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One Sentence, One Word, One Entirely Different Meeting

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The Words I’m Giving Up Are . . .

I’m giving up a popular sentence and it’s variations.

I don’t like this.

I’m brushing off a sentence an old boss used to say. It was quite effective on keeping us focused on the big picture.

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From now on, I’m going back to using this one instead

I don’t think I love this.

It calls up a curious, listener’s response.

After all, if we don’t love it, why do it?
AND if we all sincerely can say we love it, there must be something to it.

I change one sentence. I add the word love.

Suddenly the meeting is a mission — words are powerful.

–ME “Liz” Strauss

Help! I Need an Editor — Too Many Choices and Only One Manuscript

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What Do Editors Do Anyway?

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When I got my first job as an editor, I had no idea the kinds of things I would be doing. Nor did I have a clue how hard it would be to answer this question.

What is it that editors do? And what’s a proofreader?
When I’m asked in passing, my answer is usually not too helpful.

I tell my mother-in-law I write mystery novels and that the proofreader checks that the solution really works.

Then I quickly change the subject. Explaining what editors do is like trying to tell a nonblogger about blogging.

The secret is that editors edit about 35% of the time. They also write, rewrite, check changes, go to meetings, discuss with authors, writers, and other editors, problem solve, and work with illustrators, photographers, and designers, among a variety of other things, such as keeping track of the incredible paper trail a single volume can create.

On top of that not every editor does the same kind of editing. Quite frankly it’s a bit of a wonder that other editors can explain exactly what it is we all do.

Still, if you’re looking to publish a work with your name on it, you’ll want a professional editor to look the piece over for you. It’s a matter of credibility — for you and your brand.

So maybe knowing a little more about editors —

More than just the fact that editors were good at term papers in high school.

— isn’t such a bad idea.

[Read more…]

5 + 1 Safety Rules for Dangerous Deadlines: Finding Quality Time

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The Now Infamous Deadline Post

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It happens often. A delicious project, a dream idea, lands firmly on our desks. It’s something we could make truly outstanding. Just as we’re about to fall in love, we find out one last detail — the inevitable string attached.

“It’s due when?”

“The drop-dead date is somewhere between ridiculous and can’t be done.”

A deadline like that is a dangerous thing.

A deadline like that puts too much focus on schedule.

Quality and Schedule

The quiet conflict between quality and schedule can be a problem on almost any project. The problem stems from a basic reality.

Schedule is something that everyone can see.
Quality is something you have to judge.

Human nature makes us want to look good in places where people look.


[Read more…]

10 + 1 Reasons to Write Well, Not Perfect-ley OR Save the World with Realistic Expectations

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You Thought Multitasking Was a Curse

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Have you got an inner editor telling you what you write has to be perfect? Perfectionism is a problem that can hurt you. Here are a few light reasons why you should give up trying to create perfect work. — Sometimes fun talk can combat a serious problem.

I don’t write perfectly. You don’t either. No one does. Leonard Cohen hasn’t gotten there — much as I love him. Nope, he hasn’t. Neither has Toni Morrison, nor any other living writer. You can forget Mark Twain, Shakespeare, and the rest of the dead ones too.

There’s no such thing as perfect writing.

Tell the editor in your ear to take a hike on the whole idea. Trying to write perfectly could cause an alien invasion.

[Read more…]

4+6 Things to a Product Review Even James Bond Would Trust

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What You Have Here James Is . . .

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Product reviews. We all do them. We love to tell people what we like about stuff. Even more, we love to tell them what’s wrong with stuff. . . .

The President had started a discussion about a product we were prototyping. Our new product was meant to compete with one that had owned the market for 10 years.

“So, what do you think of the product that’s out there?” the President asked the editors.

Each editor was eager to respond and gave in detail the things that she saw in the existing product. The President made sure that every editor had a chance to talk.

“I wonder how it continues to sell 100,000+ units per book per year?” Then he glanced over my way and said, “That’s why no one listens to editors’ opinions. They only talk about the negatives.”

I was the only person in the company who reviewed product for the President.

Where do you get advice about products? Most people trust friends and family first. If friends and family don’t know, research says that 77 percent of online shoppers read consumer product reviews and ratings.

That means you’ve probably done that.

Product review are big business . . .

. . . if folks feel they can trust what the review says.

If you want credibility James Bond would trust, you have to know 4 things before you start and tell 6 things when you write..

. . . [Read more…]

10 +1 Sure-Fire Ways to Get My Best Work — and the Best Work from Everyone — Every Time

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How to Manage Me While I Manage You

power writing at work

I snuck into publishing through the back door. I freelanced first. People asked me to do things. As fast as they asked was how fast I would learn. I was sure that everyone else already knew them.

Then I got my first job as an Executive Editor, and a whole new world view came with it. I had been learning things few people knew. . . . It worked for me. I kind of liked it.

I also saw that most freelancers weren’t like me.

What I saw was that folks who had full-time jobs did more accurate work than freelancers — even when they were the same people. As soon as we hired a freelancer, that person’s work improved to the full-time work standard. That’s when I knew it was us, not them. There was something in what we were doing.

It wasn’t the work. It wasn’t the people.

It was how we put the two together.

I know how you can get my best work every time. Do 10 things, and I can’t help but do a great job for you. Really. [Read more…]