Editing & Publishing Resources

8-min. read

In this blog post, I feature a roundup of my favorite websites focused on editing and publishing. I highlight five resources: The Write Life, Grammarly, The Creative Penn, Writer’s Digest, and Grammar Girl.

The Write Life

URL: <TheWriteLife.com>

Sponsor: The Write Life

Annotation

The Write Life provides a variety of resources for professional writers who are interested in working with clients, creating personal and guest blog content, publishing their work traditionally or independently, improving their writing (across multiple genres), and marketing their books or services through an author platform.

Keywords

freelance writing, blog, publishing strategies, writing craft, author platform

Recent Content from The Write Life

The Write Life has published recommendations on whether and how to pursue self-publishing as a path to publication, ideas for earning more writing clients in the long term, and guidelines for grammar, such as correct semicolon usage.

• How to Self-Publish a Book: A Guide for Aspiring Authors. Leah Campbell discusses the processes of writing and marketing an independently published book, the amount and timing of expenses involved in self-publishing, and the differences between and among self-publishing, small-press publishing, and traditional publishing. Read the article.

• 11 Strategic Ways to Get New Clients as a Freelance Writer. Lisa Rowan recommends collaborating with like-minded freelancers who have complementary skills (for example, graphic design) or full plates, maintaining contact with past clients, creating a blog to build thought leadership, and promoting a physical or digital product that complements the freelance services. Read the article.

• When to Use a Semicolon: A Guide to This Quirky but Lovable Punctuation Mark. Jamie Cattanach explains the four uses of a semicolon, the differences in usage rules between a semicolon and colon and a semicolon and period, and the function served by this “lovable” punctuation mark. Read the article.

Thoughts on The Write Life

The Write Life covers many topics of interest to people who want to make money writing. Content categories include Freelancing, for writers interested in working with clients; Blogging, for writers interested in creating personal and guest blog content; Publishing, for writers interested in publishing work traditionally or independently; Craft, for writers interested in improving writing across multiple genres; Marketing, for writers interested in marketing books or services through an author platform; and Tools.

For writers who are interested in only one category, it is easy to navigate to articles of interest. For writers who wear multiple hats, it is easy to browse articles across categories. In addition to sorting by content category, visitors have a few more options. The home page includes the traditional mixed-category posts in reverse chronological order, as well as content groupings based on other sorting criteria, such as editors’ favorite posts, popular posts, and posts focused on tools and technology.

Grammarly

URL: <Grammarly.com/blog>

Sponsor: Grammarly Inc.

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Grammarly focuses on standards and habits for writing in the workplace, with an emphasis on communication in context rather than grammar for the sake of grammar.

Keywords

communication, editing, style, voice, readability

Recent Content from Grammarly

Grammarly has published tips on maintaining a consistent voice across multiple writers on a team, thoughts on why (and how) to measure reader friendliness, and general recommendations for communicating well in a professional setting.

• How to Create a Style Guide for Your Business. Taryn Barnes explains the benefits of writing in the voice of the organization rather than the individual, selecting a grammar stylebook to use across multiple contributors, gathering templates for commonly created documents, and building personas based on different audience sectors. Read the article.

• What Is Readability? Jennifer Calonia discusses readability metrics, the importance of accounting for gaps between writer and reader with regard to vocabulary or mental maps, factors that affect readability, and tools for measuring the ease or difficulty of reading. Read the article.

• 30 Tips to Make Writing Easier. Karen Hertzberg recommends experimenting with outlines and other prewriting strategies, taking a break between drafts, establishing a regular writing routine, seeking feedback from beta readers, and cultivating a support system of trusted peers and mentors. Read the article.

Thoughts on Grammarly

Grammarly looks at the field of editing in a holistic way. Although select posts address specific rules, such as work-arounds for common grammatical errors, the blog as a whole focuses on communication. The Grammarly blog publishes articles about how to approach common genres of writing in the workplace as well as general strategies for writing clearly and economically. It is based on the premise that everybody is a writer in some capacity.

Because Grammarly is a companion to the writing checker of the same name, many blog entries draw from insights about common missteps in a genre, whether at the grammatical or global level. For example, a Grammarly article might frame suggestions for a writing routine based on data about what time of day people are least prone to make errors.

The Creative Penn

URL: <TheCreativePenn.com/blog>

Sponsor: The Creative Penn Limited

Annotation

The Creative Penn, which is run by thriller author and self-publishing expert Joanna Penn, focuses on how to make sustainable decisions as an independent creative and features weekly interviews with guest authors.

Keywords

sustainability, entrepreneurship, creative business, self-publishing, leading learner

Recent Content from The Creative Penn

The Creative Penn has published content on creative entrepreneurship based on lasting strategy rather than quick wins, opportunities to recognize and close gaps in understanding about the writing field in general and one’s career path in particular, and how to shift focus (or “pivot”) in the middle of a writing career without losing momentum or readers.

• Building a Creative Business for the Long Term with Natalie Sisson. Joanna Penn interviews Natalie Sisson about building thought leadership as a “leading learner,” practical strategies for designing a sustainable business, the relationship between blogging and book publishing, understanding when and how to outsource some aspects of running a creative business instead of handling every task personally, and cultivating a healthy mindset about money. Read the article.

