[NickFalk]

Interesting. I am however surprised that Jer's Novel Writer always seems to glide in below radar when people talk about writing apps. I find it a vastly superior experience to Writeroom even though it share many of the same traits.
Here's what I wrote about it on my blog some time ago.

[macproct]

Jason,
This video is great. I have always wanted to know the full details about this process.
I know you have put out the call in the past for a groupware text editing tool and were hoping that software developers would answer the call. Did anything ever come of that?
I believe Subetha was already in existence when you put out that call, and I doubt that it answered the need you had. But has google docs fulfilled your needs to the degree that you are no longer actively looking for a group writing/editing tool?
-Chris

[Jason Snell]

whitedog said:

I think the proliferation of typos both on the web and in print has a lot to do with the time constraints on publication deadlines these days.

That's probably 99 percent of the reason.

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To begin with, no one is the best editor of their own work. A fresh pair of eyes will almost always do a better job of rooting out errors than we can do ourselves. In this regard, I would think the collaborative strategies Jason describes at Macworld would be effective, both for collecting and collating content quickly and for proof reading.

Indeed. Also, one of the nice things about most Web-based tools is that you can preview articles before they're made live, and pass along a preview link to colleagues, so that they can check your work. We do that here as well. In fact, most of the places you see errors are (not shockingly) in places not covered by a preview tool (blurbs are a good example) or in articles that aren't read by someone else before they go live. Not an ideal situation, but it does happen due to time concerns.

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The most unforgivable errors, however, are in printed books and articles.

Indeed, which is why an organization such as ours tends to focus our limited copy-editing resources on items that will be forever fixed in ink and paper.

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I agree, the writers and editors at TidBITS are to be commended for the uniform high quality of their work.

I concur. TidBITS is an editorial organization unlike any other I've seen, and this is one of the places it really shows.

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I don't think writing is a dying art, though, despite all the error laden material we come across every day. The simple fact is that with blogs and other democratic forms of publishing, more people are writing more than ever before.

Agreed 100 percent!

[Jason Snell]

macproct said:

I know you have put out the call in the past for a groupware text editing tool and were hoping that software developers would answer the call. Did anything ever come of that?

Not especially, sadly.

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I believe Subetha was already in existence when you put out that call, and I doubt that it answered the need you had. But has google docs fulfilled your needs to the degree that you are no longer actively looking for a group writing/editing tool?

Google Docs is okay, but I wouldn't call our needs fulfilled. We really need a system that allows for better change-tracking and commenting. Google Docs doesn't do a very good job of that. TidBITS is, I believe, using BBEdit and Subversion, which is a nice idea but not exactly a user-friendly system in terms of change-tracking. Web-based tools such as Google Docs definitely bring us closer to that destination -- and from an unexpected direction! -- so I'm hopeful. But unfortunately, most tool-makers don't seem to grasp the way editorial workflows function.

[NightshadesMac]

Speaking of typos and such I've been using a more global strategy. I have nearly every app I own set to check spelling while I type which underlines any offending words as soon as the word is typed. This had lead to my spelling skills being reinforced so that fewer mistakes are made. Some may find that annoying but it has worked for me quite well.
Recently, the biggest mistake I've noticed in grammar is use of conjunctions. Far too often do I find a sentence that begins with but or and which are used to join ideas and sentences which is why they're called conjunctions in the first place. Maybe it's just me but I notice it all the time.
One more thing I do as an editing step is to have my Mac speak my text. What looks good in print can often sound awkward so this is a neat way to find those instances. All of these things might require too much time for fast paced work flows but I like to help and I hope someone finds use for some of my tricks.

[macpug]

Great video, Jason. I enjoy seeing the 'behind the scenes' coverage from time to time. Amazing how much things have changed since I was a newspaper editor using the old Mac Classic and Performa about 20 years ago!
Did you use ScreenFlow for the 'Desktop View'?
Love the stress-reduction tool used at the end of the flick :)

[Jason Snell]

NightshadesMac said:

Far too often do I find a sentence that begins with but or and which are used to join ideas and sentences which is why they're called conjunctions in the first place. Maybe it's just me but I notice it all the time.

That's what we in the biz call "style." If you're writing formal documents, following such rules can be a good idea. But to make your works readable in a more informal setting -- and the Web is so informal it's not wearing pants -- a loose, conversational style can be a Good Thing.

Sometimes mistakes are mistakes. Other times they're choices. That's all I'm sayin'.

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One more thing I do as an editing step is to have my Mac speak my text.

I'm actually reading my novel out loud as I edit it. Hoo boy, do the errors and bad passages stand out when you're trying to be a living book-on-tape.

[Jason Snell]

macpug said:

Did you use ScreenFlow for the 'Desktop View'?

Actually, the video shots for this one were entirely done in Snapz Pro, but I intend on trying out ScreenFlow for a future video.

>Love the stress-reduction tool used at the end of the flick!

Mario Kart Wii FTW!

[NightshadesMac]

Indeed. I never really looked at the conjunctions issue as a style but I can accept that with grace and civility! I don't mean to be the grammar gestapo and I do agree that much content on the web is more informal.

Sometimes I get English 101 flashbacks and shudder over how many mistakes I make these days! I'm going back to school for drafting and design so grammar foibles are the least of my concerns.