The Editing Podcast

Louise and Denise discuss writing and editing for the web with guest Erin Brenner.

• Why working with web content is different from writing for the page
• In which programs should we create content for the web?
• Pre-upload checks on the writing
• Pre-upload checks on metadata links, and alt-text
• Quality control: self-editing versus third-party professional help
• How many editing passes?
• Fact-checking and authenticity
• The order of play for editing web content
• Style sheets and web content
• Language choice and style for web content

• Erin Brenner’s Web Style Checklist: http://bit.ly/2ZtVRaK
• They Ask, You Answer by Marcus Sheridan

• Erin Brenner, Right Touch Editing: http://bit.ly/2T1XCtH
• ‘Customer service: A cautionary tale of red flags and safety nets’ by Vanessa Plaister on the SfEP blog: http://bit.ly/2GJLiJC
• The AP Stylebook (Associated Press): http://bit.ly/2T0Ktkv

The easiest way to ping us a question is via Facebook Messenger: Visit the podcast's Facebook page and click on the SEND MESSAGE button: http://bit.ly/EditPodFB

• Denise Cowle Editorial Services: bit.ly/CowleEditing
• Louise Harnby | Fiction Editor: bit.ly/HarnbyEditing

‘Vivacity’ Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com). Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 License http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/

Denise and Louise talk to Jen Hamilton-Emery, co-director of Salt, one of the UK's premier independent literary publishers.

Listen more to find out about:

• The Salt story: awards, authors and publishing goals
• Author retention
• Indie publishing and the digital revolution
• The submission process
• The author–publisher relationship
• The publishing process
• Rights, sales and royalties
• Print runs
• Resources for authors

Visit the Salt website: https://www.saltpublishing.com/

• Typographic Style Handbook: A Guide to Typography by Michael Mitchell and Susan Wightman
• Understanding Show, Don’t Tell by Janice Hardy

• Society for Editors and Proofreaders: bit.ly/32JJDx7
• The Publishing Training Centre: bit.ly/32Nq6f6

The easiest way to ping us a question is via Facebook Messenger: Visit the podcast's Facebook page and click on the SEND MESSAGE button: bit.ly/EditPodFB

• Denise Cowle Editorial Services: bit.ly/CowleEditing
• Louise Harnby | Fiction Editor: bit.ly/HarnbyEditing

‘Vivacity’ Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com). Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 License http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/

Denise and Louise discuss how to manage the transition from one editor to another. Listen more to find out about:

• Why authors change editors
• Planning ahead and giving notice
• Whether the editor should get involved in sourcing a replacement
• Checking T&Cs and cancellation policies
• Information and tools to share with the new editor

• The NCW Podcast (National Centre for Writing): http://bit.ly/31wXlms
• Oxford Dictionary of English Idiom
• Cambridge Dictionary of American Idioms

• The different levels of editing (booklet): http://bit.ly/31AjKzt
• The Editing Podcast, S1E1: The different levels of editing
• The Editing Podcast, S1E10: How to find an editor
• The Editing Podcast, S1E7: Style sheets for writing and editing

The easiest way to ping us a question is via Facebook Messenger: Visit the podcast's Facebook page and click on the SEND MESSAGE button: http://bit.ly/EditPodFB

• Denise Cowle Editorial Services: bit.ly/CowleEditing
• Louise Harnby | Fiction Editor: bit.ly/HarnbyEditing

‘Vivacity’ Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com). Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 License http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/

Denise and Louise offer some quick tips on formatting your Word file ... final tidy-ups to get your file in shape, and that accord with mainstream publishing standards. And there's a free PDF that includes all the search strings we talk about!

• Wildcard Cookbook for Microsoft Word: Amazon UK: https://amzn.to/2KFh39H. Amazon US: https://amzn.to/2KJrVDi
• Word Tips: https://wordribbon.tips.net/index.html

• FREE PDF: '15 Word Formatting Tips: Find and Replace, Wildcards and the Ribbon': http://bit.ly/2XmHyHN
• TUTORIAL: 'Formatting your book in Word: How to save time with the Styles tool': http://bit.ly/2XHkKCx

The easiest way to ping us a question is via Facebook Messenger: Visit the podcast's Facebook page and click on the SEND MESSAGE button: http://bit.ly/EditPodFB

• Denise Cowle Editorial Services: bit.ly/CowleEditing
• Louise Harnby | Fiction Editor: bit.ly/HarnbyEditing

‘Vivacity’ Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com). Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 License http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/

Denise and Louise talk about 10 editing macros that will save you time and improve the quality of your writing.

Listen to find out more about:

• Macros how they work in Word
• CatchPhrase
• CitationLister and CitationListChecker
• CompareWordList
• File Cleaner
• FullPointInDialogue and CommaInDialogue
• MultiSwitch
• PerfectIt
• ProperNounAlyse
• SpellingErrorLister
• VisibleTrackOff4

Note: 12 June 2025: CitationLister and CitationListChecker have since been superseded by the much more powerful, speedy and simpler to operate CitationAlyse. SpellingErrorLister has been superseded by SpellAlyse.