• How to Reboot a Flagging Author Career with Michaelbrent Collings. Joanna Penn interviews Michaelbrent Collings about assessing mistakes or missed opportunities in a writing career with honesty and objectivity, managing time between content creation and audience outreach, and viewing gaps in knowledge as opportunities for exploration rather than failures by developing a mindset geared toward (or primed for) lifelong learning. Read the article.

• Business Mindset and Pivoting Your Author Career with Holly Worton. Joanna Penn interviews Holly Worton about mindset problems that hold writers back from succeeding with their books and business, getting past guilt over charging money as an independent author and understanding that it is normal to expect compensation for one’s work, and how she changed the focus of her books in order to expand her brand while keeping current readers happy. Read the article.

Thoughts on The Creative Penn

The Creative Penn is a podcast with hundreds of episodes. Readers can access the content in multiple forms, from an audio file to a summary of highlights to the transcript. In each episode, Joanna Penn discusses news in the publishing world, shares an update from her personal or professional life, and interviews a guest.

The blog focuses on Joanna’s journey as a self-employed writing professional and her recommendations for juggling multiple commitments and streams of income, such as book sales, professional fees from teaching online courses, and sponsorships for her podcast. As the author of both thrillers and nonfiction, she provides strategies for tackling both genres individually as sub-businesses and collectively under her umbrella brand The Creative Penn.

Writer’s Digest

URL: <WritersDigest.com>

Sponsor: Active Interest Media

Annotation

Writer’s Digest provides information to and serves a community-building function for writers interested in building their skill set and getting published.

Keywords

writing, editing, grammar, publishing, inspiration

Recent Content from Writer’s Digest

Writer’s Digest has discussed platforms for connecting with readers, guidance on grammar and commonly confused grammar rules, and aspects that influence the writing life and either fill or deplete creative wells, such as issues with or strategies for mindset and time management.

• 7 Tips for Effectively Engaging a Virtual Audience. Dima Ghawi recommends taking advantage of online platforms by providing registered attendees with a survey and tailoring the presentation to their interests and inquiries; dedicating a clean, distraction-free space in one’s home for the event; and approaching the presentation as a dialogue with the audience to mitigate the information overload and distractions listeners may be especially prone to in an online event. Read the article.

• 75 Grammar Rules for Writers. Robert Lee Brewer lists a variety of grammar and usage errors, each containing a link to a more detailed explanation provided on the Writer’s Digest website. This serves as a roundup post where readers can check out the list for topics of interest. Read the article.

• How to Write More in the Time You Have. J.J. Hanna offers productivity hacks that include evaluating current time and energy commitments, taking advantage of short breaks between events and meetings to write or think, and using tools and technologies that speed up routine processes, such as social media schedulers. Read the article.

Thoughts on Writer’s Digest

Content on the Writer’s Digest website ranges from specific grammar and usage rules to broader strategies for writing well to even broader strategies for cultivating a writer’s mindset and a healthy writing practice. The good news is, categories make it easier for readers to sift through the vast array of blog entries. In many cases, there is more than one mental map for the content available. For example, readers can find a group of posts based on the criterion of genre (nonfiction, fiction, and poetry) or writing goal (e.g., Get Published, Be Inspired).

It is important to note that the Writer’s Digest website is only one facet of the entire Writer’s Digest brand. WD also has a magazine and book series that relate to and overlap with the blog entries on Writer’s Digest.

Grammar Girl

URL: <QuickAndDirtyTips.com/grammar-girl>

Sponsor: Macmillan Publishing Group, LLC

Annotation

Grammar Girl is a blog featuring articles and podcast episodes about the English language, with an emphasis on history and culture.

Keywords

language, grammar rules, grammar myths, history, culture

Recent Content from Grammar Girl

Grammar Girl has published content on frequent misconceptions among grammarians, teachers, and everyday practitioners of language; writing effectively and ethically about challenging topics or times; and the national spelling competition, including the history of the bee and the status of spelling bees today.

• Top Ten Grammar Myths. Mignon Fogarty contextualizes common myths about the English language, giving writers permission to write in the passive voice, conclude their sentences with prepositions, split infinitives, and more. Read the article.

• You Have a Responsibility to Write Clearly, and We Have Advice on How to Do It. Mignon Fogarty interviews Roy Peter Clark about his new book, recent changes to his writing patterns amid the transition to work from home and weaker boundaries between work and family, and the value of writing clearly about topics that readers may find difficult to absorb intellectually, emotionally, or both. Read the article.

• The History and Glory of the Spelling Bee. Mignon Fogarty interviews Paige Kimble about spelling bee history, what encourages spellers to participate in a bee, and the idea of giving each speller a word of similar difficulty within the round. Read the article.

Thoughts on Grammar Girl

This resource provides best practices for and fun facts about writing in the English language. Hosted by Mignon Fogarty, Grammar Girl primarily comprises podcast episodes, including a handful of interviews with guests per topic.

Mignon pitches grammar as friendly, fascinating, and fun. Unlike some grammar guides, Grammar Girl does not address writing rules outside the context of their history and culture. This one strategy a) changes not only the size but the dynamic of the Grammar Girl community and following and b) transforms whether, how, and to what extent many people are willing and able to engage in meaningful thinking or working processes around the English language.

Thanks for reading!

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