Writers: Get Thee to an Editor

by Mark Bloom | Jan 17, 2017 | Editing

Use an Online Writing Editor for Best Results

find an online writing editor

Writers are everywhere. They’re like bookstores and libraries — seemingly on every corner and in most coffee shops. They have their own Meetup groups. They have their own schools and degrees. They are amateur or professional, full-time or part-time, committed or casual. Good writers even have their own websites to advertise their talents. And many writers specialize. Consider:

Ad writers
Mystery writers
Ghost writers
Novelists
Blog writers
Poets
Journalists
Grant writers
Copywriters
Short story writers
And more

Some, like the writers at Ray Access, cross boundaries. If you’re looking for a writer for a specific project — whether it’s to write your blog posts, memoir or web page content — you can certainly find one easily enough. But not everyone knows the value of a good editor. And they are much more difficult to find. In fact, many writers don’t even know good editors, especially good online writing editors.

What an Online Writing Editor Does

Editors are an invisible lot. Their names never appear in the byline. Their work doesn’t cry for headlines, even as the headlines in their work bears their influence. So how can you tell if an editor has worked on a piece of writing? What kind of tracks does an editor leave behind?

A good editor does much more than correct grammar and catch typos. When it comes to editing online writing, an editor molds the article to:

Ensure the lede, especially the first paragraph, captures the readers’ attention and compels them to keep reading
Cut, cut and cut some more to force the writing to be concise and to the point
Enhance the flow of thoughts from one to the next
Strengthen, not change, the writer’s voice
Place valuable information at the beginning of the article, so readers don’t have to wade through fluff to get to the good stuff

Writers Benefit

Writers understand what an online writing editor does. The best writers seek out editors to work with. They often develop a deep and lasting trust between them. The writer knows that the editor makes changes and suggestions that improve the writing. The editor knows that the writer takes the changes as constructive criticism, even if it appears harsh at first glance.

When a writer works with an editor, they create a team that improves every project they tackle. Edited writing is not just more efficient; it’s more powerful. Because an online writing editor has to know the target audience as much as the writer does, an edited article strikes the right notes to engage its readers.

Editing for an Online Audience

An online writing editor has to handle issues that are specific to writing for an online audience — issues that a book editor may not even consider. People read online content differently than reading something in a printed book; it actually closely mimics how they read newspapers:

With other content just a click away, online readers shrink their attention span. They want online writing to get to the point quicker.
The same people who wouldn’t balk at reading a 600-page tome expect a pleasant online format with lots of white space.
Most online readers don’t read at all, in fact. Instead, they scan for the information they’re seeking. Their eyes flit from the title to each subheading as they search.

So an editor has to ensure that titles are authentic. They have to come up with subheads that are both explanatory and inviting. They have to deliver information in chunks so that it’s not overwhelming. Otherwise, no matter good the writing is, readers may pass it by.

And every article posted online requires the judicious use of keywords. An online writing editor has to know how to best place keywords so that they work and yet are unobtrusive once readers find their way to the article. If you’re a writer, find an editor you can trust. If you’re a reader, thank your writer for using an editor.

Ray Access is a content marketing firm that delivers targeted words to empower your business. Contact us about your specific project to receive a quote or discuss your needs. We write website copy, blog posts, e-newsletters and more. Everything we do is thoroughly researched, professionally edited and guaranteed original.

Part 2: When to Write Your Own Content

by Mark Bloom | Jun 28, 2016 | Editing

Do Small Business Owners Have So Little to Do?

Many small business owners are good writers, which is a good thing. When you’re small, you have to do everything yourself. So you write your own content for your website, and if you have the time and energy, you can write your own blog posts. You do it because you have to.

When should you write your own content?

At Ray Access, we understand. We were in the same boat when we started — and we’re professional writers! Fortunately, we did a good job, and our company started to grow. For us, maintaining a weekly blog isn’t a big deal as long as it we keep it a priority. But we’re writers and editors here at Ray Access; website content is what we do.

