Archive for December, 2008

Guest Interview: Copy Editing and Custom Writing Service

Monday, December 15th, 2008

I decided to not inconvenience anyone during the holiday season with interview questions (even though they don’t take too long to answer). So, I’m going to converse with my alter ego, Wordy the Wordszilla Dragon, and see what transpires.

Mostly, I’ll reveal the latest developments with the company (i.e., Wordszilla’s new affiliate).

The Goods

Luis Bonilla: Discuss the new business affiliate for Wordszilla found on the Working Relationship webpage. Does this change anything for clients?

Wordy: Wordszilla has formed an affiliate with New Shoe Media, which is a local website design company. Basically, if they have clients that are in need of original, start-from-scratch website content (that is also SEO-friendly), Wordszilla will offer to be the writers for their website.

The new content creation service is only offered through New Shoe Media, as Wordszilla’s main services—copy editing and custom writing—will remain the same. Wordszilla will continue to focus on professionalizing clients’ existing text; the complete fabrication of website text will only be offered as a part of New Shoe Media’s website design package.

LB: What is the difference between Wordszilla’s custom writing service and the writing that is being offered for New Shoe Media clients?

W: Wordszilla’s custom writing service for websites utilizes the existing content and ideas from the client and enhances, professionalizes, and completes the text. For this custom writing service, Wordszilla will not create an idea but develop the client’s innovation for the online medium—including suggesting keywords that are SEO-friendly.

The writing service for New Shoe Media will focus on clients who do not have any content ready or created, as they are having a website designed. For this particular writing service, Wordszilla will conduct an interview via email and determine the themes and goals for the clients’ website in order to create the website content (which also includes keyword focus and other SEO suggestions).

Because the content will be originated by Wordszilla (and will take more time to create), there will be a higher fee than what’s posted on wordszilla.com. Of course, New Shoe Media clients are welcome to use Wordszilla’s custom writing service or copy editing service if they already have content that just needs professionalization.

LB: Will Wordszilla ever offer 100% creation of website copy on its own?

W: If Wordszilla expands its workforce, yes. At the present time, however, we prefer to focus on the development of existing content as it is more manageable for the current writing staff.

Interview Summary

Becoming an affiliate with New Shoe Media will hopefully benefit those who need full-service Web design; previously, clients had to provide their own website content.

Do you have a business that you feel would be a great partnership with Wordszilla? Please email me using the address below.

Ghostwriting Service - Copy Editing Service
Luis D. Bonilla
luis@wordszilla.com
Wordszilla, LLC

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Tips for Writing a Fiction Book (Part One)

Monday, December 8th, 2008

I plan to write a mini-series of tips for authors who are beginning to write a fiction novel. I feel that there are common practices between successful, engaging stories and will attempt to lay the groundwork for beginning novelists searching for fundamental principles that most readers expect from novels.

Know Your Story: Outline

Most beginning writers have a great idea for a story, but don’t have enough story for a great novel. Novels usually entail a vivid creation of characters within a particular time period and/or world and just having a “sweet idea” won’t automatically create a fleshed-out story. This takes some effort…this takes an outline.

I know that a lot of people will argue that outlining will destroy the creative process and inhibit spontaneity. I will somewhat agree in that too much planning could be corruptive to the flow of writing or story development, but not enough structure can lead to a truncated adventure, diluted characters, or too many subplots that cloud the main story.

The obvious thing to do is find your own happy medium with the outline…one that gives you enough structure to begin, tell, and end your story but allows for you to have some flexibility with your characters and plot.

One suggestion would be to break up your storyline in chapters and then write a short summary for each chapter. Doing this will let you visualize how each incident will begin and end, giving you a more focused plot while eliminating opportunities for wandering characters (unless your novel is actually about a wandering character, in which case I would still suggest an outline).

A benefit of writing an outline or summarizing each chapter is that you will have a definitive end which makes it easier for most people to write. It’s very frustrating for many novelists to just write, write, and write without knowing the ultimate destination. For many individuals (including myself), having the objective in sight gives more purpose to the story leading up to the end.

More to Follow

In upcoming Individual Project Topic entries I will discuss tips to help develop character strength and how to expand your main storyline to keep readers engaged.

Do you have any tips for writing novels? Leave a comment below or write to feedback@wordszilla.com.

Ghostwriting Service - Copy Editing Service
Luis D. Bonilla
luis@wordszilla.com
Wordszilla, LLC

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Quality Website Text for Hospitals and Medical Centers

Monday, December 1st, 2008

Hospitals and medical centers are institutions that people generally—fair or not—expect flawless results. From doctors’ intelligence to the diagnoses and procedures, individuals don’t want mistakes or unclear directions.

Likewise, people anticipate valid information and clarity when they visit your hospital’s website. If a prospective patient were to find your website peppered with inaccuracies or confusing directives, then how can they feel confident in the quality of your health services?

Listed below are a couple of common errors I have encountered while working on various hospital and medical center websites that, if remedied, will help to establish a positive reputation in the eyes of your online visitors.

Eliminate Unnecessary Medical Jargon

It is best to leave out unwarranted medical terms or phrases and use more common expressions for health conditions, especially if the subsequent sentences don’t explain them.

For example, there’s no need to say ‘acute myocardial infarction’ when ‘heart attack’ will do. If you choose to utilize medical terminology, then have a general term next to it in parenthesis or a brief explanation following the term to allow comprehension for the everyman.

Avoid Widespread Expressions

Perhaps this is more of a personal pet peeve, but does every hospital have state-of-the-art equipment and employ a highly specialized medical staff that’s second to none? Oh, I almost forgot that every hospital can cater to my unique needs. Really? What a glorious world we live in!

Statements like the ones mentioned above tend to be a little stale and really overdone. They might be true, but I think that you can personalize the message and make it your own. Don’t copy other hospitals’ websites, hire a custom writing service, do something to escape the robotic clichés that conform your site to all the others.

Helpful Grammar Tips

The following are some mistakes that are frequently found on websites that feature hospitals or medical centers:

  • There is a hyphen in the phrase “…in our 100-bed facility.”
  • In the phrase “long-term care” and “24-hour care,” there are hyphens as well.
  • Remember that “the staff is great” and “the members of the staff are great.”
  • The office, waiting room, cafeteria, or any other location should not be capitalized in a sentence.
  • Use either “health care” (my preference) or “healthcare,” but not both. Choose one and use that spelling throughout the website.

Professionalism

Implementing the aforementioned suggestions should help make your website’s content more user-friendly, professional, and able to be prominent online when compared to your competition.

Ghostwriting Service - Copy Editing Service
Luis D. Bonilla
luis@wordszilla.com
Wordszilla, LLC

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