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Frequently Asked Questions
& Useful Resources

 

Here is a set of FAQs about how I can best serve your business communications requirements.

I've also included a set of resources regarding Microsoft Word, Adobe InDesign, and topics related to the business of writing and editing.

Have other questions? Contact me »

+ How long have you been editing, writing, copywriting, and proofreading?

I've been providing business communications services for over 25 years as an employee, onsite contractor, and now as an independent editor and content creator who operates remotely.

Read Chris's Long, Strange Trip for more information.

+ Please explain your logo tagline. It appears as though your company is part of a much larger organization...and surely you're not 148 years old!

Thanks for asking. I'm a descendant of James E. Scripps, founder of the Evening News Association (The Detroit News, et al.). Collectively, he and his more famous younger siblings (whom he introduced to the business) once owned more US newspapers than Randolph Hearst. (And though some lived in manor homes, none built themselves a castle.)

In addition to being The News second publisher, son-in-law George Booth (my great grandfather) independently owned major dailes across Southern Lower Michigan with his two brothers.

Prior to selling the ENA to Gannett in 1986, subsequent publishers represent three more familial generations. (Booth Newspapers had sold ten years earlier to S.I. Newhouse's Advance Publications.)

I use the tagline to convey that printers' ink runs thick within my own blood, and that my editing, writing, and layout skills are inherent.

+ Your website seems verbose. Yet you revere former journalist–turned Yale professor William Zinsser, who urges writers to make every word count, along with Malcolm Forbes, who encourages us all to "edit ruthlessly." Why the disparity?

When I finish editing your draft or writing new content on assignment, I assure you it'll be tight—just as my clients' copy was when I was a radio, newspaper, and trade magazine advertising copywriter.

I fully understand how to write engaging copy for the web in this modern era of ever-decreasing attention spans. (I've come across one article referring to "the present ADD generation.")

That said, much of what I've written herein is aimed at search engine indexing bots—the more content (and keywords), the more there is to index. But as "Welcome to the Machine" plays in my head, I'm also glad humans like you are reading this.

+ How much do you charge? Do you provide estimates?

I charge by the hour, with rates being commensurate with my expansive business writing experience, skill level, and the open market. Estimates are always difficult to assess, but I do have past data that might be useful in providing you with a rough estimate. Contact me.

+ Are you a regular participant in related forums? Which ones?

Being a huge proponent of LinkedIn, I monitor the running feed throughout most every weekday. There I frequently comment on others' posts, create my own regarding matters of interest to the B2B/B2C community, and write long-form articles about various topics.

For seven years I monitored the members-only Editorial Freelancers Association forum daily and was a frequent contributor. Members continually learn from one another and openly share resources. It's another way I've been able to help "pay it forward" and stay current.

To a lesser degree, I do the same for the Copyediting-L list. It maintains a terrific collection of resources for wordsmiths of all walks.

And I've been a frequent participant on the Techwhir-L forum for over 20 years.

+ I really like your style. Beyond client work, does your writing appear elsewhere?

As inspiration strikes, I post long-form articles about writing, MS Word, marketing, computer security, digital self-promotion, and general business topics at LinkedIn's publishing site. In addition, I frequently post to the LinkedIn feed.

Readers of The Freelancer—the bi-monthly Editorial Freelancers Association newsletter—have also often seen my byline in prior years. And in a pre-internet world, my byline appeared in several monthly periodicals pertaining to Microsoft Windows, Microsoft Office, and AutoCAD, to name a few.

+ Do you mentor your clients' aspiring content creators?

All of the time. I usually do this through embedded comments I make while editing their draft submissions, either in MS Word or Google Docs (I do markups in Adobe Acrobat, too). These might take the form of basic do's and don'ts, suggested reading material, or other helpful advice.

When appropriate, I enjoy adding a touch of humor to help make my point and illustrate that learning to write well can be fun.

In the form of an engaging webinar, I also offer a one-hour, fee-based content creation masterclass. Here's a four-minute trailer showing topics I cover and a few sample slides. Upon request clients can also have me assess their writers' copy in one or more follow-up sessions.

+ You also promote David Ogilvy as a writer whose copy all should emulate. Why do you place him in such esteem?

The answer is Ogilvy's 10-point How To Write, a memo he dispatched to all Ogilvy & Mather employees. I've been known to share this with aspiring content creators whose managers engage my business communication services.

