Pop quiz! Are you good at editing?

Give this a try and see… August 8, 2024 [The Writer’ s Life]( "The first draft is black and white. Editing gives the story color." — Emma Hill I have a fun quiz for you, {NAME} … Real quick: A. Baited breath or B. Bated breath? A. Deep-seeded or B. Deep-seated? A. First-come, first-serve or B. First-come, first-served? A. For all intensive purposes or B. For all intents and purposes? I'll give you the answers in just a second! But first … Do any of those ever trip you up? "Lay" versus "lie" is another one I always have to stop and think about. Here's a helpful "cheat" for it … Lay → pLAce, Lie → recLIne … So … he lay down his keys. ("Lay" means to place something down; it's a transitive verb and needs an object — in this case, the keys — to act upon.) She decided to lie down. ("Lie" means to recline; it describes something moving on its own into position or already in position.) As writers, knowing the right word to use at the right time is power. Making mistakes with word choices … confusing meanings of words … mixing up words like "capital" with "capitol" … is not only embarrassing but can cause us to look less professional than we want. That's why we stress holding the "final" stage of any writing project — the review and edit process — until you've let the copy rest a day or two, so you're coming to it with fresh eyes. But it's hard to review our OWN writing … Not just for words and grammar … but for clarity, readability, consistency, tone, and more. That's why if you write for AWAI, you'll be assigned [a professional copyeditor …]( We literally pay someone to edit every single piece of copy we publish … on top of what we pay the writer! I'm talking articles, blogs, social media posts, ads, webpages, news items, sales promotions, guides, products, scripts, and more. (It's a LOT!!) Copyediting is a great way to start making money in this industry ([more on that here]() … And every company on the planet can benefit from someone who can do it. Because when we don't pay attention to this last critical edit and review stage … this could happen … "When I was younger, if I'd known the difference between antidote and anecdote, my friend Bob Schneider would still be alive today. "He got bit by a copperhead; I'm reading him humorous stories out of Reader's Digest." — Ron White Now for the answers … B B B B How'd you do? Think you have what it takes to [be a copyeditor](? These folks love words … love improving and clarifying writing … love helping to make whatever was written shine and, ultimately, do the job it needs to do. In today's featured article, one of my favorite copyeditors, Mindy McHorse, shares five simple skills you should have if you want to follow in her well-paid footsteps (No. 1 is my favorite). 🙂 But before you dive in … just a reminder that our special $11 Barefoot Writer magazine deal ends at midnight tonight!! If you're looking to make money sooner rather than later … Or have been stalling on jumping in as a writer for any reason … Barefoot Writer will connect you with all the successful writers who have come before you … and help you create financial freedom from fun-filled writing. [>> Go here by midnight to grab it for just $11.]( To your success, Rebecca Rebecca Matter President AWAI Inside this issue: - [5 Simple Skills for a New Income Stream]( - [3 Editing Tricks to Catch Errors]( - [Indiana Jones Inspired This Writer to Explore Life's Possibilities]( 5 Simple Skills for a New Income Stream By Mindy McHorse Hands down, one of the best elements of life as a freelancer is the ability to constantly explore new ways to bring in money. Whether that means writing for a new industry, adding a new skill set to your professional arsenal, or building an entirely new income stream, it's all possible with a little bit of grit and focus. One of the most enjoyable ways to do all three is by learning how to copyedit at a professional level. It's something you can do for virtually any industry, it involves learning a new skill set that complements what you already do as a writer, and it has the potential to become an entirely separate income stream. If this sounds appealing to you, it's absolutely possible to learn copyediting from scratch. But you'll go farther faster if you already have some built-in skills to help you hit the ground running. Below are five of them that will give you an instant leg up if you want to join the copyediting world. [Continue reading here.]( Last Chance: Free Access to AMAZING Perks Through Writing Discover how to get everything for FREE, from weekend getaways to five-star meals to home improvement … Using ONLY your writing skills! The benefits that come with this kind of writing are limitless. You'll learn why this is and how to get these bonuses yourself in our special report, 130 Amazing Perks and Freebies for Barefoot Writers — yours FREE when you subscribe to Barefoot Writer. (Hurry — discount expires tonight!) [Save Now — Click Before Midnight]( 3 Editing Tricks to Catch Errors By Rebecca Matter It looks bad if your client uses copy that has grammatical errors … typos … or something worse, like misquotes or untruths … The latter could actually damage their business. So here are three little tricks you can use to catch errors … [Continue reading here.]( Your ALL-ACCESS Key — Just $1! Get instant access to this exclusive B2B writing community and ALL their private resources, including … All the success roadmaps … All the writing templates … All the articles … All the how-to videos … All 150+ training webinars … The Forum, the Job Board, the tutorials, the tools … And much more! [Go Here for More Details]( Living the Writer's Life: Indiana Jones Inspired This Writer to Explore Life's Possibilities A lot of people are inspired by the movies. But Elias Christeas' fascination with Indiana Jones taught him to explore, engage with, and discover all that life has to offer. He leveraged his passion for automobiles into a copywriting career where he began breaking sales records within a matter of months. Today, he is happily living his dream writer's life in Florida with his family. [Here is Elias' story …]( Bootcamp Early, Early Bird Deal Is ON! Bootcamp is THE must-attend "event of the year" for copywriters. You'll discover the latest insights and trends, hone your writing skills, connect with marketers who are looking to hire, and much, MUCH more. And TODAY you can reserve your spot and SAVE 80%. Don't wait and pay more … grab your seat now. [Claim your deal now!]( Featured Writing Jobs You can find these jobs and thousands more on [WritersWanted.com](: Copywriter, Sr. Analyst – Salesforce Full time, Indianapolis, IN Write and edit customer stories, ensuring alignment with the latest messaging and showcasing inspiring use cases in a clear, differentiated, and relatable manner. --------------------------------------------------------------- Content Writer – Dentons Part time, Remote Developing content, for example, answers to specific questions for allocated proposals and opportunities. --------------------------------------------------------------- Military Content Writer – Naval Aviation – Kaplan Part time, Remote Responsible for the review of provided information, and subsequent creation of study material via employer provided web portal. Trouble viewing this email? [View in your browser, here](. 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