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In preparation for an exhibition, all objects undergo a thorough assessment of their condition by conservators. That was the case for Caramelo Deportivo, a 15-page album on newsprint paper bound with staples in 1940s Havana, Cuba.
Stephen, the-freelance-editor's insight:
During my longtime stay as an editor for the North Carolina Museum of History, I frequently worked with curators, educators, marketers, membership coordinators, fund-raisers, and even designers; but I seldom got to work directly with the collections staff, or conservators in particular. Yes, members of both sections served on exhibit and sometimes publications teams with me, but, for the most part, I only got to appreciate—and admire—their training, special talents, and experiences tangentially.
This blog post at O Say Can You See: Stories from the Museum (National Museum of American History, Behring Center) reveals some of the care taken to restore and repair just one item from that museum collection, a 15-page newsprint and staple-bound baseball card album from the 1940s. With detailed text and supportive images, Verónica Mercado Oliveras, a one-time intern and conservation technician with the museum, walks through the process of saving this heirloom album, which features 100 players from the 1945–1946 Cuban professional winter league. An accompanying post, "Caramelo Deportivo: A card collection that blurred baseball's color line," provides additional background and explains the importance of the piece—and its relation to American baseball history.
#HistoryMatters #storytelling #museums #NCmuseumHistory #museo #baseball #baseballLife #anEditor 
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Marketing collateral is a type of media or advertising material used along the sales cycle to highlight a company’s product or service.
Stephen, the-freelance-editor's insight:
Of all the content that we review, edit, and collaborate on at the-freelance-editor, clients are often confused about marketing "collateral"—writers in home-based and small businesses raise eyebrows at the mention, but so do folks from nonprofit institutions and government agencies.
This short article from Evolve Systems walks through a list of eleven collateral types and offers definitions, benefits, and common uses of each. Included in their list are
Take a look—I know I learned a few things!
#business #smallBusiness #entrepreneurship #writingAssistance #digitalPublishing #onlineMedia #mediaLiteracy #websiteContent #onlineMarketing #marketing #startup #anEditor
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Creating and implementing an overall plan and organizational structure for a website are important initial steps in website design.
Stephen, the-freelance-editor's insight:
new post from anEditor's Blog: the-freelance-editor team will be spending much of mid-September helping to finish planning and organizing a structure for the website Shenanigans-Alpaca-Ranch.com. If you choose to visit that site this month, watch the progression of content, as well—while the folks at Shenanigans and the-freelance-editor (with assistance from Mark John Productions) worked together before and during COVID-19 restrictions to complete a basic site plan and organizational structure for the site, owners of the ranch have continued to deliberate final content. Read the full post at anEditor's Blog...
#websites #websiteContent #OnlineMarketing #coworking #startups #onlineMedia #digitalPublishing
--image information: Featured image courtesy Shenanigans Alpaca Ranch in Brighton, Colorado! Shenanigans Alpaca Ranch is also online with a Facebook presence.
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"the-freelance-editor has decided to realign social media efforts to allow more time for LinkedIn and Twitter—and become active on Instagram." --artwork via NuMediaMarketing.com, where it was used (on August 8, 2017) to illustrate a blog post titled “Which Social Media Platforms Are Best for Your Business?“
Stephen, the-freelance-editor's insight:
new post from anEditor's Blog: Our main decision, then—though some materials will continue to post there automatically—involves a move away from regular use of Facebook. With that move, we will have more time to increase participation on our other platforms—especially LinkedIn and Twitter—and to become active on Instagram, which was one of our goals for this year, anyway.
#coworking #startups #marketing #socialMedia #onlineMedia #ghostwriting
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The internet is inconceivably large. In fact, it’s essentially endless! Sometimes it’s easy to find the information you need, but often trying to find something specific can be overwhelming and feel like looking for a needle in a haystack.
