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A Writer’s Best Friend: The Job of an Editor
(editing)
Are you irritated by typos and spelling errors in professional documents? Are you able to help your friends make their writing error free? You may be a good candidate for editing. The world is incredibly dependent on writers and the craft of writing. It is how people communicate with each other most often. As the internet writing forms do not require people to hold to correct grammar, spelling or professional style, most writers are losing their capabilities to complete a professional document or book without help. Writers have always needed the help of editors. Even when there was strict attention to correct writing, editors could come and catch missed errors as well as mistakes in content. Editors are still needed today. Read on to find out more about what can be involved in a life of editing.
Who are the Editors?
Editors are those people with the ability to read a document and guide a writer to make it the best piece of writing that it can be. Editors work in newspapers, and magazines. They also work for publishing companies and in student resource centers. Editors generally have some education that leads them to the ability to help writers. They probably have a degree in language as well as training with style manuals.
What is the Job?
An editing job involves taking a piece of writing and conforming it to some particular set of standards. Style manuals are often the standard used. Different publications will choose a style and then ask the editors to make all of the writing that comes out to be consistent to that style. Editing is not only concerned with objective corrections like spelling and grammar though. An editor must also read for clarity, consistency and voice. If a writer claims one thing in one point of their piece and seems to contradict that point in another part, it is the editor’s job to catch the mistake and work with the writer to fix the inconsistency. If the writer is speaking authoritatively in the beginning of a piece and then becomes apologetic later, it is the editor’s job to make the tone match. Editors help with sentence construction, word choice and content order.
How to Find Editing Jobs
If any of the above job description sounds interesting and even exciting to you, you just may have found your ideal job calling. Before you start looking for editing jobs, you should test your skills. There are editing tests online. Feel free to use a style manual as well as your intuition as you correct the sentences and word choice in the different test questions. If you do not pass the test, you should probably spend a little more time reading a style manual and a basic grammar guide. Once you can ace an editing test, it’s time to look for a job. Be sure to include any experience you may have had. Include any editing of any kind you have ever done. Peer editing in school is appropriate experience to mention. Also be sure to list any style you are able to edit to. Examples are AP, Chicago, MLA, and so on. If you get an interview, be prepared to take another editing test, with the help of your manual. The test will likely be timed.
Editing is a rewarding career. It involves helping writers to do their very best writing geared to their particular audience. While it can be stressful because of deadlines and workload, at the end of the day you will know that you have made the world of the written word a little cleaner and much more effective. Editors are an essential part of making the written word what it is today.
Software copyright statement A Software Copyright Statement Protects Current and Future Works If you have a site that is dedicated to the sharing and distribution of open source software it is a great idea to have a software copyright statement that explains the limits of use for your software as well as the limits of your responsibility for those uses. I also recommend getting an attorney to look over the statement before posting it just to be sure there are no legal issues that you may be unaware of. A software copyright statement doesn't have to be a 10 page booklet on the law or the protections that copyright offers, it should be a simple short paragraph stating the basics and hopefully covering your rear from litigation and/or responsibility should someone use the software you are allowing them to use for something insanely stupid or frighteningly criminal while establishing your ownership of the material and expectations of those you are allowing to use your creation. This for some is a no brainer because they've done it before and know the ropes. There are new software developers born and made each and every day and this type of software copyright statement may serve to save them a little grief of their own some day. If you are being kind enough to freely share the software you created with others, you'd like to think that they would at least return the favor of using it within the letter of the law or the manner in which it was intended. This, however, is rarely the case so protecting yourself, your copyright, and your future interests by posting a software copyright statement on your website is really the best way to go in a situation such as this. Trust me I'm not trying to talk anyone out of sharing his or her software with the world. I rather like open source software and admit to using it freely (no pun intended). I love saving money almost as much as I love playing around with new technology. Software allows me to do that and find likes and dislikes about all kinds of programs. Issuing a software copyright statement is one way of protecting your investment of time, effort, energy, and sheer brilliance in the making and design of your technological masterpiece. Hopefully that flattery will keep you going a bit longer at any rate. It is important to know that a software copyright statement is only part of the process required to protect your software but for the most part poses a significant deterrent to those that would abuse your copyright and/or your kindness in allowing the distribution of your software. Even if you are charging people for the use of your software (we are a nation of capitalists after all) you still need to protect the labor you have put into making not only the software but the distribution method, the website, the payment method and the thousands of other things that are part and parcel of the business model for your software distribution. Your software copyright statement is a very small protection for your software don't expect it to be the brunt of your protection. Most of the software developers, coders, and programmers (and any other name you wish to call them) that I know aren't as concerned nearly as much about associating their name with the products they create as they are with protecting future potential income from both the products they are currently designing and the future, improvements they will make to the software and the much improved finished product that comes later. By protecting all your work with a software copyright statement you are not only protecting current works but future works as well. The Many Sides of Writer Web Rings (writer web rings) Generally, a web ring is defined as a collection of Web Sites from the Internet that are joined together in a circular structure. Writer web rings are a great example of this collection of Web Sites. Web rings may be used to increase search engine rankings, and can be considered as search engine optimization techniques. It is common for many web rings to take advantage of this and find writers looking to improve their own rankings. There are many web rings available for seasoned writers and novices alike. Becoming a member of one of the many writing web rings is as simple as joining any other web rings with different themes. Web ring web sites each have a common navigation bar that contains links to the previous and next sites. Clicking the next or previous sites repeatedly will eventually take the surfer to the site original site of the web ring; this is the origin of the term web ring. Web rings are organized around certain themes, and of course the theme for writer web rings is writing. These web rings for writers typically have moderators who are responsible for deciding what pages to include in the web ring. The making of the web ring is the foundation for the group of people who will soon join. Writer web rings are readily available and are open for all potential writers and experienced writers to join. These web rings for writers are usually seen as an outlet for many writers, who are otherwise unable to find interesting ways to increase their experience in the writing world. Typically, these web rings for writers are designed specifically for certain groups. For example, there are many web rings designed specifically for women. The Accomplished Women Writers group is a group of women writers who help each other by providing tips and hints for getting published. The web ring also includes a site that teaches women how to manage a family, household, and writing career. The Aspiring Young Writers Ring is also a web ring, and is dedicated to helping young writers on their way to becoming professionals. The Author Ring is a web ring that was established for published authors if book-length fiction and nonfiction. Other writer web rings include Black Folks Who Write, which is open to African Americans who showcase their work on the internet; Freelance Webring for freelance writers; Internet Writers’ Guild, which brings together authors of web-published literature and showcases their writing online; and Romance Readers and Writers, which is designed for writers who love all aspects of writing romance novels, and who enjoy reading romance novels. No matter the person, there is a writer web ring for almost every kind of writer, so no writer should feel discouraged if they feel their case is a unique one and there is no writer web ring to satisfy their artistic needs. Writer web rings are not a new concept, but there are many writers who don’t take advantage of their great services. A writer web ring can be used to help any writer expand their knowledge of writing techniques, of their own experience, level, and style of writing, can help them appreciate their writing as well as others, while teaching them about the business of writing, and helping them figure out the world of writing in general. These web rings are considered to be good things because a person can find many sites relating to their own writing all together without searching endlessly. Many may not see writer web rings as perfect, but they can be noted for their service they provide for many writers, and can be seen as a great tool for the writer. |