Interlude: Editing Time, Boring Writing, and the Human-AI Handshake
Thank you to everyone who shared their writing challenges with me over the past few weeks. I received a lot of great responses.
The biggest trend was that you want to learn ways to write/edit faster and easier. So I'll be thinking a lot about what resources I can create for you to help with that.
And for what you've likely been waiting for: the winners of a free 1:1 coaching session with me are (drumroll, please)...
Alessandra N., Kathy G., and Peter S. 🎉 Congratulations! I'll reach out to you directly to set up some time to meet. I can't wait to dig into your writing challenges.
Now onto this week's round-up...
💌 Round-up
💻 From My Desk
Why Editing Takes So Much Time and Effort
I am often asked why professional editors take so much time to review documents—and why editing services can cost as much as they do. A professional editor will devote a lot of time and energy into refining writing by asking themselves many important questions as they read each sentence of a draft. This effort is an investment not only in the writing, but also in the authors and readers.
👓 Reading
Does academic writing have to be boring?
"Academia as a culture promotes some bad habits of thought and being. Too many people in academia think it’s more important to show that you’re smart than it is to communicate with somebody. In fact, a writer, fearing being called “not smart,” is going to construct all kinds of defenses that inhibit understanding and communication. It tells their reader, 'If you work like a sled dog, you might be able to understand it; unless you can’t, in which case, well, that’s your problem.'
I think too many academic readers have had the experience of pushing through academic writing that behaves that way. We’re not taught often enough that writing clearly and crisply is more apt to be seen as smart, more apt to gain respect — and also more likely to communicate learning."
🎧 Listening
Is the Human-AI Handshake the Future of CE? With Stephanie Preuss – Write Medicine Podcast
In this episode, Stephanie Preuss, Director of Content Innovation at Springer Nature, shares her thoughts on how AI can help with the publishing process. Although I disagree with her perspective that professional books and scientific articles only need to share information (I believe that storytelling is important here, too), I appreciated her perspective on how AI tools will help authors in the publication process.
🖥️ Watching
To Be or Not to Be: A Shakespearean Comedy Sketch
In this 2-minute comedy sketch, you hear several actors stress different words in the well-known quote, "To be, or not to be? That is the question." I think this sketch is a great representation of how readers could each interpret our writing differently.
🧰 Tools
Kit
This very newsletter is brought to you via Kit (formerly known as Convertkit). I've tested many email marketing tools over the years, and I appreciate Kit's simplicity, user-friendliness, and excellent support resources.
Thank you so much for reading.
Warmly,
Crystal