Stephen, the-freelance-editor's insight:
Whether researching, fact-checking, looking for background information, or just skimming around out of curiosity, we've all come to rely on internet search engines. This infographic from the News Literacy Project provides eight keys to narrowing searches and finding more relevant information more easily. Be sure to click "Download Resources" to get to the infographic. #coworking #startups #writingAssistance #onlineMedia #digitalPublishing #blogging #factChecking #onlineResearch
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"I don't often get to post about nature—or even science in general—so when I came across THE ARBORNAUT, a memoir by Meg Lowman, I did!" --artwork by Chris Leverett, for SRQmagazine.com
Stephen, the-freelance-editor's insight:
new post from anEditor's Blog: This excerpt from Lowman's memoir is not only a comfortable read but a good example for anyone considering—and you should all be considering—writing a memoir. I challenge you to read a little, then let her recollections trigger your own memories ... to write about family cars, elementary-school friends ... simple achievements and what seemed legendary defeats ... passions . . . and details in between. Those are the stories your family will want to have access to some day. #memoir #writingAssistance #historyMatters #localHistory #climateChange #WomenInScience #trees #environment
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Help students reflect on the social and emotional aspects of the movie and consider how their own emotions work. Via NextLearning
Stephen, the-freelance-editor's insight:
As someone who has often thought of creating (or gathering into one collection) teaching aids for films, I'm glad to have stumbled upon this post by Christine Elgersma. Once you get to her article, click on the author's name to find additional movie guides for other films. #storytelling #literacy #anEditor #teachingResources #LearningIsFun
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"2016 has been a year of anniversaries, some of them more notable than others. Already this year we have commemorated 350 years since the Great Fire of London (1666), the 950th anniversary of the Battle of Hastings (1066), and 1,000 years since the Battle of Assandun (1016). The"
Stephen, the-freelance-editor's insight:
"The 285th year since the infamous Cotton Library fire (1731) falls on 23 October." --as of the writing of this blog post, October 23, 2016
I had never heard of this fire, and the information in this post led to that knowledge, along with some other fascinating knowledge:
"Sir Robert Cotton (1571–1631) was one of the greatest British collectors of manuscripts of all time. His library was vast and of huge national significance, especially when one recounts some of the books and documents it contained: two of the original manuscripts of Magna Carta, the Lindisfarne Gospels, Beowulf, Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, the Cotton Genesis, the state papers of Henry VIII and Elizabeth I, the Vespasian Psalter ... one could easily go on. Cotton made his library available to other scholars during his own lifetime, and enabled certain books to be borrowed. ... [A]fter Cotton died, his manuscripts were accepted on behalf of the nation, and in 1753 they formed the first foundation collection of the new British Museum. ... This was the first occasion in the British Isles that any library had passed into national ownership, bringing with it ... the largest collection of Anglo-Saxon manuscripts assembled by any antiquary."
In the accidental fire, many of the collection's priceless manuscripts suffered irreversible damage from flames, heat, and water; surprisingly, though, a vast majority survived, some intact.
#museums #libraries #literacy #historyMatters #anEditor
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"Decolonization work and graphic novels may not seem like an obvious pairing, but in fact, the two can go hand in hand. In recent years, library workers have extended diversity efforts into the realm of comics with varying degrees of success. The explosion of children’s and young adult series, the branching out of new imprints and indie publishers into the format, and the expansion of representation efforts by superhero brands like Marvel and DC (in fits and starts) has meant that it is easier now than ever before to buy graphic novels and comic books with diverse representation. Yet decolonization in libraries—and specifically within collection development—has only begun gaining traction in the last few years."
Stephen, the-freelance-editor's insight:
This article begins by listing specialty booksellers and publishing companies that produce and distribute Indigenous stories and materials, then is followed by a short bibliography of relevant graphic novels and e-zines. But, if you read and scroll down far enough, you'll also find lists of questions and qualifications that can be used to start "decolonizing" programs and institutions as a whole. #literacy #decolonize #IndigenousPeople #historyMatters #anEditor
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Until I was 9 years old, my favorite part of the school day—the part when you could count on me sitting still, looking industrious, trying hard to be noticed for not standing out—was the five minut…...
Stephen, the-freelance-editor's insight:
My favorite paragraph? "And don’t just create one version of success. Have multiple versions of what it looks like to succeed, based on your stage and your aims, and even the day of the week."