Small Business Owners Think Business First

When you first start out, you have so many things to do that you barely have time to do any marketing, never mind writing blogs every week. But you do what you have to do and you force yourself to write your own content. You do it because you know it’s important. But unlike the principals behind Ray Access, writing isn’t your best skill. Building the business is your main — and only — focus.

And that’s the point. Writing your own content isn’t what gets you fired up in the morning or keeps you up well past midnight. And once your business starts to do well, you should be tending the store, not writing blog posts. You know that.

Yes, it’s your business, and you know it best. But business blogging isn’t autobiographical; it’s business writing. It just has to be good enough to be valuable to your readers. It only has to be effective at drawing visitors to your website. That’s the job of business blogs. That’s the value a professional agency like Ray Access brings to the table.

Spend Time to Write Your Own Content

If you write your own content, you may spend an afternoon on a 500-word blog post. You want it to be right; you want it to be good. You fret over each word, each sentence, and each paragraph. But maybe it’s like pulling teeth — the process just seems to go on and on.

Professional writers like those at Ray Access can write and edit a better blog post in less than half the time it takes you. Writing is what we do. It’s our passion and we’re good at it. If you hire us to write your content, not only don’t you have to spend the time to write your own content, but you can use that time saved to make more money running your business more effectively. It’s a win-win.

write your own content or hire the best

Online Writing Takes Expertise

Anyone can write a letter, but online writing is an art and a science. Even good writers often don’t get the nuances of online writing. Besides using keywords correctly, online writers have to accomplish a lot in a little space:

Connect with the readers — generate trust by speaking to them, not at them
Establish authority — state your credentials and experience to be believable
Communicate your unique value proposition — explain what makes your company different
Convert visitors into customers — contribute to the company’s bottom line

Can you do all that by writing your own content? If so, go for it. You’re the best person qualified to write your company’s online content, as long as you have the time and the energy to do it. But if you can afford even $150 a month, you can get high-quality blog posts twice a month that will drive traffic to your website.

The Often Overlooked Step

Even if you write your own content, you need to have someone else look it over before you publish. It’s no coincidence that publishing houses employ editors, even for big-name authors. Every professional writer knows that a good editor not only helps you avoid careless mistakes, but also actually makes the writing better — more concise, more on-target and more effective.

A professional editor isn’t an optional step; it’s required if you want your content to look professional. Here’s a good example of the value of editing. It takes a rambling thought and laser-focuses it:

BEFORE: “Buildings are filled with mechanical systems which eventually need maintenance, repair, or replacement. Modernizing your plumbing system can prevent future breakdowns as well as add a level of convenience and comfort to your home or business.”

AFTER: “Old buildings contain old plumbing. Upgrading the plumbing not only prevents costly breakdowns in the future, but also saves you money on maintenance, repair and replacement.”

Learn more about the editing services available from Ray Access.

Words Matter

by Elle Ray | Aug 28, 2013 | Editing

Make Your Words Count with Correct Grammar

When all you have is a funny video and a few lines of text in a Facebook post, those words better be correct. When you’re looking at a 140-character tweet, one misplaced modifier could ruin your message.

Grammar is not dead. In fact, the need to know and use proper grammar is more important than ever because you have less time and fewer opportunities to do it right. Marketers abbreviate words because they believe that the attention span of consumers has been reduced to that of a gnat. So the words you use — and how you use them — are vitally important. Take this simple example:

Let’s eat grandma.
Let’s eat, grandma.

Do you want to send out your latest ad to bring in customers to eat grandma? I think not. Then there’s the popular example: “A woman without her man is nothing.” Punctuation and grammar make all the difference when you write:

A woman, without her man, is nothing.
A woman, without her, man is nothing.

