An Obituary for Writers

I read an article titled Facts, 360 B.C.-A.D. 2012 in the website of the ChicagoTribune.


Facts are important when writing, so are places, and timelines.

Readers of articles and books may know something about the time, place, and more written about. A reader may live in a place mentioned, this happened to a book I read for review. The author was writing about my hometown, I have seen the same thing on television shows.

When writing, always check your facts with more than one source. Be careful when checking facts on the internet, they may not always be correct. This is where a trip to your local library and talking with your librarian come into play.

When in college and taking a course in political science, if we used statistics or quotes, we had to name the source and the instructor would check them to make sure we were correct. Always spend the time to fact check as part of the editing process.

Readers deserve the best writing the author is capable of, this means quality, and part of quality is to insure that anything mentioned in the article or story is as correct as possible through multiple sources.

Quality writing includes grammar, spelling, punctuation, and correctness. As writers we should strive for the best original writing as possible, not a copy and paste approach to writing as seen on the internet.

Having read over 100 books for review, there books that make me wonder whom and how books are published needing editing. As a reviewer, I will not give five stars to any book in need of editing.

Just to let you know something about me, I edited Jihad Genocide for the author; I have also edited other manuscripts, proofread books, copy edited, and act as an acquisitions editor for a publisher. 

Robert Medak
Freelance Writer/Blogger/Editor/Reviewer

 

 

 

Writing is a Business

Writing is a business just like any other business and you should handle it like one.

Writers are entrepreneurs, they need to maintain records for taxes, advertise, maintain a web site, maintain a blog, and deal with multiple marketing channels the same way businesses do. If clients don’t know a writer exists, or how to contact them, they will not come. This is why every writer, at a minimum needs a blog with a contact page, along with networking on social media sites.

As an entrepreneur, there is a level of expectation from the client, whoever they may be. Writers must present themself as professional. When writing for a project, whether book or something else, the writing should be the best an individual writer is capable of writing. Writers should write every day. Only through practice can a writer improve their craft, along with writing, writers need to read.

As an entrepreneur, writers should create a persona via standards that they hold themselves to. I signed a Business Ethics Pledge, and hold myself to a high business standard. Part of what I offer as a writer is 100 percent original work that will pass Copyscape. The only software I use is WordWeb, which is a dictionary. I will not use spinners or auto programs for my writing. I take pride in my work, as all writers should.

Although each writer is an individual, they must be professional in their writing. Unfortunately, readers perceive writers by their work, and one of lower quality lowers the perception of all writers. For this reason, writers must be exemplary in their work. Readers hate reading non-quality writing.

As a reviewer, I constantly read books, and Web content that is in need of proofing and editing. Many traditional publishers no longer offer editing. Manuscripts, Web content, and marketing materials need a second pair of eyes to make sure that the content of a project is the best it can be at all times.

Robert Medak

Writer, Blogger, Edit, Reviewer

http://rjmedak.wordpress.com