Felt the need to write a bit rather than just post the URL. I started blogging as a hobby about 4-5 years ago, and recently decided I'd have a crack at some more professional writing while still at uni. I'd like to ask for you (The readers of HN) for feedback on my article. Bear in mind this article was originally written for Smashing Magazine, however after completing the article, they decided it wasn't exactly what they had in mind. I feel it fits better on tutsplus anyway, so I'm not disappointed really. I've had no comments on the article so far, but see some people have been "liking" it =]
Please be honest and constructive, I'm trying to improve my writing ability.<p>http://wp.tutsplus.com/articles/how-to-change-your-wordpress-workflow-for-the-better/<p>Thanks in advance.
(I feel the feedback would be more valuable if you include your profession.)<p>Edit: Regarding the error with "Procedures and doing things in the right and expected order, is in my opinion, is paramount", this was not in the article submission I made, and possibly an editorial error. Thanks all the same.
This post is brutal. _Sorry_ in advance. Feel free to ignore it. (But I suggest, in a friendly way, that you read the link provided at the end.)<p>>you it’s wears.<p>Possessive its has no apostrophe. And that should be "wares", not "wears".<p>This next sentence is where I stopped reading.<p>>Procedures and doing things in the right and expected order, is in my opinion, is paramount to making work easier for everyone, so I’ll also be addressing that issue.<p>Repeated "is" and oddly placed commas meant I couldn't remember what you were trying to say.<p>I know that these are tiny little things. And maybe I should concentrate on the meaning of your piece. But those errors broke my concentration; they got in the way. Sorry.<p>The Underground Grammarian expresses it better than I can, in "Trifles" (chapter 6 of "Less Than Words Can Say").
<a href="http://www.sourcetext.com/grammarian/less-than-words-can-say/06.htm" rel="nofollow">http://www.sourcetext.com/grammarian/less-than-words-can-say...</a><p><a href="http://www.sourcetext.com/grammarian/" rel="nofollow">http://www.sourcetext.com/grammarian/</a>
<p><pre><code> > Everyone knows you should proof read your
> own work, but it can be easy to forget.
</code></pre>
Someone else pointed out:<p><pre><code> > ... to show you it’s wears.
</code></pre>
This should be:<p><pre><code> > ... to show you its wares.
</code></pre>
This:<p><pre><code> > ... Procedures and doing things in the right and
> expected order, is in my opinion, is paramount ...
</code></pre>
should be:<p><pre><code> > ... Procedures and doing things in the right and
> expected order is, in my opinion, paramount ...
</code></pre>
Later you say ...<p><pre><code> > ... so let's move on to the functionality of this one.
</code></pre>
Do you mean "that one"? What is "this one"? You really need to avoid using dangling or ambiguous referents.<p>In my opinion, the level of detail about the reminders plug-in is out of place. I don't really want to know the ins and outs of using it - if I'm interested I can look it up (if you give me a link) and if not, you've just lost me for the rest of the article.<p>You start the section on EditFlow thus:<p><pre><code> > The early versions of EditFlow were pretty basic,
> allowing you to add custom post statuses.
</code></pre>
I nearly stopped reading here - I don't know what EditFlow is or does, and you haven't helped me.<p>Later I came to this:<p><pre><code> > One feature I'd like to see, is auto subscribing
> a usergroup when the a post status is changed to
> pending review.
</code></pre>
At this point I did stop reading. I'm now lost - I really don't understand where you're going, or why, and I no longer see any point in reading further. The constant typos and grammatical errors <i>really</i> get in the way, and it feels like there's no arc or narrative.<p>This screen-shots/images are too big and break the flow without really helping the point much, and don't seem to have much relationship with the text.<p>So in summary, there is no narrative, no thread, excessive detail, and loads of avoidable distractions in the writing. It also feels too long.<p>All this is my opinion, of course, and I hope most of my criticisms can be turned to constructive suggestions. That's your homework.
I was the other day looking around for ways to improve me writing as well. All I could find were some professional writing coaches targeting book authors. Maybe there would be a place for an affordable service that helps/coaches blog authors who aspire to become columnists/getting in magazines published.