Grammar Lessons Pay Off

Photo by Valentina Degiorgis

We love the thousands of examples out there that cross our desks every day. We collect them. Here’s one of our favorites: “The average American consumes more than 400 Africans.” Apparently, we are a very hungry nation.

Improper grammar also makes you look incompetent. iFixit owner Kyle Wiens says: “Grammar signifies more than just a person’s ability to remember high school English. I’ve found that people who make fewer mistakes on a grammar test also make fewer mistakes when they are doing something completely unrelated to writing — like stocking shelves or labeling parts.” And he won’t hire anyone with bad grammar.

If you can’t remember your high school English lessons, please let someone else read your words before you publish them, especially if you are paying for the privilege. Websites, Facebook updates, LinkedIn pages, Twitter feeds and all your print advertising must be correct if you are to be taken seriously.

Put simply: proper spelling, punctuation and grammar increase your credibility. Bad writing doesn’t.

So regardless whether you know the difference between “it’s” and “its,” or you are just too busy to care, give Ray Access a chance to proof your words before you post. We’re not merely writers — we edit and proofread too.

Say It in Plain English

by Mark Bloom | May 10, 2013 | Editing

Write in Plain Language; It Helps Everyone

There is a movement gaining traction across America: writing in plain, understandable English. Plain language is, as William DuBay said, “a literary style that is easy to read because it matches the reading skill of the audience.”

Government agencies are adopting the tenets of plain language. Lawyers are hiring editors to “translate” their legalese into English that anyone with an eighth-grade education can understand. And more and more businesses are gradually coming around to the benefits of using plain English in their communications.

A New Wrinkle in Communications

clar-i-ty defined in Plain English

In retrospect, it seems obvious that easily understood writing would help everyone — from those with a message to relay to those trying to read that message. The plain language movement’s goal is to make the written word easier to comprehend. Given that we are all inundated with messages throughout the day, making those messages clearer can make life simpler for many people.

Still, it has taken a surprisingly long time to get everyone to agree that documents should be written in plain English. Detail-oriented lawyers in private and public practice wanted foremost to close loopholes. Business writers assumed their audiences were highly educated. Training in clear communications did not exist.

The Movement Gains Ground

This is not a new phenomenon. Way back in 1972, President Richard Nixon issued a decree that the “Federal Register be written in layman’s terms.” The government — and future Presidents — have mostly continued to push for clearer and simpler written communications.

Like any grassroots democratic cause, the plain language movement has gradually gained momentum. People tired of the confusing status quo and asked for simpler content. They weren’t lazy; they needed to find meaning quickly so that they could make important decisions. Today, we can see the changes… in some places.

Writers still have work to do, but the benefits are becoming clearer as more research is done. For an introduction to plain language, check out the Plain Language Association InterNational (PLAIN) website. You can find cutting-edge information about and examples of plain language in the Wikipedia.

How This Affects You

Ray Access believes in plain language. We apply its principles in all the writing we do, matching our style to the reading skill of the intended audience, as Mr. DuBay recommends. We write for people, not search engines. Our writing is geared to attract more human eyes to your business, which can translate into more sales, greater visibility, and customer satisfaction.

In the process, search engines take note, too, which increases your website’s page rank. It’s truly a win-win scenario.

If you are ignoring your website, it’s likely ignoring you. Get the best value from your online assets. In plain English.

Please Stop Before You Publish

by Elle Ray | Apr 16, 2013 | Editing

Grammar Matters — No Matter What You Write

Of course we believe that grammar is important; we’re writers, after all. But what if we loosened our standards:

Its time to talk to you about a day-to-day and week-to-week issues. And im not about to talk about the talk every one know does no good. Let me explains that now.

We could go overboard, too, thinking that everyone has a 16-year education:

Inferring the textual concept of proper grammar and punctuation, noun and verb agreement, correct spelling, and all the other tenets of the English language that make it a difficult, yet succinct form of communication among those who have a clear and concise message to deliver and require a medium that appropriately tackles the task at hand, you would think it would be performed accordingly.

