’re using – wire reports, newspaper articles, magazine features, etc. – is almost always copyrighted. As such, it is subject to legal restrictions on its use, and writers who want to use the information must take steps to ensure that their product does not mirror the original text.

Fortunately, there are several ways to do this. One way is to take the facts presented, and re-word them in a way that is unique, but still tells the same basic information. In practical terms, this might entail starting with “Snow White and the Seven Dwarves” and then using the thesaurus to end up with “The Seven Short Men and Frost White.”

And in less fanciful terms, it might involve starting with this Reuters article, dated September 3 …

ORIGINAL: The U.S. Federal Reserve should cut interest rates by half a percentage point at its meeting in two weeks to get ahead of both financial market expectations for a rate cut and a global trade war that has become a broader “reckoning” over how the world economy is organized, St. Louis Federal Reserve President James Bullard said in an interview on Tuesday.

… and ending up with something like this:

REWRITTEN: James Bullard, the president of the St. Louis Federal Reserve, has spoken out in favor of a cut in interest rates. In an interview with Reuters, Bullard urged the U.S. Federal Reserve to bring interest rates down by 0.5% at an upcoming meeting, saying this would help Washington stay ahead of market expectations and also take the lead in trade disputes that have raised questions about the organization of the global economy.

This method can also be used for direct quotes from proprietary sources. It can help writers start with the following excerpt from the same Reuters article …

ORIGINAL: “This is an unraveling of the trade liberalization process that has been going on since World War Two.”

… and finish with this:

REWRITTEN: According to Bullard, the disputes between the U.S. and other countries such as China indicate that efforts to liberalize trade are faltering after more than 70 years of forward movement.

Writers can also look for opportunities to emphasize a different point from the source material. If the original text addresses a secondary theme somewhere in the middle, the rewritten text can bring that secondary theme into the spotlight, rather than leading with the primary topic.

For example, writers can begin with this …

ORIGINAL: The U.S. Federal Reserve should cut interest rates by half a percentage point at its meeting in two weeks to get ahead of both financial market expectations for a rate cut and a global trade war that has become a broader “reckoning” over how the world economy is organized, St. Louis Federal Reserve President James Bullard said in an interview on Tuesday.

Global investors have sent bond yields plummeting in recent weeks to record lows, leaving the Fed’s overnight policy rate seemingly out of line, Bullard said.

Economic data on Tuesday meanwhile showed the U.S. manufacturing sector had contracted for the first time in three years amid slowing global economic growth and as China and the U.S. ratchet up tariffs on each other.

… and end up with this:

REWRITTEN: James Bullard, the president of the St. Louis Federal Reserve, expressed concern about newly released economic data showing that the domestic manufacturing sector had shrunk for the first time since 2016, even as global economic growth rates slowed and trade disputes between the U.S. and China persisted.

In an interview with Reuters, Bullard noted that recent developments had caused bond yields to sink to new lows. Under these conditions, he said, the U.S. Federal Reserve’s overnight policy rate is due for a change.

He specifically recommended that the Fed consider reducing interest rates by 0.5% at an upcoming meeting. Taking this step would help the U.S. government address financial market players’ predictions of a rate cut and stay one step ahead of questions about how the U.S.-China trade war has affected the organization of the global economy.

Once again, these rewrites succeed because they convey essentially the same ideas and the same information as the source material. But they also serve the writers’ purposes because they use different words and phrases (and sometimes emphasize different points) as they do so.

Coloring outside the lines

In the examples listed above, we have seen that writers who are trying to rework source material face restrictions – either technically, because they are dealing with subject matter that is complex, jargon-laden, and stylized in its presentation, or legally, because of its copyrighted status.

But we have also seen that there are ways to work within and even transcend these restrictions. Writers can benefit significantly if they remember to use basic tools such as a thesaurus, but they can do even more if they find new ways to approach the same old information.

In Part 1 of this blog, we shared some strategies and best practices for creating an editorial calendar that you’ll actually want to use. In this installment, we’ll continue the discussion by taking a look at some common stumbling blocks to avoid in the process.

We’ve identified seven common pitfalls that can derail even the most carefully planned editorial calendar – and what you can do to prevent them before they become an issue. 

1. Forgetting the editing and proofreading stages.

Every piece of content, if you want it to be of high-quality and free of errors, needs time set aside for editing and proofreading. Don’t forget to include time for editing and proofing as you create your schedule.

2. Overloading your staff and coworkers.

Unless you are doing everything yourself, from idea generation to the published content, you need to consider others who will be working on the project. Review their workload and how it might impact the project timeline. This information will help ensure that you assign the tasks to the right people so you can stay on target with your set deadlines.

3. Neglecting external deadlines.

If you are creating content for clients or submitting your content to outside publications, you will need to schedule your projects around their editorial calendars, too. Take into consideration their workflow and task due dates and incorporate them with your own calendar. This will help you make sure you can effectively meet deadlines when mixed with all your other projects.

