Writing & Editing

My guest today is Amy J. Schneider. Amy is a copy editor and proofreader, and most recently an author as well: her book is The Chicago Guide to Copyediting Fiction , one of the guides in the series by the University of Chicago Press. We talk about her career and mostly delve into and discuss some of the details in the book. This is “How to Copy Edit Fiction the Chicago Way,” episode 214 of the pod...

hi, I’m Wayne Jones. Welcome to Writing & Editing , the podcast about books and language, for people who write, edit, read, or listen. My guest today is Tyler Schwanke, who’s a writer and filmmaker based in Minneapolis in the US. His debut novel Breaking In , which he calls a “comedic crime thriller,” was published earlier this year. In it, a young filmmaker uses her heist movie knowledge to p...

My guest today is Natasha Tynes. She is a Jordanian-American author and communications professional based in Washington, DC, and also hosts her own podcast as well. We talk about the various genres she works in, including They Called Me Wyatt , which she describes as a “speculative literary novel,” and also about her writing process. ◘ Natasha’s Website http://natashatynes.com

Welcome to Writing & Editing , the podcast about words and language, for people who write, edit, read, or listen. This is the third episode of the series called “Editing Essentials” that I’m doing with my co-host, Jennia D’Lima. Hi, I’m Jennia, a freelance editor based in Maryland. Wayne and I will be having open conversations about a whole range of editing topics that a writer at any level sh...

My guest today is Kathy Otten. Kathy has published fiction in many forms and genres, and has won awards for her writing. She teaches writing as well, and has been a freelance editor for a few years. I asked her to come on the podcast to talk about not only being a book coach, but also the certification process for that, which she completed last year. ◘ Kathy’s Website

My guest today is Susan Murphy. Susan has worked in broadcasting for over 40 years. A radio news director. A TV news reporter. And, as she says, a “‘weather girl’ back when they called them that.” She’s hosted a talk show and worked in production for both TV and radio. And much more. I asked her to be a guest on the show to talk about voice, in the literal sense of the sound you make with your mou...

My guest today is Cathy Perez. Among many other accomplishments and abilities, Cathy is a Worldwide Certified KonMari Organizing Consultant. We talk about organization, in the sense of being organized, and how the lack of it can have a real effect on how you feel and on how productive you are able to be. She provides information based on her training as well as on personal and professional experie...

My guest today is Tonya Ellis. She’s a children’s author who has independently sold over 150,000 books in her Sophie Washington chapter book series and recently signed a deal for a picture book with HarperCollins. I invited her on the show though to talk in more general terms about writing books for children, how a writer writes for their level without writing down to them, and how the whole thing...

My guest today is Rai Cornell. She has worked in  copywriting, content creation, and web development for 15 years, and now runs a successful marketing firm providing advice to a range of clients, large and solo. I asked her to be on the show to talk about the business of being a freelancer, especially as a writer or editor. And she came through, talking articulately from a base of solid knowledge,...

My guest today is Danny Brassell. He’s a former inner-city school teacher in the US, and now does many things as a writer, coach, and speaker. But I’d asked him if we could focus on his efforts to increase the habit of reading by children. He was a pleasure to talk to: articulate, enthusiastic, and funny too. ◘ Danny’s Website https://dannybrassell.com/ Get Danny’s Book for Free https://freegiftfr...

I’m thrilled to say that this is the premiere of a series of episodes called “Editing Essentials” that I will be doing with my co-host, Jennia D’Lima. Jennia is a freelance editor based in Maryland. She and I will be having open conversations about a whole range of editing topics that a writer at any level should know about editors and the editing process. Our plan is to do two of these per month,...

My guest today is Michael Stangeland. He published a sci-fi novel earlier this year called Junkworld: The Ballad of Leroy Brown . We talk about this a little, but we mostly concentrate on the desire to create things in the first place, how it often starts young, and how a writer manages to get things finished. ◘ Michael’s Junkworld on Amazon https://www.amazon.com/Junkworld-Ballad-Leroy-Mk-Stangel...

