How Do You Write an Editor?
- Sep
- 03
- 2018
- Posted by Tammy Ditmore
- Posted in Editing, Publishing, Writing

You’ve finished your book / article / story, and you’re ready to hire an editor. You search the internet, find the names and email addresses of some promising-looking editors, and pick out a few to contact. Now what? What should you say? How do you write a message that will get a response from an […]
How Do I Remove My Name from Word 2016 Documents?
- Jan
- 21
- 2018
- Posted by Tammy Ditmore
- Posted in Editing, Writing

My recent update to from Microsoft Word 2011 to to 2016 (for Mac) continues to offer many chances to learn something new. So What I Learned This Week in Editing again is about a changed feature in Word 2016. How Do I Remove Personal Information from a File? When a number of people are working […]
Add Track Changes Toggle to Bottom of Page in Word 2016
- Jan
- 15
- 2018
- Posted by Tammy Ditmore
- Posted in Editing, Writing
A friend moved his family to Germany a few years ago, and he started posting regular updates on Facebook called “What I Learned This Week in Germany.” The posts are filled with witty observations about the differences of life in Germany and the U.S. or very practical tips about how to accomplish some task in […]
Two Opportunities for Ventura County Writers
- Oct
- 20
- 2016
- Posted by Tammy Ditmore
- Posted in Editing, Events, Publishing, Writing

Two opportunities for Ventura County writers to learn more about the craft and the world of publishing are coming up in the next couple of weeks. In the first, editor Dennis Mathis will discuss his working relationship with author Sandra Cisneros. Mathis will speak at an October 27 dinner/lecture co-hosted by the Small Publishers, Artists, and Writers Network […]
Watchman vs. Mockingbird: An Editor’s View
- Jul
- 30
- 2015
- Posted by Tammy Ditmore
- Posted in Editing, Publishing, Writing

Last week, like book-lovers around the world, I read Go Set a Watchman, the newly released manuscript by Harper Lee. Then I re-read To Kill a Mockingbird, Lee’s beloved novel released in 1960. Because I had already seen some reviews and articles about the two books, I wasn’t surprised to find that Watchman was a […]
Ode to the Squiggly Red Line
- Jan
- 30
- 2015
- Posted by Tammy Ditmore
- Posted in Editing, Writing
I’ve been proofreading on paper this week, and I’ve missed my squiggly red line. You know the one: the thin red line that pops up on the computer screen when Microsoft Word thinks it has detected a misspelling. I’m a good speller—and a good editor—so I can spot most misspelled words with or without Word’s assistance. But without […]
The Words Behind Selma
- Jan
- 20
- 2015
- Posted by Tammy Ditmore
- Posted in Events, Writing
I went to see the movie “Selma” tonight, and I loved it. The movie is a powerful portrayal of events so recent that they were never included in my history schoolbooks but so distant that I can scarcely believe they happened in my country in my lifetime. The movie, which was directed by Ava DuVernay, […]
Voice of a Writer
- Jan
- 11
- 2015
- Posted by Tammy Ditmore
- Posted in Writing
As an editor, I pay a lot of attention to a writer’s voice. Any corrections I make or any revisions I suggest need to fit seamlessly into a piece so that they sound just like the author originally wrote it that way. I just finished reading a book that took the concept of voice to a […]
Can Editors Find Love?
- Nov
- 17
- 2013
- Posted by Tammy Ditmore
- Posted in Editing, Publishing, Writing
A few months ago, I wrote the Top 10 ways to Make Your Editor Love You. It only seemed fair to write the flip side, giving editors some tips for How to Make Your Author Love You. The tips for editors were published in the September/October issue of The Freelancer, the bimonthly newsletter of the Editorial […]
A Working, Learning Writers Weekend
- Sep
- 22
- 2013
- Posted by Tammy Ditmore
- Posted in Editing, Events, Publishing, Writing
I came to the Central Coast Writers Conference to serve on a panel of editors to help teach would-be authors a few things about writing and publishing. I hope that I did that in some small ways. But as usually happens to me in these situations, I feel like I’m the one walking away with […]
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I wanted to take a moment and thank you for your wonderful work. I marvel at your eye for detail and your ability to make a written text so much better.
This book has been a major effort for me over the past 15 years—both emotionally and in time commitment. Your feedback helped me give it structure. Your insightful questions encouraged me to go deeper in my understanding and intentions, which provided enhanced clarity. Your recommendations provided a professional perspective that I needed towards getting it published. Thank you so much! When entertaining any future writing projects, you will be the first person I contact.
I can’t believe my good fortune to have found Tammy to edit my nonfiction book. I had narrowed down my editor search to ten; then I took advantage of their free sample offers. Nine of the editors were okay. Tammy’s edit, however, really showed her strength for detail and content development. I was absolutely wowed. She suggested, for example, how to improve the Introduction’s hook, added sentences that clarified a paragraph’s thought better, and deleted unnecessary words. She also mentio… Read more
Tammy Ditmore is an excellent editor. My writing improved grammatically, in structure, and clarity under her skilled eye.
I had a book manuscript that had a thorough edit by a copy editor, but there were many changes made and I wanted another set of eyes to look at it carefully. So I hired Tammy Ditmore to do a “final” proofread and flag anything that she found awkward, confusing or ill-fitting. That is a difficult job—to look both for errors and to comment, but that is what I needed. Tammy took it on and did a great job. Tammy also understands a schedule and finished the work on time—even ahead of time. Thank … Read more
Tammy Ditmore was the consummate professional. She was very humble in dealing with me and tailored her editing style to fit my specific needs. She was prompt and punctual with deadlines and was very open to communicating with me. I would hire her again in a heartbeat.”
Tammy is just amazing. Before my book made it over to Tammy, I had used two editors — one a well-known author in NYC. I was unhappy with the editing, and basically Tammy was my last try before I just set my book to the side. Not only did she totally understand my “voice,” but she reconstructed, added, and melded in ways I would have never considered. Use her, trust her. She’s the best!
I appreciate Tammy’s willingness to ask questions when appropriate, flex on deadlines, offer sound advice, and rewrite sentences or sections as needed. Her command of substantive and copy editing make Tammy an asset to any project.
Tammy Ditmore edited my book, The Quest for Distinction: Pepperdine University in the 20th Century. It was a huge assignment, requiring skills that set her apart from most professional editors. She recognized the key themes of the manuscript immediately and proceeded to examine each paragraph, actually each word, in light of those themes. The result was a briefer, more coherent manuscript that will be read with greater interest and understanding.
Tammy’s approach to editing was like telling a story to someone who listens very well and offers suggestions only when something is confusing or grammatically incorrect (or embarrassing).