Do You and Your Editor Have Different Publishing Goals?
Authors and editors frequently have different publishing goals. Most, not all, of these are rooted in their respective roles within the publishing business. Learn when you should listen to your editor and when it’s better to listen…
Red Ink Reset: Empathy Is Not a ‘Made-Up’ Word
In the aftermath of a politically charged and tragic week, it’s become increasingly clear that Americans aren’t speaking the same language when they refer to empathy, sympathy, and their synonyms. In modern usage, all of these words…
Y’all Need a Copy Editor: Native Icons Deserve Basic Respect
What's the problem with this obituary in Variety this week? An unfortunate misspelling at exactly the wrong place and time. While reporting on the death of Native actor Graham Greene, Variety's copy and layout team failed to…
Test Your Media Communications Strategies Before You Need Them
After more than a week of intensive regional and national scrutiny, accompanied by collective questions from shocked and saddened residents that may never receive fully satisfactory answers, among my observations stemming from this month’s local mass crisis…
A mass shooting struck our community. The rumors came after.
Last Friday, all eyes turned to our little corner of the Rockies for one of the worst reasons imaginable: yet another mass shooting in the United States. This time, someone walked into a bar in Anaconda, Mont.,…
Y’all Need a Copy Editor: HOW much alcohol are we allowed to drink, again?
Here at Words Collide, we’re not into grammar nazism. We do, however, believe that if you’re a well-resourced entity running a public-facing agency, company, or brand, you cannot afford to let messy or offensive errors destroy your…
Pantser Versus Plotter: Which One Are You?
Pantser versus plotter: an unending debate. But what about plantsers? Photo by Saffu on Unsplash. Author’s Note: This is an updated version of an archived post. Because of family commitments this week, I will be reviewing and…
We need to talk about Coldplay (and that viral Jumbotron moment)
An alternative PR storyline lies within the company itself: the hundreds of hardworking employees who are not presently mired in a scandal of epic proportions. At a moment when everybody is frantically googling who the heck Astronomer…
Y’all Need a Copy Editor: Sure, Let’s Just Ignore the Victims
Here at Words Collide, we’re not into grammar nazism. We do, however, believe that if you’re a well-resourced entity running a public-facing agency, company, or brand, you cannot afford to let messy or offensive errors destroy your…
Do you need a cover letter?
Some modern experts say no. Here’s why I think cover letters are essential to the job hunt. Ahhh, cover letters. The job hunting tool everybody loves to hate. They’re clunky, they take up precious time, and we…