My guest today is Haji Outlaw, who is a former touring standup comedian, and now is a comedy writer, and has written a series of books called Hey Doorman , about his experiences as a bouncer at comedy clubs. We talk about his career, his writing method, and some of his favourite out comedians. ◘ Haji’s Amazon Author Page https://www.amazon.com/stores/author/B00NY5KH9M

My guest today is Angel Pretot. He’s a teacher and coach for people who want to learn French. He’s written two novels in French, but our discussion focuses on pedagogy—how does one teach another language?—and well as the differences between English and French and some of the difficulties teaching English. ◘ Angel’s Website https://www.frenchfluency.net/about ◘ Writing & Editing Website https:/...

My guest today is David McBee. David is a podcast host, children’s book author, and public speaker. He’s read a lot of self-improvement books, and then wrote his own, Everyday Lessons Every Day , the story of how reading helped him overcome anger issues that nearly destroyed his family. We have a wide-ranging, open, and fascinating conversation about all that, plus the effect of his cancer diagnos...

My guest today is Cleoniki Kesidi. Cleoniki is a freelance copywriter who writes marketing materials for various clients. As she puts it, she uses her storytelling skills to write “compelling marketing materials that spark emotion and drive action.” I also noticed in her profile that she said she has “a knack for explaining complex concepts clearly.” ◘◘◘ Cleoniki’s Website https://cekcopywriting.c...

My guest today is Fernanda Barajas. She’s a copywriter who does work for several different companies. She also hosts a podcast, and writes a blog, called My Impression Of , where she reviews and discusses books, movies, series, authors, and songwriters. She mentions in her profile the importance of stories, and I asked her to be a guest on the podcast to talk about the importance of words —instead...

My guest today is Mary Beth O’Connor. She’s a retired judge now, but in January she published a personal memoir that was far from legalese. The title kind of covers it: From Junkie to Judge: One Woman’s Triumph Over Trauma and Addiction. The language is frank and the story has got compelling built in. ◘◘◘ Mary Beth’s Website https://junkietojudge.com/ The Book https://www.amazon.com/Junkie-Judge-W...

I’m solo today and the topic is the English language, specifically one of its very recent words: stonk . It’s a nice case study of one of the ways in which new words come into the language. First, they’re known by only a few people; then there’s a niche who know about the meme (if it was coined online, as stonk was); and then it starts to gain some acceptability (appears in dictionaries, for examp...

Before I start the show and the conversation with my guest, I want to let you know that I’m changing the frequency of the podcast from three episodes a week to two episodes a week. The main reason is that I am now in the process of working with the folks who are helping me edit and ultimately publish the book I’ve written. (It’s called My Sam Johnson , and I am aiming for publication in September....

My guest today is Debbie Ausburn, who says that she makes a living as a lawyer but what she does with her life is, as she puts is, “take care of other people’s children.” In fact, children, and especially at-risk children, are the focuses of many aspects of her life—as a foster parent and a stepmother, but also as a now former federal prosecutor of child abuse and violent crimes. The circle was of...

My guest today is Steph Katzovi. She has a law degree, but she has spent most of her career as a speechwriter and strategic communications consultant. Now, though, she’s published a middle-grade novel about a girl who is away at camp when a hurricane comes. There are intentional life lessons in the book, and part of what I was interested in was how she maintained the balance between the book being...

My guest today is Robin Schepper. For more than thirty years, she served at the highest levels of American politics and government, including presidential campaigns, and she was also executive director of Michelle Obama’s anti-obesity initiative, Let’s Move! She’s just published a memoir, and I was interested in some of the details in it as well as how she went about writing it . How do write abou...

My guest today is Michael Wallach. He’s a screenwriter, but he’s also now produced a timely documentary about COVID-19, calling it a “viral delusion.” He’s worth listening to for an alternative take on the three years of lockdown and crisis we all went through. —– The Viral Delusion: The Tragic Pseudoscience of SARS-CoV2 & the Madness of Modern Virology https://paradigmshift.uscreen.io/

I’m solo today and I want to talk about one of the three things that you should get back from your editor when they send you back your edited text. One is that document. The other is the style sheet, which I covered in a previous episode (see the show notes). And the other is a carefully and clearly written cover letter. Writing & Editing Episode 155: What Is An Editor’s Style Sheet and What I...