@julieduffy, of StoryADay.org: you offered several suggestive thoughts of inspiration and motivation in this post! Thanks for sharing. [Loved the introductory story, too, btw.] #storytelling #writingAssistance
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Search Engine Optimization (SEO) should be a planned part of selecting, preparing, and posting online images to web pages and blog posts.
Stephen, the-freelance-editor's insight:
Search Engine Optimization (SEO) and use of keywords and phrases is usually a consideration when writing web page text or content for a blog post. But, SEO should also be applied to online images. #imageSEO #coworking #websites
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So I went to see Lady Boss: The Jackie Collins story at TRIBECA Film Festival the other night, and Jackie’s daughters discussed how their mum and the late actor Roger Moore (James Bond) woul…...
Stephen, the-freelance-editor's insight:
I haven't seen parts 1 or 2 yet, but this article does a pretty good job of touching on tangents related to communications etiquette, local marketing, "book blog tours" (which --though I've done some in the past and found them effective-- I didn't know were a thing anymore), and what to do if you happen to land actual "press" for your book. I'll have to check into the other parts! the-freelance-editor.com
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A quote from author Marlon James on the use of "classics" in schools and censorship of classic literature; from NPR's All Things Considered
Stephen, the-freelance-editor's insight:
New post from anEditor's Blog: I transcribed this quote from a story, “New podcast asks whether the classic novel Jane Eyre is relevant for readers today,” that ran on NPR's All Things Considered, December 9, 2021. [Jane Eyre was written in 1847 by Charlotte Brontë under the pseudonym Currer Bell and is widely considered to be a work of classic literature.] During the story, author Marlon James was asked about removing classic literature from today's curriculum and censorship of books considered to be "classics"; this was his response . . .
#mediaLiteracy #literacy #reading #teachingReading #historyMatters #anEditor #JaneEyre #MarlonJames #CharlotteBronte
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“We’re now seeing a 60% year-to-year increase in book challenges,” reports Andrew Albanese, Publishers Weekly.
Stephen, the-freelance-editor's insight:
I probably shouldn't have been surprised—after all, it is an annual fight in many areas—but according to this interview with Andrew Albanese, a senior writer with Publishers Weekly, "Efforts to ban books in public school libraries are surging." His statement came during this linked podcast from the Copyright Clearance Center and Velocity of Content. "While efforts to remove books from schools and library collections are not uncommon, this spike in challenges is different," he added.
In an accompanying article from Time magazine, "‘We’re Preparing for a Long Battle.’ Librarians Grapple with Conservatives’ Latest Efforts to Ban Books," by staff writer Olivia B. Waxman, Deborah Caldwell-Stone agrees. Executive director of the American Library Association Office for Intellectual Freedom, she is quoted as saying, “We’re seeing an unprecedented volume of challenges.... I’ve worked for ALA for 20 years, and I can’t recall a time when we had multiple challenges coming in on a daily basis.”
The podcast is just over 15 minutes long;
#mediaLiteracy #literacy #reading #teachingReading #childrensBooks #libraries #literature #education
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How do we go about defining the historical fiction genre? Find out the Historical Novel Society's interpretation.
Stephen, the-freelance-editor's insight:
I've written about historical fiction several times on anEditor's Blog (primarily because it's one of my favorite genres to read and edit), and in some of those posts I've touched on debates involving the genre—even its very definition. This short post from the HNS asks, once again, some of the basic questions about that particular debate:
When does ‘contemporary’ end, and ‘historical’ begin? What about novels that are part historical, part contemporary? And how much distortion of history will we allow before a book becomes more fantasy than historical?
Following a few short responses, and an introduction to some of the different "styles" of historical fiction, the post reaches its main message: a list of links to other discussions about historical fiction and what it is and isn't and can be and why. Some of the references are new to me, so I'll be checking them out over the coming days.
