Writers and Editors

Updated 12-24.

You can learn a lot about editing online, sometimes for free. Here are good examples of what's out there:
• Edit a PDF (free trial, Adobe Acrobat)
• Editing in Acrobat — Just don’t go there! Editing is not one of the things Acrobat does well. Worse yet, Adobe periodically changes the interface — as far as I can tell, specifically to annoy us all. (Geoffrey Hart, Tech Talk, An American Editor, 12-6-24)
• PDF Markup Basics for Proofreaders (Adrienne Montgomerie, SciEditor, 9-23) Marking up changes on PDF production proofs uses the Comments tools, NOT the Edit tools. Watch the video to learn to use the tools that proofreaders (and other production pros like editors) need to mark up corrections on a PDF using the free Adobe Acrobat Reader (or Pro). A great way to show the process. Browse the site for more practical tips and information.
• Mark up text with edits (Adobe Acrobat) Scroll down to "More Like This" for helpful links to Sharing PDFs and collaborating, starting or participating in a PDF review, commenting and managing comments on PDFs, and filling and signing a PDF.
• How to use Adobe Acrobat Reader XI to mark up a PDF

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Poynter's Mallary Jean Tenore's column on what happens when newspapers make big mistakes (such as the Chicago Tribute's "Dewey Defeats Truman") and how "the provisional nature and accelerated pace of journalism can lead to error" and why "news organizations don't correct most of their mistakes -- and what they can learn from them." Her essay Read More