Kelly Saxton, associate director of publications and managing editor for Paralyzed Veterans of America's Development, Marketing and Communications program, tells us why online publishing is no excuse for sloppy copy. Follow her practical ideas to keep your stories mistake free.

In today’s publishing environment — daily Web updates, fresh rotating content on your home page, blogs — does copy even pass an editor’s or proofreader’s eyes? Are spelling, punctuation, and style the sacrificial lambs of the electronic age?

I asked some current and former colleagues for tips on how they manage error-free copy. I didn’t get a lot of feedback; however, one person did suggest: “Don’t ‘F’ it up.” Great, thanks for playing.

But there’s some truth and guidance in that comment.

We should not let the pace of publishing keep us from putting out good, clean copy. What is it about online publishing that permits sloppiness and errors that would never be allowed in print?

So how do we keep from “F-ing it up”? Hopefully — or as a proofreader would correct — “I hope” the following reminders will help.

1. A Stitch in Time. When time is of the essence, having someone read your copy in sections as you write can save precious minutes. You can input initial corrections while other sections are read or while a proofer reads the finished copy.

2. Proof in hard copy. Whether it’s the freedom from monitor glare, the angle at which we read on paper, whatever — mistakes often are spotted more easily in hard copy.

3. Size Matters. In hard copy or on a monitor, increase the size of the type — and even change the font. Small things, such as dropped end punctuation, loom larger in 16- or 18-point type. And because serif fonts are easier on the language-processing parts of the brain, switching to san serif for a round of proofing will reduce the tendency for your eyes to skip over words.

4. Focus on prepositions. Because the brain processes nouns and verbs first and determines meaning, misspelled prepositions are often ignored as the brain and eyes move on.

5. Check Spelling Early and Often. Spell checking at an early stage during writing (in addition to doing it as a final step) will pinpoint problem words or phrases and help you to spell them correctly and consistently thereafter.

6. Search and Destroy. Take advantage of the search function, especially for names of people, places, institutions, or uncommon terminology, to compare all instances within the text. Search also can be used to ensure consistency of such things as “says” versus “said” or other stylistic concerns.

7. Check It. Fact check, especially proper names and titles. Do not assume the writer (or a previous proofer) verified it. And never rely on Web searches or random Web pages for verification.

8. Say What? Read the copy aloud or with someone else reading along. Many writers do this to improve construction and flow, but it is also useful for slowing down the eyes for sharper focus on each word.

9. One Thing at a Time. If you have time, proofread elements separately. Check spelling, and then focus on punctuation, headlines, subheads, etc. (see Tip #10).

10. Time It. Clean copy takes time. Making a posting deadline at the expense of a proofread should not be an option.

Labels: best practices

Sharon Machlis, the online managing editor for Computerworld, shares why it's important to constantly innovate, experiment and evaluate when it comes to improving communication among editorial staff or readers.

There's well-deserved emphasis these days on new technologies to engage with our readers — social networks for conversations, wikis for collaborative content creation and interactive databases to display compelling data. But we shouldn't forget that these types of platforms can also be extremely useful inside newsrooms, helping journalists to communicate with each other.

At Computerworld, for example, we started with a wiki to keep track of our online story planning so that everyone could see and comment upon others' entries. It worked well for quite awhile, but we found it didn't scale as more people began using the system and wanted easier ways of keeping up with who was doing what — without being notified every time someone made a minor edit.

Story Planning Tool. I launched an experiment with a database on the Zoho Creator platform; that's evolved into a customized story planning tool being used by dozens of IDG reporters and editors on three continents.

People can sign up for e-mail alerts about entries by specific reporters or by keyword ("Microsoft," "mobile," etc.), tag which stories should be included in our twice-daily e-mail newsletter headlines and quickly view information about upcoming stories sorted by date, status, topic, writer and more.

We still use wikis for other newsroom information that doesn't change by the minute, such as "how-to" internal procedures and training guides where anyone can add useful information about cool tools or new processes.

Decline and Fall of Ning. For the past couple of years, we've also been using our own internal social network, running on the Ning platform, for informal communications. It began as a useful way to share information, especially with our colleagues who are not based in the main office. It was an especially useful platform for brainstorming story ideas.

Eventually, though, it became One More Thing to Log Into and Check, and usage dropped among much of our newsroom as participation rose in other social networks. Unfortunately, there was no way to securely integrate posts from a private Ning network into any other social networking software the way, say, Twitter and Facebook streams both appear within TweetDeck. So we'll probably be dropping Ning soon — and that's fine. With minimal time needed for start-up and development, it was worth setting up and using during the time writers and editors found it helpful.

Social Networks. We're still on popular social networks to communicate with readers; most of us also try to leverage those external-facing platforms for internal use as well, such as signing up for each other's Twitter feeds as another way to keep up with what our colleagues around newsroom are up to.

Whether for our readers or for internal use, the plan is the same: constantly innovate, experiment and evaluate. In other words, try new ideas and platforms from time to time, keep what works and end what doesn't. Some ground rules that have worked for us:

• Look at what communication/information issues most need an upgrade in your newsroom and then seek out technology that might help you solve it. That often ends up more useful within the enterprise than discovering slick technology and trying to figure out how to use it.

• Bring users in early. You'll have more success if you seek advice from colleagues from the outset and are flexible about adding or modifying features.

• Keep an eye on cool new tools, whether at trade shows, by following some key information streams online or checking in with cutting-edge tech users. While tracking every new startup would be more than a full-time job, adding a few well-chosen tools to your arsenal from time to time can pay big dividends in your newsroom.

Sharon Machlis is online managing editor at Computerworld. Her e-mail address is smachlis@computerworld.com. You can follow her on Twitter at @sharon000, on Facebook or by following her Computerworld article and blog RSS feeds..

