Robert Medak is a freelance writer, editor, book reviewer, aspiring marketer, and aspiring
author. He spent 37 years in Telecommunications, upon retiring he decided to follow his dream
of being a writer. Robert has written or ghost written over 350 articles and 80 book reviews.
Robert began writing professionally in February of 2006. He wrote most of his articles from later 2007 to early 2008. He has written both technical How-To while in telecommunications, and nonfiction articles, how-to, and blog content since retirement from SBC. Robert was born in San Pedro, CA. He spent most of his life in Southern California. In June of 2008, he with his wife, three dogs and three cats, moved from California to a small town in Kansas.
Robert built a website where he offers his services, and maintains five blogs. Robert created a
social networking site for freelance writers at Freelance Writers, an invitation only site. He also
maintains a critique group at Yahoo Groups called “critiquings”. Robert created a course for
writers at Writers’ Village University (WVU), which he facilitated. He also facilitated other
courses at WVU, and helped establish a Creative Writing Workshop at WVU.
Robert believes in paying it forward. He is willing to help any writer in any way he can. He will be presenting at The Muse Online Writers Conference in October 2009. Robert is planning to
establish courses in writing and journaling at his local library for people of all ages.
Robert is working on a book about breaking into freelance writing.
Q: Why Hire a Freelance Writer?
A: A freelance writer has expertise in certain types of writing, such as SEO Web content, and more. Freelance writers can write about numerous subjects, and offer suggestions to freshen up your present content or offer suggestions on how to improve it with the proper wording and keywords.
Q: As an author, why should I hire and editor?
A: No author needs to hire and editor if they do not wish to. Since you are the
A: No author needs to hire and editor if they do not wish to. Since you are the
author of your work, you might be too close to the writing to notice subtle
nuances or minor errors. It is always best to have a second pair of eyes evaluate
your writing and to check for any possible errors in grammar, spelling, or
continuity issues. It is good to have someone check for verb subject agreement as
well.
Q: I have spell check and grammar check in my word processor, I do not need an editor?
A: Do not rely on the spell checker or grammar checker in your word processing program. These programs will not tell you if you have used the correct word only spelled correctly.
A: Do not rely on the spell checker or grammar checker in your word processing program. These programs will not tell you if you have used the correct word only spelled correctly.
As Mark Twain said, “The difference between the almost right word & the right word is really a large matter–it’s the difference between the lightning bug and the lightning.” You need a quality dictionary, thesaurus, and style guide to check your writing, or find someone to double or triple check your work. Editors do this for a living.
Robert Medak Writing & More is my business: http://stormywriter.com
My Wordpress blog about freelance writing: http://rjmedak.wordpress.com/
My Wordpress blog for kids and about animals: http://kidsandanimals.wordpress.com/
My Blog about writing: http://rjmedak.blogspot.com/
My Book review blog: http://rjmbookreviews.blogspot.com/
A list of my social media sites (subject to change): http://xeesm.com/RobertMedak/
Facebook personal page: http://www.facebook.com/robert.medak?ref=profile
Good post Robert. Personally I think that every book author does need to involve at least one editor (one to do a content edit and one for a line edit that looks for mistakes), and I believe quite strongly that the editor should be a professional. Speaking as a reviewer, a poorly edited book is really unreadable and will mark the author as an unprofessional, so it's critical!
ReplyDeleteInteresting, I didn't realize people use ghostwriters for book reviews. I do a lot of ghostwriting for business articles, and have done several children's books.
ReplyDeleteI love that Mark Twain quote!