| 1a.
Writing
Effectively: A Two-Part Guide to the Well-Written Text, Part 1- By Jan
K., The Proofer
Everything we do involves communication—written, verbal, and
nonverbal. Today, due to the Internet and the World Wide Web, written
communication is emerging as the primary format. Writing effectively is
now an essential skill.
Sadly, writing skills are no longer emphasized in grade school. High
school students do not have the skills for writing term and research
papers. Colleges and universities are re-introducing writing skills into
their curriculum in order to produce graduates who do possess these
skills.
The goal of this article, however, is not to teach you how to write
your doctoral thesis on the theory of why aardvarks did not evolve a brain
big enough to support deductive reasoning. That task we will leave to the
robed and mortar-boarded professors in the ivy-covered halls of higher
learning. The purpose of this article is to give you some ideas and
methods to use when you set out to write text for your web-based
newsletter, self-marketing materials, or perhaps the self-help book that
you are writing as a companion guide for your coaching or mentoring
practice.
1b.
Writing
Effectively: A Two-Part Guide to the Well-Written Text, Part 2 - By Jan
K., The Proofer
In Part 1, I gave you some ideas on how
to write your text. When your text is finished, you will need to review
it in order to spot the flaws, correct the errors and put a final coat of
polish on your good work. In the publications industry this process is
called “proofreading.”
I’m not going to bother with the minutiae of grammar and punctuation.
Presumably, you faithfully
use your spellchecker program. This will correct misspellings and
point out some basic grammatical flaws. Remember to add words to the
computer’s dictionary that are unique to your topic so that the
spellchecker will continue to check your article-specific terms for
accuracy.
However, spellchecker programs cannot catch everything---that’s where
proofreading comes into play. In the “best-case scenario,” you will
hire a professional proofreader to perform this service. You are too close
to the work. Inside your brain you know what you think
you’ve written. You will not necessarily read
what you’ve written. An objective pair of eyes can read your text and
spot the errors that your subjective eyes may have never seen. A
proofreader who is also a good copyeditor will help you sweep away any
cobwebs that might cling to your work by suggesting anything from minor
sentence re-writes to a complete restructuring of a paragraph.
2.
Some
Sticky Grammar Situations - By Jan
K., The Proofer
With the advent of electronic word-processing and spellchecker
programs, many people just presume that simply by running spellchecker all
of their grammar errors will be caught and corrected. This is simply not
so. Spellchecker programs often include some grammar checking, but no
man-made program can catch all the innuendoes of the English language.
This article can not possibly address all the common grammar mistakes.
What it can do, however, is to highlight just a few common mistakes and
give you some hints on how to avoid them or at least recognize them.
3.
Things
You Might Like to Know about Copyrights - By Jan
K., The Proofer
You may be under the false impression that
before you can get your text published, you must “get the copyright”
to your own written material. You might also think that in order to get
the copyright, you must “apply” for it. This is just not so. In the
following few paragraphs, I’ll give you some simple facts about
copyrights that may help you in your quest to get published.
4.
So---You
Think You Want to be a Freelance Proofreader - By Jan
K., The Proofer
How many times have you thought to yourself that you would be a good
proofreader? You have a decent working vocabulary, you are able to
construct a well-turned phrase, and you know when to hyphenate a compound
noun (or maybe you don’t, but you could take a good guess!). You’ve
always wanted to work at home, and you’ve thought about becoming a
freelance proofreader. But just how do you become a freelance proofreader
who works at home?
5. FAQ:
The Reality of Working at Home - By Kimberly
Hargis
Here are several answers to questions you might have about looking for a
work-at-home job. Written by Kimberly Hargis, this information is
straightforward and comes from her multi-year search for ?honest? work to
do at home. This will be especially interesting for folks thinking about
Medical Transcription.
6. Working
at Home Isn't All Fun and Games - By Jan
K., The Proofer
Do you often daydream about working at home? Before you hand in your
letter of resignation, please read what Jan K., The Proofer has to say
about the pros and cons of being your own boss. These are points to ponder
before you begin your pursuit of a work-at-home job.
7. Good
Reasons Why You Can’t Rely on Your Spellchecker - By Jan
K., The Proofer
Do you think that your spellchecker is all you need to make sure that your
document is error free? Think again! Get some quick and easy tips for how
to proofread your own work.
8. Keeping
Track of Your At-Home Business Expenses - By Jan
K., The Proofer
This is one of several articles that are geared toward the new at-home
worker who needs help with self-employment taxes: the forms needed and how
(and when) to file. This article will assist you in not only recognizing
what are “business expenses,” but also how to track them so that
filing your self-employment income will be a snap! You don’t need to
know any accounting in order to record your business expenses---all you
need is a good old, ordinary file folder and a pencil.
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