4. Not giving yourself enough wiggle room.

It’s happened to all of us: You look at an assignment and think it will be easier, faster, and less time-consuming than it turns out to be. A few small setbacks (an interviewee has to reschedule at the last minute; your editor gets the flu; your client asks to move the deadline to yesterday) and you’re suddenly rushing to beat the clock. A good rule of thumb is to double the time you think it will take you to do the task.  

5. Providing too much information. Or not enough.

This can be a tricky balance: You don’t want to bog down your editorial calendar with unnecessary information – that just makes it confusing for everyone. At the same time, though, you want to make sure that you’ve given your team enough to work with.  There’s a bit of trial and error involved here – try to keep things simple and ask for feedback from your team.

6. Not sticking with it.

Too often, the tools we create to make our lives easier end up being pushed aside. An editorial calendar is useless if you’re not using it. Commit to using it. Check it daily. Update it as your schedule changes and deadlines shift. Pay attention to what’s working and what’s not – and tweak it to fit the way you work. 

7. Choosing the wrong format for your team or your content.

You may have a colleague who used only spreadsheets for their editorial calendars. Another one might use a fancy, high-priced piece of software. While that may work for them, they also may not work for you. Don’t use these programs simply because someone else does. Use what works best for your content tracking needs. Use programs that not only help you get the most out of your plan but that you are comfortable using and will use.

Six Great Tools For Creating and Managing Your Editorial Calendar

There are many ways you can create and track your editorial calendar. Before you decide on a tool, consider the number of people who will be accessing and using the calendar, the complexities and the number of projects you need to manage, as well as the potential features you will want in your calendar.

Here are six great tools that can help you build and manage your editorial calendar successfully and for the long-term.

1. Microsoft Office and Google Docs, both of which are easy to use and you probably already have access to, have spreadsheet features. Using a simple and basic spreadsheet might seem a little old school, but it is still a useful tool for creating a decent editorial calendar, especially if you are the only person creating content or if you have only a few types of content projects to manage. Spreadsheets programs, like Excel, allow you to have numerous tabs within each document as you need, unlimited columns and rows, and has highlighting, color, bolding, and other design features to help you organize your content. Many people who regularly create and publish content (like their own business blog) use WordPress content management system (CMS). WordPress had several great plugins that help organize your blog posts to be published on their platform. These include Editorial Calendar; Stresslimit Editorial Calendar; Edit Flow; and Future Posts Calendar. Keep in mind, however, that using plugins can lower your site’s page speed so using an external spreadsheet for your editorial calendar might be a better option.
2. The HubSpot Editorial Calendar is perfect for beginners new to creating an editorial calendar. They offer a free template and have formats for Excel, Google Sheets, and Google Calendar. They also have social media calendar templates and content editorial calendar templates which include written instructions for easy use. The free template has many of the basic fields you need in an editorial calendar already created so you can get started right away and it’s customizable to expand upon as you grow.
3. CoSchedule is great for creating and tracking your blog content, but you can create a workflow of your email marketing campaign and social media publishing, allowing you to keep track of all of it in one place. CoSchedule has many features and it easily integrates with other programs such as WordPress and Google Docs.
4. DivvyHQ is designed for companies that have high volume of content. If you’re to the point where your business or content plan has grown enough that you have trouble keeping up with it, give this software a try. The editorial calendar offers a simple dashboard that lists tasks to be accomplished as well as an unlimited number of shared calendars and workflow management for your whole team.
5. Trello’s editorial calendar template works whether you have a very simple content process or multiple steps to your workflow. It allows you to map your flow of work and content, set permissions, assign necessary tasks, and track progress all in real time with collaborative features such as boards, lists, and cards.

While it can be time consuming on the front end, designing an easy-to-use, effective editorial calendar isn’t as hard or intimidating as it might first seem. It’s definitely worth the time you put into it to get clear, organized, and stay on track. It will show in the time you save, the number of projects you’ll be able to complete, and even in the quality of your content.

At The Writers For Hire (TWFH), our client base includes companies from all over the world. We love meeting and working with clients from other cultures – but collaborating on English-language writing projects with non-native speakers can definitely be challenging.  In this installment of Copywriter Q&A, the talented, multilingual Jennifer DeLay explains how to make the process go smoothly – and to ensure that nothing is lost in translation.

TWFH: Can you talk about your experience editing material written by non-native English speakers?

JD: In the 1990s, I served as section editor and then managing editor of New Europe, a weekly newspaper based in Athens, Greece. My boss and several of my co-workers were not native English speakers. Most of them were Greeks, but a few of them came from other backgrounds – e.g., Bulgaria, former Yugoslavia, Russia, and Georgia.

I then spent two multi-year stints as editor of FSU Oil & Gas Monitor, a weekly trade publication covering oil and gas developments in the former Soviet Union, between 1998 and 2015. About half of the freelancers I worked with there were not native English speakers. They were native speakers of German, Russian, Ukrainian, Georgian, Turkish, Chinese, and … I know there were more, but I can’t remember them all.

TWFH: What are some common editing issues/challenges that arise when working with a non-native English speaker?

