Writing and Editing

Send us Fan Mail My guest is Kristin Johnson, who is a writer, screenwriter, and ghost writer. She is the author of the award-winning and award-nominated book, Ain’t “U” Got No Manners? , a great book about social media etiquette that’s both accessible and well researched. She was a joy to talk to, not only about this book, but about parts of the rest of her writing career as well. LINKS Ain'...

Send us Fan Mail I discuss the small town in Texas where they considered closing the public library system rather than follow a judge's order to reinstate 20 books of "pornographic filth" to the shelves. Link: "Texas county roiled by book ban considered closing libraries," CTV News , April 13, 2023 https://www.ctvnews.ca/world/texas-county-roiled-by-book-ban-considered-clo...

Send us Fan Mail My guest is Bethany Nicole, who is a writer and relationship expert based in Los Angeles. She uses astrology as part of her work with individuals and couples. She has completed a book called Apologies I Never Got , which literary agents are now considering.  Links: Bethany Nicole’s Site https://www.bethanynicole.com/ Bethany Nicole’s LinkedIn Profile https://www.linkedin.com/in/be...

Send us Fan Mail I discuss the recent announcement by the Italian government that it is introducing legislation to levy fines on those who use foreign terms, when there is an Italian equivalent, in official documents. I also talk about similar prescriptive tendencies by the governments of France and of the province of Quebec in Canada. Sources: "Italian government seeks to penalize the use of...

Send us Fan Mail I talk about the use and origin of the word "incent," and its relationship to "incentive" and "incentivize." Plus, I may have developed a screenplay for a movie based on quotations from two separate definitions in the Oxford English Dictionary . Credit: Excerpt from The Decibel , March 29, 2023 (https://www.theglobeandmail.com/podcasts/the-decibel/art...

Send us Fan Mail I talk about literary fiction, using the example of one of the great novels of all time, Pale Fire by Vladimir Nabokov.

Send us Fan Mail I describe my own experiences in editing articles for academic journals published by a university press, both copy editing and proofreading. Wayne Jones's site https://waynejonesediting.ca/

Send us Fan Mail I talk about the revision and censorship of books that are carried out so as to rid them of words and situations that are considered too sensitive for some in the politically correct and woke ethos that we all now inhabit. ■ How to give me a rating or review on Apple Podcasts - visit WritingEditing.ca - go to Apple Podcasts at https://podcasts.apple.com/ca/podcast/writing-editing/...

Send us Fan Mail My guest is Audrey Jamieson, who is an editor and writer. On the editing side, she does developmental, stylistic, and copy editing. On the writing side, she does ghostwriting but also writes and has published fantasy fiction. We talk about editing as a business where people work with people. How to treat clients. How to collaborate. How to communicate tactfully. Audrey Jamieson’s...

Send us Fan Mail I have a one-on-one interview with ChatGPT while I am in my home office, and it is in a hotel room in downtown Ottawa, Canada, after it has somehow managed to stow away on Air Force One, the plane which brought President Joe Biden to Canada for an official visit. ChatGPT remained in Ottawa for a few days after the president returned to the US. My interview took place on Saturday,...

Send us Fan Mail I talk about the scourge of this phrase, which is much over-used in English these days, usually either joining two thoughts together without establishing the exact relationship between them, or as a clunky alternative to another word that could easily and more clearly replace it.

Send us Fan Mail My guest is Frances Peck, who was an editor and ghostwriter for 30 years, but last year began her career as a novelist, with The Broken Places , published by NeWest Press. The novel received much praise and excellent reviews. Her second novel will be published later this year. We talk a little about ghostwriting, but mostly about her novel, how she engages with book clubs, and abo...

Send us Fan Mail I discuss the purpose of a style sheet and walk through some of the details of what is included in a typical one. Wayne Jones Editing: Style Sheet Template https://writingediting.ca/wp-content/uploads/2023/06/Writing-Editing-podcast-example-of-style-sheet.pdf

Send us Fan Mail I talk about the origin of this 700-year-old English word as well as the numerous, diverse, and even contradictory meanings it has had over the course of its history. And wait for it: at the end is a saying using "nice" which, alas, we no longer have in the language any more.

Send us Fan Mail My guest is Joe LeValley, who is a former executive as well as a former journalist, but is now an award-winning writer of mystery/thriller novels. He has published five in the last five years, starting with Burying the Lede in 2018 and very recently with The Sophocles Rule , which was published earlier this month. We talk about the appeal of novels about murder in general, as well...

Send us Fan Mail I talk about my experience trying to get answers from FriesenPress about why their book prices are so substantially (30–50%) marked up on Amazon sites, and whether Friesen authors/clients know about this markup before they sign on with Friesen. FriesenPress https://www.friesenpress.com/ FriesenPress Bookstore https://books.friesenpress.com/ Writing & Editing Episode 143 https:...

Send us Fan Mail I talk about the origin of the word, its use in sexual and other senses, and the way it can be a euphemism shielding ugly truth.

Send us Fan Mail My guest is Pat Bradley , who is a Screenwriter and Director from Queens, New York. He has produced many short films, as well as the excellent full-length feature, Into the Valli , which is available for free viewing on his website.

Send us Fan Mail My guest is Sarah Chauncey , who was also a guest last October whom I was impressed with on many levels. Sarah is an editor, book coach , and writer. 

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Send us Fan Mail Hi, I’m Wayne Jones. Welcome to Writing & Editing . This is episode 147, which is 0.00159 Scaramuccis long . My guest is Neil Berliner , who is a comedy writer and coach. In his career, he’s also performed standup, and his writing has appeared in media from Mad Magazine to the New York Times to the Village Voice . He’s now also an author, having co-written the Ha Ha History jo...

Send us Fan Mail I talk about the basic clauses you should expect in any contract you sign with an editor, as well as some of the things that the editor should deliver or provide to you apart from the edited text.

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Send us Fan Mail My guest is Matt Witten , who now writes thrillers for a living after spending 20 years writing for television, including shows such as Law & Order and CSI . 

Send us Fan Mail My guest is Jane Friedman , who is an internationally known publishing expert based in New York. Jane has over 25 years experience in the publishing business, having worked as President and CEO of HarperCollins as well as holding senior executive positions at other major publishers. She’s the author of the book The Business of Being a Writer , produces the biweekly email newslette...