As with Strunk & White's The Elements of Style, there exist a number of great writing aides that aren't mind-numbing for those writers wishing to hone their craft. Professor Paul Brians' website is another great resource, where one can quickly look up if it's "discrete" or "discreet," et al.

+ Where is the first place you go when you have a question about Microsoft Word?

The Word-PC listserv is a very active site where I get fast answers from worldwide MVP-level participants. And it's not just for Windows users, the "PC" pertaining to all personal computers on which MS Word runs. Send a blank email to **word-pc-subscribe-request@liverpool.ac.uk** to join.

MVP Shauna Kelly is unfortunately no longer with us, but her incredible self-help site for MS Word users lives on.

It's often a bit slower to get a response, but the Windows Secrets Lounge bills itself as "Everything Microsoft forgot to mention." It's also not just for Windows users.

+ Are you available for public speaking and training?

Yes. Focusing on LinkedIn, these past two years I've been offering a 1 to 1-1/2 hour, animated PowerPoint presentation entitled "Marketing Yourself & Your Business on the Internet" in webinar format. Several organizations have sponsored my presentation to their membership.

Afterward, attendees are usually able to access the slide deck—along with a very large bonus tip section and my speaker notes from a SlideShare location I provide. Some record the prersentation so those unable to attend the live presentation are still able to avail themselves of the many self-branding and promotion tips I share.

I gave a similar presentation at Communication Central's 12th annual Be a Better Freelancer Conference, and returned the following year with an updated talk. In recent times I've also been a webinar presenter for local chapters of the Editorial Freelancers Association.

In the form of an engaging webinar, I also offer a one-hour, fee-based content creation masterclass. Here's a four-minute trailer showing topics I cover and a few sample slides. Upon request clients can also have me assess their writers' copy in one or more follow-up sessions.

Through the '90s I was a highly acclaimed seminar leader and classroom instructor who toured the US for both Learning Tree International and Mastering Computers. That led to a one-off appearance at US Coast Guard computer security gathering.

Years prior I taught an Aldus PageMaker class at a vocational center and, as an expert desktop publisher, spoke about the topic at several conferences. Leveraging that, within more recent years I ran a non-interactive Adobe InDesign class offered by the Editorial Freelancers Association.

+ How did you learn about page layout and typography?

Again, some of my ability is inherent (see second item from top). I was that kid in elementary school whose well-researched and designed social studies posters were always exhibited in the hall. At the same time I was playing around with a movable type stamp kit.

In sixth grade I was typing business letters on faux letterhead to companies such as J Walter Thompson, Campbell Ewald, Shelby American, and Chaparral Cars to collect free racing car ephemera. Each company delivered the anticipated results. During high school and college years I created several flyers for live musical events I conjured up and promoted. A handbill I designed for Detroit's Grande Ballroom appears in rotation at Cleveland's Rock 'n' Roll Hall Fame and Museum.

Later, moonlighting as a negative stripper for a commercial Webb press operation is where I picked up additional prepress basics (e.g., applying screen tints). And I gleaned a lot of useful tips from lithographers I contracted to create camera-ready trade magazine ads I had sold as a publishers' representative.

Then, at the dawn of the desktop publishing revolution, the premiere release of Aldus PageMaker included a terrific primer by design expert Roger C. Parker. Essentially it was excerpted from his book, Looking Good In Print, which remains a valuable resource for those wanting to learn how to construct an attractive page that will keep readers engaged.

Back then, Aldus (and later Adobe) published an informative magazine full of tips, and I devoured other monthly periodicals dedicated to the topic. I also found Jan V. White's Editing By Design to be quite informative. That led me to additional resources regarding typefaces and other components that make up a page.

+ You're a keen proponent of digital marketing. What has helped you learn to do it successively?

David Meerman Scott's The New Rules of Marketing & PR is a fabulous resource. I also found Louise Harnby's Marketing Your Editing & Proofreading Business to be quite useful. I subscribe to both authors' digital updates, too.

For learning how to use LinkedIn most effectively, Wayne Breitbarth is my #1 resource. Using a friendly, down-home approach, he offers a plethora of free tips at his powerformula.net website.

My LinkedIn profile has won a top award. Based on my extensive research and applied ingenuity, I've been offering my own LinkedIn primer in person and via webinar for several years. Contact me for details.

+ I see you use the Markdown language for some blocks on your home page. Are there good references for its use?

Sure. Using simple Google queries, here are a few resources I found useful as I trained myself: