Crystal Nevin - Blog

Using Track Changes as an Editor

If you are an editor or proofreader who wants to use Word’s Track Changes feature to share your suggestions with your client, then this blog is for you. Next month’s blog will be from the other side: how to use Track Changes to review your editor’s or proofreader’s suggestions. For …

Various Writing Advice

Over Labor Day weekend, I attended Dragon Con in Atlanta. Dragon Con is a big convention with approximately sixty thousand attendees and featuring a wide range of activities to choose from, including costuming, gaming, and celebrity panels. Another of its offerings is panels on writing, primarily for genre fiction, and …

Advice on Pacing from Authors

Another topic that was heavily discussed among writers and editors at the most recent Dragon Con was pacing. Pacing is the flow of the story. It’s finding the right speed for the story as a whole, but also scene by scene. I’ve accumulated some of the tips that were mentioned. …

Editing Advice from Authors

Over Labor Day, I attended several writing panels at Dragon Con. It was great fun, and if you’re in the Atlanta area, I highly recommend it. In this blog, I’ll pass on some of the authors’ advice about editing. Note that this blog may seem a little disorganized, and that’s …

Ideas for Thanking Your Copyeditor or Proofreader

If you’re happy with the work your copyeditor or proofreader did on your work, here are some ideas for how you can thank her. Consider Her Suggestions Even if you end up rejecting or ignoring her suggestions or comments, if you can find a way to show that you considered …

Is Grammar Software a Replacement for an Editor?

Grammar-checking software is everywhere now. But does it replace an editor? No. Machines are not yet capable of catching everything a human can catch. Maybe they will someday, but we’re not there yet. So what does an editor catch that grammar software doesn’t catch? I’m glad you asked. Timeline and …