For anyone looking for a larger discussion, I recommend an earlier post from the HNS blog (written in 2002 by Sarah Johnson, then professor and reference librarian and book review editor for Historical Novels Review; I'm glad I found it again as my existing links fell on a dead-end 404 page). Its wording and tone are a little dated, but its information is still very relevant and helpful. I've always been partial to this definition that is stated here:
[T]he Historical Novels Review has a working definition, which we use for consistency purposes in deciding which books to review. To us, a “historical novel” is a novel ... in which the author is writing from research rather than personal experience.
This older post also lists more than a dozen excellent examples to illustrate the genre. As always, if you have a historical novel or other work in progress, the-freelance-editor is here to help when you need us. #historicalFiction #reading #historyMatters #storytelling #writingAssistance #anEditor
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The recent death of Don Everly stirred some childhood about music playing in the car while traveling with my mom... —image via MentalFloss.com, where it was used (on January 3, 2012) as artwork for an interesting discussion about driving distractions—with some cautionary statistics—in a blog post titled “When the Car Radio Was Introduced, People Freaked Out“!
Stephen, the-freelance-editor's insight:
new post from anEditor's Blog: The recent death of Isaac Donald “Don” Everly, acknowledged by some commentators and news outlets as “the last original rock-’n’-roll pioneer” at his passing, caused me to remember some radio days from my past—in particular, some early childhood recollections of music playing in the car while traveling with my mom and her sister.
#DonEverly #EverlyBrothers #HistoryMatters #storytelling #personalHistory #memories #anEditor
—image via MentalFloss.com, where it was used (on January 3, 2012) as artwork for an interesting discussion about driving distractions—with some cautionary statistics—in a blog post titled “When the Car Radio Was Introduced, People Freaked Out“!
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Guest blog post: After the death of George Floyd last year, senior pupils in a Scottish school approached a teacher to start an anti-racist school club. One year later, thanks to the club’s success and the pupils’ passion and wisdom, three senior pupils were invited to present at the school’s curriculum review meeting for Heads of Department before the summer holidays. These are the speeches they wrote all by themselves....
Stephen, the-freelance-editor's insight:
I'm not sure how this post landed in my reading pile, but I'm glad it did. Three separately written short essays by three unidentified students at this school in Scotland provide mere peeks into their experiences with racism, as well as thoughts about extending --not replacing-- school curriculums to include anti-racist lessons and reflections on racism and its direct effects. Additional resources on the website include an extensive reading list for adults and students and several lessons/activities for classroom use. A glossary of key terms related to racial power, racism, and colonialism may also be useful for some circumstances. As a side note, I think readers will appreciate the global enlightenment these essays provide: coincidently or not, the US is far from the only country (evidenced in this recent NPR story on Mexico City) currently dealing with these issues.
#historyMatters #literacy #mediaLiteracy #museums #memoir #racism #whiteSupremacy #allLivesMatter #culture #culturalIdentity
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"As students return to school and educators begin to plan for instruction that adequately challenges kids but also catches them up after a year of uneven pandemic learning, there’s a valuable opportunity [not only] to reconsider—and ultimately retire—some of the stale literacy practices that research suggests aren’t the best use of limited instructional time ... [but also to] look at a few ... fresh strategies that experienced teachers and literacy experts recommend instead."
Stephen, the-freelance-editor's insight:
Two elements of this informative article about teaching-reading practices surprised me.
First, that building upon a reader's current knowledge base --what those of us who are responsible for editing labels and educational materials in the museum field often call "background knowledge"-- IS (as I've always championed) important in the scheme of things (I frequently had to argue in support of this point with colleagues). From the article:
Background knowledge—about the topic and about the world in general—“plays an important role in helping students make sense of a text because the things readers already know work like a scaffold on which to build a more complete, and nuanced, mental model of the subject matter,” writes [educator and journalist] Holly Korbey. Try pre-teaching key vocabulary and concepts, and reduce the cognitive load by linking ... new, unfamiliar material to material they’ve already learned.
Another section of the article also supports the importance of background knowledge. "[B]efore sending kids off with a book, consider scaffolding the activity by pre-teaching vocabulary, providing a plot overview, and maybe introducing a K-W-L activity."-- what do you KNOW? what do you WANT to know, or learn? what did you LEARN?