Labels: best practices, Social Media

As the economy struggles to right itself after the 18-month Great Recession, readers need business-to-business publications more than ever. But the recession has affected practically every sector, publishing included.

So how, with smaller staffs and anemic page counts, can you continue to deliver relevant content to your audience? Conventional wisdom states that those who work smarter than ever to succeed during the bad times will find themselves far ahead of those who hunker down and wait for salad days to return. Here are a few tips for working smarter and delivering practical coverage for helping readers to do the same.

1. Acknowledge the bad times. Don't hide behind Pollyanna optimism and spin, and don’t ignore what’s going on in the hopes that you’ll lift your readers’ spirits. This isn’t business as usual.

2. Offer hope and encouragement. As the editor of a publication geared toward insurance producers, the news isn’t always sunshine and rainbows. But with everything we do – illustration, photography, story tone – we attempt to imbue a sense of “you can do it.” It’s in nobody’s best interest to be so full of gloom that your readers decide to jump ship and switch to another career field.

3. Feature reader-generated stories and advice. My magazine features a two-person editorial staff and a less-than-amazing freelance budget. Yet our most popular story to date – one that has been in the top five most popular stories on our website every month since it first ran in December 2009 – was one called “52 Prospecting Tips for 52 Weeks.” We asked readers, regular contributors, and other experts for their best tips on finding new clients in a new economy. Often, five minutes spent putting a call out for such submissions – on Twitter, in LinkedIn groups, on your Facebook fan page, on the home page of your magazine and within its pages, via email – can net a feature package that serves your readers better than any 2,000-word staff-written story.

4. Run more content than ever. Your budgets and print magazines are shrinking, so this advice probably sounds crazy. But when you take advantage of the limitless space of your website, your social media presence, your blogs, you have plenty of space to bring readers the insight they need to survive. And when you turn to readers and industry contributors to supply you with this content, budgets shouldn’t be an issue.

5. Diversify your reach. Consider how different readers want to receive your content, and deliver it that way. Despite what you may think, this is actually a great time to experiment with new technologies and delivery media. Many companies and service providers are offering lower rates and free trials to try their technology. Can you experiment with ways to optimize your content for the iPad or mobile devices? Can you look into e-newsletters packaged around specific reader needs? What about digital publication of your online issues to expand your audience without cramping your postage and printing budget? Get creative now so your new strategy is firmly in place when the clouds begin to lift.

6. Talk to readers on their turf. The worst thing you can do is guess at your readers’ needs and blindly throw content at them. Instead, reach out to your readers on a regularly basis. Visit (and participate in) online discussion forums, amp up your social media presence and interact with readers where they already are, comment on blogs, attend professional events – even travel, if you can. Get personal. Find out what their pain points are. Then, you can figure out what they need before they need it – and deliver.

Christina Pellett is the editor of the Agent's Sales Journal, a business-to-business publication for life and health insurance agents. Follow her on Twitter at @cpellett.

Labels: best practices, Economy

As the editor of a business-to-business publication, I rely on outside contributors to keep our pages stocked with insightful content – content that’s especially relevant to our readers because it was written by somebody in the same position as them.

Whether the author is a company executive with high-level knowledge or a field professional with a firsthand understanding of the issues that keep our readers up at night, contributed content is the lifeblood of any b-to-b brand. But as essential as outside contributors are, they can present their share of challenges, as well.

Outside contributors have knowledge we can’t possibly possess about the industries we cover – but they also lack an understanding of the ins and outs of a newsroom. As journalists, we can’t expect contributors to know exactly what we do any more than we know exactly what they do. We do, however, have a responsibility to them and to our readers.

Here, then, are three best practices for working with outside contributors.

1. Be as clear as possible with expectations up front. We have a thorough document outlining the submission guidelines for our particular publication, which includes a mission statement, readership, deadlines, and pointers on style and voice. But outside contributors are busy with their day jobs, and while it’s ideal that they review and follow our three-page submission guidelines, it helps to cut to the chase. For us, the most important aspects of any contributed content are that it be nonpromotional and discuss the “how” just as much as the “what and why.” I make sure to emphasize that in the email where I accept the pitch, and attach the submission guidelines for their review.

2. Fact check, fact check, fact check. Never assume that your author has the facts straight just because of who they are. Cross-check every number, date, name, and fact. While you’re at it, run a plagiarism check. Often, plagiarism from an outside contributor isn’t a purposeful attempt at deception as much as it is a lack of understanding about what is and isn’t OK to quote at length. Recently, while fact-checking some figures in a story, I ran a block of text through Google to try to find a particular news story cited in the contributed article. That block of text came back – as having been pulled directly from a U.S. Patent application, along with about 600 additional words that appeared in the contributed story. It always pays to check – and check again.

3. Be flexible. Industry experts have so much to offer, so don’t stop at “no” after asking for a 1,500 word how-to article. If they’re too busy, find out if you can contact them later in the year, when the topic may come up again. Look at other formats – maybe they don’t have time to run an article, but they have 15 minutes for a phone call that will result in an informative Q&A. Maybe they can write a brief blog post. Be creative, and look for ways to leverage their knowledge in your publication.

When handled well, an outside contributor can be a rich source of content for your publication over time. They can offer referrals to other contributors, and keep you informed on industry angles you might not pick up in the midst of your own day-to-day tasks. Extra time spent with a contributor on the front end can pay off handsomely in time saved in the long run.

What about your own best practices? What have you found has helped you work better with industry contributors and get the content you need? Share them here in your comments.

By Christina Pellett

Christina Pellett is the editor of the Agent's Sales Journal, a business-to-business publication for life and health insurance agents. Follow her on Twitter at @cpellett.

Labels: best practices, Editing, outside experts