Helpful Editing Programs

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Shayla

Shayla

WOW Framer
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After finishing the first draft of his life story, Dirk ordered two editing programs
online. They've been such a help to him that I wanted to share the links.


They are:

Autocrit:

http://www.autocrit.com/



& StyleWriter:

http://www.stylewriter-usa.com/



They provide a wealth of editing input that he's using on his first full re-write.
AutoCrit costs about $100.00 for a one year subscription. Stylewriter offers
different subscription levels. He opted for the top one, which provides for
a 'lifetime' subscription at a cost of $190.00. Worth every penny.
 
Thank you Shayla, I will be looking into both of them for my daughter. She is still working on finding a publisher for her books. (Although, for the past few months she hasn't had much time to write anything other than homework.)
 
Funny, when I saw the title of this thread my brain immediately thought it would be about photo editing programs.

Seems like today more folks are into editing their photos than their words.

Interesting, eh?
 
I thought about that, Steve, but chose to post it here, instead. That section seems to be
mostly about how to use the systems, especially as they pertain to the business of picture
framing, whereas this one is for general conversation. I know that we have several folks
here who like to write (ha....or at least write, whether they like it or not), and wanted to
have a chat about it. It's more about literary creativity than about techie stuff.

Susan, I'm glad you find it interesting. He's commented that they vary slightly from one
another, and I'd be glad to ask him to elaborate on that difference. I'm a fairly adequate
copy editor and have helped with the writing, but these take it to another level.

If anyone else here has found a helpful editing program, feel free to post about it.
Or, just to talk about your writing experience in general. Over and out....
 
I've been pretty happy with the one I started investing in about 8 years ago...
It does what those do..... and a whole lot more... it kicks me in the shins
when I probably need it or at least deserve it....
and it's been known to "talk sternly" to me.... when I definitely need it....
But you can't buy it on-line....
It's an investment thing....
It's called MarUltimate....

Now if I can just get her to commit to a 19 book deal . . . :thumbsup:

But if she tells me I need to get those two programs.... it's a done deal,
thanks Shayla. I didn't even know such a thing exists.
 
Oh Baer, it only seems like 8 years! :party:

If one of those editing programs could deal with niggling little problems like punctuation, it would make dealing with context and dialect and continuity a lot easier.

You used the word "eviscerate" in describing your last editor's efforts.

One of those programs might be worth investigating.

I have discovered as a human being, reading the same material over and over again causes my eyes to cross and my brain to freeze. Maybe some computorial assistance would be a good thing...
 
One of the "Hot" programs is Grammery....

but at $15/month..... that is out of the question.
and I noticed that the $117 for AutoCrit is an
ANNUAL......

StyleWriter at $190 may be the one I can sneak past the CFO....
seeing how she sneaked a new crown past me.... along with
a Huskies jacket..... (well, I can't really fault her for the purple jacket...
I just want Castle's blue jacket..... signed by Fillion (Richard Castle).)
 
OK, Mar, I just spent your Christmas present money.....

yah, and they didn't want the DeSerre's card either.

I looked and tried the $190 pro editor one.... and didn't see the
advantage over the $150 standard.....

so I will only send you things that have been through the grinder
enough to get great scores and readability....
 
I do not understand how these programs work. Is this software that you apply to your manuscript as one would apply Photoshop to a photo? Or do you send your manuscript to a person who uses the software?

Do they know the difference between a novel and a technical article? Or journalism?
 
Markoc said:
I wonder why they are by subscription? Does proper grammar change on a yearly basis?
Click to expand...

I think it's along the lines of "the more you use it the more it's worth and the more you pay".

It's just the model they've chosen. They could have decided to sell it outright for $899 (or whatever), but figure that some people may only need it for one or two years and would be more willing to pay a smaller amount. Someone who uses it regularly can probably justify having the latest model whenever it's refreshed. That would no doubt include things like changes to grammar (yes, they do happen) and spelling (added words, etc), but also things like platform compatibility, etc.

Some people prefer to lease a car every two years and will never stop paying and never have anything tangible (as relates to the car). Others will buy a brand new car on a loan, and use the equity towards a new one when the loan is paid off, or keep it an additional 5 years and use the money they saved to buy a new one. It's all a matter of choice.
 
Framar said:
I do not understand how these programs work. Is this software that you apply to your manuscript as one would apply Photoshop to a photo? Or do you send your manuscript to a person who uses the software?

Do they know the difference between a novel and a technical article? Or journalism?
Click to expand...

Oh Mar..... I wish you were sitting here when I cracked open the demo..... you could have slugged
me on the arm a zillion times chanting a mantra of "That's what I've been telling you a billion times."

The important thing with StyleWriter is that it is an "Add-In" to Word. So when you are ready for it
to work it's magic.... you click on the new tab/button and it comes up. Click on StyleWriter and
it opens an "over-lay" window that is a dashboard. The large window is your document, with all the
"correct-ables" colored or highlighted. It is the most intuitive program I have played with.

Any correction you make in the StyleWriter is automatically made in the Word doc and vicky vacky.

Chap1andStyleWriter.jpg


top left box is the sentences.... length, and problems..... in stylized bars.
Across the bottom is the important stuff... Bog (words that bog down the reading = lower score the better)
Then Style..... with some streamlining it will be above average... Sentence length (they like about 12-14 words)
Grade level written for..... so half-way through the eighth grade is "easy", and a low score of use of passive verbs/
hidden verbs and "glue" words, is great. (Mar, you trained me well on that score)

As you make changes and tighten the writing, the "grades" along the bottom change in real time.... so you can see
where you're at.
 

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Color coding, eh? What a wonderful idea! *Snork*

If you don't break it, maybe it will break you (of your bad habits), dearest Baer.

(tee hee)

Baer has a new toy!!!
 
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