The second element is more related to writing in general, and I was indeed surprised at the survey number and ages:
[A] 2019 report from Scholastic found that 83 percent of students ages 6 all the way to age 17 surveyed said that being read to was something they either loved or liked a lot—it’s also a powerful opportunity to model reading strategies, stopping frequently to wonder out loud and thus showing students “what good readers do when they don’t know a word, understand a plot twist, or agree with a character in the story,” [educator Christie] Rodgers writes.
I'm glad to know that one of our old-school practices was worthwhile-- and perhaps even more so with a little tweaking! The entire article is good for teachers of reading AND writing, as well as writers of all sorts.
#writingAssistance #teachingReading #literacy #reading #museums
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Many editors who review draft text have pet peeves. One of mine is the use of "there is" or "there are" as grammatical constructions!
Stephen, the-freelance-editor's insight:
new post from anEditor's Blog: The trouble with using “there is” / “there are” is that the wording creates a lazy, amateurish construction that can either remain ambiguous or result in using more words to make a point than are required when stating outright what is meant. #ThereIsThereAre #editorialExpletive #writingAssistance #digitalPublishing #onlineMedia #anEditor
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Freelance writing comes with its own challenges, from copyright and contract considerations to libel and slander claims.
Stephen, the-freelance-editor's insight:
Writer and lawyer Umair Kazi. also director of Policy and Advocacy for the Authors Guild, provides some insights into the confusing world of copyrights. In the US, he says, copyright is "framed ... primarily as an economic right; the author’s economic right to have a limited monopoly over their work.” Seems simple, but he proceeds to mention several present-day complications, including a paragraph on when writing for-hire projects might be a good idea and when they might not be such a good idea, as well as some considerations for reading contracts and understanding options for alternative publication outlets and licensing. It's a short and thought-provoking read. #copyright #blogging #digitalPublishing #anEditor
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Translating language seems like a simple outsourcing project. However, translation and transadaptation present differences for publishers.
Stephen, the-freelance-editor's insight:
A beginning discussion of the pitfalls of "strict translation" (as well as machine-generated translations)-- and the problems that incomplete translations create with everyday readings, museum labels, and other publications. #textTranslation #museums #literacy #anEditor
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Learn how to publish a children's book. Discover how to polish your manuscript, find agents, submit to publishers.
Stephen, the-freelance-editor's insight:
This article contains a lot of useful information for authors of any sort, but especially those who target children's books and middle-grade/young adult audiences. I found the few paragraphs on researching your market particularly interesting . . .
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This sounds facetious, and I did phrase it like this on purpose. But I’m also completely serious. The best thing you can do for your productivity is learn to write crap. For many years, I’ve had what you might call inconsistent productivity (You could call it minimal, but that’s just mean).
Stephen, the-freelance-editor's insight:
I've always told my clients to "just write"-- to not think too much, especially if they are facing a blank screen or piece of empty paper; just write. Thank you, @NathanHall for illustrating this process (and for the shout out to #NaNoWriMo). Continued luck to you . . .
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originally posted June 25, 2021; no text revisions to date— I was reminded today about the importance of applying an accurate setting in works
Stephen, the-freelance-editor's insight:
new post from anEditor's Blog... Make sure your works of historical fiction have some roots in history! #historicalFiction #YAlit #storytelling #historyMatters
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new post from anEditor's Blog:
Revising draft documents in Microsoft Word—especially after a substantive review by the-freelance-editor—can seem daunting, especially at first glance! With stricken text, redlined and highlighted suggestions, queries and notes in the margin to explain and guide changes, your “hilited” (to signify the text is highlighted with suggested changes) file can appear particularly so; the “acpted” (with those changes accepted, to ease readability, but notations remaining in the margin) file is only minimally better. However, if you take the suggestions one by one, any real challenges will be overcome much more easily. We trust the rewards will help you along, too. Read the full post at anEditor's Blog...
#writingAssistance #wordsmith #storytelling #MicrosoftWordHelp
image information: Both images consist of screenshots with Microsoft Word menus and an open document, manipulated in Canva by the-freelance-editor.