• ‘Advanced Find and Replace for Microsoft Word’: Available from Jack Lyon at http://www.editorium.com/freebies.htm
• ‘20-Minute Macro Course’: Available from Tech Tools for Writers at http://www.techtoolsforwriters.com/macro-course/

The easiest way to ping us a question is via Facebook Messenger: Visit the podcast's Facebook page and click on the SEND MESSAGE button: http://bit.ly/EditPodFB

• Denise Cowle Editorial Services: bit.ly/CowleEditing
• Louise Harnby | Fiction Editor: bit.ly/HarnbyEditing

‘Vivacity’ Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com). Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 License http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/

Denise and Louise talk about adverbs, and how to use or remove them purposefully.

Listen to find out more about:

• What Stephen King said about adverbs
• Adverb use versus adverb abuse
• Definition of an adverb with examples
• Definition of an adverbial phrase with examples
• Adverb red flag #1: the double tell in narrative
• Adverb red flag #2: the double tell in dialogue
• Adverb red flag #3: the double tell in dialogue tags
• Fixes: using stronger verbs and strengthening dialogue
• Why adverbial phrases don’t solve the problem
• Extent of overuse

• How to Write Dazzling Dialogue by James Scott Bell
• Oxford Guide to Plain English by Martin Cutts

• Stephen King on Writing: A Memoir of the Craft

The easiest way to ping us a question is via Facebook Messenger: Visit the podcast's Facebook page and click on the SEND MESSAGE button: http://bit.ly/EditPodFB

• Denise Cowle Editorial Services: bit.ly/CowleEditing
• Louise Harnby | Fiction Editor: bit.ly/HarnbyEditing

‘Vivacity’ Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com). Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 License http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/

Denise and Louise talk with Daniel Heuman, founder of Intelligent Editing and developer of PerfectIt – consistency-checking and style-enforcing software for editors and writers.

Listen to find out more about:

• What PerfectIt does
• Who uses PerfectIt
• What’s new with PerfectIt 4
• Using the onboard styles
• The PerfectIt 4 interface
• How to access PerfectIt on PC and Mac
• How much a subscription costs and what’s included
• Where to download PerfectIt

Find out more about PerfectIt at https://intelligentediting.com/

The easiest way to ping us a question is via Facebook Messenger: Visit the podcast's Facebook page and click on the SEND MESSAGE button: http://bit.ly/EditPodFB

• Denise Cowle Editorial Services: bit.ly/CowleEditing
• Louise Harnby | Fiction Editor: bit.ly/HarnbyEditing

'Vivacity’ Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com). Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 License http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/

Denise and Louise discuss four different kinds of writers and how identifying what kind you are can help you work out the kind of editing that’s the best fit for you.

Listen to find out more about:

• The confident writer
• The nervous writer
• The reluctant writer
• The impatient writer

• ‘How to proofread your own writing – 10 tips to clean up your writing’: http://bit.ly/2ZtmpJ9
• ‘Is proofreading enough? How does your reader dance?’: http://bit.ly/2ZrKCQb

The easiest way to ping us a question is via Facebook Messenger: Visit the podcast's Facebook page and click on the SEND MESSAGE button: http://bit.ly/EditPodFB

• Denise Cowle Editorial Services: bit.ly/CowleEditing
• Louise Harnby | Fiction Editor: bit.ly/HarnbyEditing

‘Vivacity’ Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com). Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 License http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/

Denise and Louise discuss how to prepare your book file for editing ... whether you're doing it yourself or working with an editor.

Listen to find out more about:

• When to do interior layout
• Where to do your editing
• Whether to edit in a single document or multiples
• Using styles
• Font choice
• Colour choice
• Paragraph design
• Spacing
• Defining headings
• Page numbering
• Section breaks
• Pictures and images
• Tables of contents
• Indexing

• Editing in Word, 2nd Edition, by Adrienne Montgomerie: http://bit.ly/2Xy3CPs
• How to Market a Book, by Joanna Penn

• Review of Montgomerie’s Editing in Word, 2nd ed. by Louise Harnby (blog post): http://bit.ly/2XrlDza
• How to use styles (video tutorial): https://youtu.be/1IRBqPm7LBk
• How to use styles (blog post): http://bit.ly/2XHkKCx
• PerfectIt: https://intelligentediting.com/
• The Author’s Proofreading Companion (booklet containing raw-text tidy-up tips): http://bit.ly/ProofCompanion
• Proofreading checklist (PDF): http://bit.ly/CheckProof

The easiest way to ping us a question is via Facebook Messenger: Visit the podcast's Facebook page and click on the SEND MESSAGE button: http://bit.ly/EditPodFB

• Denise Cowle Editorial Services: bit.ly/CowleEditing
• Louise Harnby | Fiction Editor: bit.ly/HarnbyEditing

‘Vivacity’ Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com). Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 License http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/

Denise and Louise discuss how long it takes to complete an edit – whether you’re doing it yourself or working with a professional – and how to plan ahead.

Listen to find out more about editing time in relation to:

• Word count
• Project complexity
• Level of editing undertaken, including referencing, style-guide adherence and fact-checking
• Publishing imperfect written content
• Working with agents
• Collectives and agencies: fast turnaround, high quality
• The length of the editing day
• Scheduling editing in advance, and allowing time to deal with queries

• Self Publishing Journeys (podcast hosted by Paul Teague)
• ELT Teacher 2 Writer

Plus:

• Writing for business. When is good enough, enough?

• Denise Cowle Editorial Services (non-fiction)
• Louise Harnby | Proofreader & Copyeditor (fiction)

‘Vivacity’ Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com). Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 License http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/