Yikes. Please stop us.

The Problem Is Rampant

Since we’re writers, we read a lot. In our research, we have to peruse 100 or more websites a day, so we see it all the time. This kind of writing is rampant. You know it too if you’ve tried to find a quick recipe or picked up a newspaper lately. Sometimes, it’s impossible to get “just the facts.”

plain language works

Given this dilemma, we’d like to share a bit of good news. There’s a movement afoot called “plain language” that aims to make government documents and legal papers easy to read and understand. But even they get bogged down in trying to look smart by using big words and long, drawn-out sentences. We know — we’ve edited some of their work.

Everyone Loses

One problem may arise from alluringly inexpensive writing services that contract “English language writers” overseas. But we fear most of the errors are due to being either lazy or cheap. Perhaps publishers don’t take the time to read their own copy before going live with it, or maybe they are too tight to pay someone to proofread for them.

As a result, everyone loses. The reader quickly moves on to another webpage or forces herself to read the copy over and over until she understands its meaning. It’s tedious work, and in most cases, unnecessary.

Don’t do that to your customers and your readers. Please stop.

Get Professional Help

Before you publish that article, that press release, or that webpage… contact Ray Access. We’re professionals. We not only do this for a living; it’s our passion as well, so you know we want to do it right the first time.

If you don’t think you can afford us, call for a free estimate. If you want to keep all your work in-house, at least read your copy out loud before you publish it. If you’re not sure, get a second opinion. Give it to a fourth grader to see if she gets it. Sleep on it and then see if it still makes sense in the morning.

Whatever you do, make sure your prose is clear and to the point before you publish it. If it’s wrong or long or poorly edited, it can damage your reputation once it’s published. It may cause your customers, clients or readers to go elsewhere, which is likely the exact opposite reason you wrote it.

Always Edit Before Publishing

by Elle Ray | Feb 13, 2013 | Editing

Editing Your Content and What It Means to You

What does it mean to edit a piece of writing? Let’s look at an example.

Joanne is a small business owner. Her business is called Bits & Pieces. She sells automobile accessories, everything from steering wheel covers to custom hubcaps. She’s excited about her growing business and has just launched a new website.

While she has employees to do the nuts and bolts work of finding or making items and then selling them, she’s been reluctant to hire someone solely for the purpose of marketing. So she hired a friend to build the website and wrote all the text herself, often staying up late at night to finish.

So she’s appalled, when browsing the new site, to see on the About page that she’s misspelled her company name. Worst than that, she used a “T” instead of a “B.” As she hurriedly places a call to her friend for a quick fix, she wonders what other errors are lurking on the site and what kinds of backlash they may cause.

How Editing Can Help

At its most basic, editing is simply getting another set of eyes to look over any writing before it’s published — online or in hard copy. Mistakes like the one described above are caught before they become a nuisance… or an embarrassment.

Effective editing goes beyond simple proofreading, as it well should. Editors fix grammatical and spelling mistakes, true, but they also make writing stronger, clearer, and shorter, which is most important to your online audience.

A good editor rearranges the thoughts on the page to make your case more persuasive. A good editor finds the perfect word or phrase to replace ho-hum writing. A good editor makes your prose come to life.

Ray Access Does the Hard Part

Too often, in our vast experience, we’ve seen business owners get discouraged by the writing process and stop blogging. This is a missed opportunity. A regular blogging practice on your company website can attract an audience, get your company noticed, drive up the website’s page rank, and establish you as an authority in your field.

But business owners aren’t necessarily writers. It may not be where your passion lies. But it is exactly where our passion lies. Let Ray Access tackle the blogging for you. Your company will still reap the benefits, and you’ll have more time to devote to the things you do best.

Ray Access has helped many companies increase their bottom lines. Our rates are surprisingly affordable, and you’ll start to see results in the first year. Don’t miss an opportunity to grow your business online.

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