JD: There are certain idioms or very specific ways of saying things that make sense in their original language but don’t make any sense when translated into English. For example, one colloquial way to express victory in Greek is “to make someone eat wood.” That doesn’t make sense in English. Or in Russian, the word for “oil pipeline” is neftetruboprovod. This literally translates to “oil pipe duct” in English, which doesn’t really have the same meaning.

TWFH: Are there any English-language conventions that are especially confusing to non-native English speakers? For example, one of our international clients prefers to avoid contractions and idioms as she says they can be unclear/confusing for non-native speakers.

JD: Figures of speech and business jargon can be confusing because they often don’t make literal sense and/or they draw on specific cultural trends that are off the radar in other countries.

TWFH: Do you have any tips/best practices for editors working with non-native English speakers?

JD:  Cultivate a basic level of familiarity with the topic. If you do this, then your alarm bells will ring loud and clear when you read text that seems to be at odds with the source material – and you will know what to ask about when drawing up questions for the writer. In my experience, it’s easier to get questions answered when they are phrased along the lines of “You said A, but I read B in source material X. Could it be that you meant C? If so, I’d like to rephrase this as D.”

Another practice that I’ve found helpful is to read the whole piece from start to finish before I do any editing at all. If I’m still shaky after that, I read it again – out loud. (Thank goodness for the home office.) The point is to get an idea of what the writer is trying to say before I get into the details.

TWFH: We’ve found that if a piece needs very extensive edits, we have trouble refining it once we’ve fixed the big-picture stuff. So we’ll do a bunch of work and someone else will look at it and see a ton of stuff we missed. Any advice here? 

JD: If something has been very hard to get into shape, I send it to another person to read because usually by that point I’m no longer seeing it. So I send it to someone with notes and explain that I’m trying to make sure it flows and that the narrative makes sense.

TWFH: A review by a fresh set of eyes can really help. We’ve also found that it also helps to set the piece aside for a couple of days and come back to it for a re-edit.

JD: Do both of those things if you can! Another approach is to communicate with the writer enough that you’re sure what point he/she is trying to make and then hand it over to another editor with some guidance: “So-and-so is trying to argue that A and B are not good options for scenario X. Please read with the intent of assessing whether that message is clear.”

TWFH: Is there a gentle way to basically say, “the way you wrote this sounds really wrong to a native speaker” without offending someone?

JD: I’ve found that most writers writing in another language are not particular about copy editing — unless it’s a trademarked name, such as the name of a product or a company. Some companies can be particular about using an ampersand instead of “and.”

Other than that, I haven’t had too much trouble with suggestions for moving text around or rewriting. Most people, when they’re not writing in their native language, are not going to make a point of saying, “Of course I spelled this name right! How dare you!”

TWFH: Do you have any other tips or advice for native English-speaking writers working with people from different cultures?  

JD: It helps if you have a knowledge of the culture. For example, if you’re working with a writer from Japan, it might be helpful to know that in business discussions, it’s rare for Japanese people to say “no” directly. Instead, they might say, “It would be prohibitively difficult,” or “This is not the right time.”

A few other examples: People in Israel can be blunt in stating their opinions. It helps to know that so you’re not taken aback by it. And in general, Italian and Greek culture is less formal than, say, Norwegian culture.

I also try to keep an eye out for things like how much small talk people prefer in their communications. Sometimes they get straight to the point, with no boilerplate cordialities, and if that’s the case I say something like, “Hello and thanks for XYZ” and then get down to business. Sometimes they ask me about the weather where I am or ask a question out of curiosity, and if that’s the case I make a point of doing something similar in future communications since that seems to make them comfortable.

TWFH: So it comes down to knowing the culture and how people work together and communicate.

JD: It helps to have that cultural understanding of what they are saying. Here’s another example that may shed some light: In Greece, I was tasked with editing a translated version of a piece written by a Russian trade ministry official. But the official never spoke to us directly. He would only communicate through one of his deputies. And even then, communication was difficult: If I tried to get clarification or talk about deadlines, I didn’t get a whole lot of communication back; my calls were ignored. Eventually, we went ahead and printed what we had. I got a panicked phone call from the deputy, saying, “You have embarrassed trade minister!”  

That incident led me to make a point about being clear about expectations on both sides.

TWFH: Do you ever run into situations where there’s not an exact English translation/equivalent for whatever the original writer was trying to say? What do you do in that case?

JD: If I know the writer’s native language, I try to reverse-engineer it into something that makes a similar point in English. If I don’t, I try to ask the writer whether a substitute phrase would work.

When it comes to proper punctuation and grammar, editors have a lot of rules to keep track of. And to make things even more challenging, the rules tend to change or differ, depending on which guide you are following.

One rule that constantly comes into question is whether or not the word following a colon should be capitalized.

Luckily, this happens to be something that both AP and Chicago guides agree on.

This informative article from AP vs Chicago gives some great examples of when capitalization is and is not appropriate after a colon.

It also dives into some other important things to keep in mind when using colons in your writing, including the correct amount of spaces after punctuation (which is yet another thing that seems to be constantly changing in the world of writing).