Creating a smooth path from the writer to you to your Web publishing software is essential.

While Web creation programs are great tools, they're not word processing programs. If you want to type some text into them now or then, that's fine, but when it comes time to really write and edit articles, you need a word processing program.

Processing the words: Web creation programs are great tools, but you'll need a really good word processing program to work with words.

• Templates: Give your writers a simple template that uses the fonts, sizes, and spacing  you use.
• Cleanup: Without a template, you'll need to clean up your writers' quotes, dashes, and formatting. You may also apply links and place illustrations during this step.
• Editing: Once you've formatted the file, it's time to really read and edit the text, all the while maintaining your writer's voice. Finally, put on the polish: Send the article to a copy editor.

We use Microsoft Word around here because it's the de facto for word processors and also, despite some idiosyncrasies, an excellent word processor. That said, WordPerfect and Lotus WordPro both save to RTF (Rich Text Format) and HTML, so either one should work as well.

Templates

• Download the standard template we use for articles:
• In ZIP format
• (right click on this link and choose "Save Target to Disk") In Word .DOT format

We created a simple template in Word that uses the fonts and sizes we want on the Web site. We e-mailed this template to our writers and asked them to use it. We also asked that they not do extraneous formatting—such as centering or using different fonts.

• Body Text--Georgia 12 point
• Heading 1--Verdana Bold 24 point
• Heading 2--Verdana Bold 18 point
• Heading 3--Verdana Bold 14 point

To change one of Word's default heading styles (or any style for that matter), choose Format/Style, select the style you want to change, click on Modify, then choose Format/Font, Format/Paragraph or any of the other formatting options.

Spacing

One of the keys to an effective template is to make sure it includes a blank line after each paragraph. Standard HTML automatically includes a blank line after a paragraph, and if your word processor doesn't, you end up having to manually remove extra returns after each and every paragraph.

You can change this in your own template, or download ours. To "do it yourself":

• Choose Format/Style
• Modify/Format Paragraph
• Spacing/After--12pt
• Check "Add to template," then OK

You want to keep your formatting as simple as possible so you don't have to do more cleanup than necessary when bringing it into your Web creation program.

Now, writers tend to be an independent bunch, so some of our writers started using the template right away, and some didn't. In most cases, our writers switched to the templates. And when they didn't, we either prodded them or just ignored it and figured out a way around it (since writers can be sensitive souls we didn't want to upset them!).

Cleanup

If your writers haven't used your template—or you've received articles from writers who don't have your template--then you need to clean up their text. We find it helps to edit articles in the "right" format for your site. It's surprising, but as an editor, they're easier to read this way because it helps you "see" them in your site. Also when the annoying little formatting changes have been fixed-- quickly using styles and search and replace--we can focus on the content, rather than changing formatting as we read.

Applying a template: If the file doesn't use your template, you can apply it automatically.

• Choose Tools/Templates and Add-ins and click on the "Attach" button. Choose your Web site's document style and click on Open. Important: Check "Automatically update document styles." What this does is to automatically override any document formatting with the style's formatting.
• Sometimes you'll update the style and still notice that things look wrong. This is because people have swiped over the text and manually changed the font. To return a paragraph to the normal style, press CTRL+SHIFT+N.

Fixing characters: Word's search and replace feature is fast and powerful, and it's the best way to do repeated cleanups.

• Turn on smart quotes (Tools/AutoCorrect/AutoFormat as you type/Replace straight quotes with smart quotes) and search for ' (an apostrophe) and replace it with ' (another apostrophe). Then we choose "replace all." This converts them all into smart quotes.
  Even if you have your HTML program convert them to regular quotes (as we do in NetObjects Fusion to ensure cross-platform compatibility), you still have it formatted for the day when browsers do a better job showing these special characters.
   
• Search for " (quote) and replace it with " (quote) so they're typographic characters. Word will find both typographic quotes and typewriter quotes when you search for ". We search for this dash (--) and replace it with an em-dash (--) (you do this by clicking in the replace box, then holding down the ALT key and typing 0151 on the keypad). We also search for 0150 (using the ALT key and keypad again). These are "en" dashes, which Word creates but which browsers don't support and replace it with 0151.
  
  (Inside of NetObjects Fusion, we go into Publish/Setup/HTML Output and use the straight quote setting. This causes NetObjects Fusion to convert smart quotes to typewriter quotes which make pages more compatible with Mac and Unix/Linux browsers. Even so, it's good to have consistent typographic quotes in Word in case you need them later.)
   
• Replace two spaces with one space. You don't need two spaces after a period (despite what you may have learned in typing class).
   
• Create a macro: You can create a macro that will do all of these conversions for you with a single keystroke or click. If you're using Word, you can simply choose Tools/Macro/Record and record all of the searches and replaces you do, then replay it later.

Applying styles

We use Word's style feature to make sure our formatting is consistent (and to save time applying the fonts and sizes). We use Heading 1, Heading 2, and Heading 3, which are the standard built-in styles, but we have formatted them the way we want in our own .dot template file. That way we can get the font, size, alignment, and other attributes just by selecting the style.

If you're using Word's headings to format the article, you can choose View/Outline to view the structure of the piece. This provides a useful overview of the document and also allows you to restructure it quickly if necessary. To read more about outlining, click here.

Bullet tip: We've found that using Word's "List Bullet" style is the best way to ensure that bullets transfer correctly from Word to Web programs.

Applying links

Word allows you to embed links right onto the page, just as you can on a Web page. To add a link, select the text, then press ^K or choose Insert/Hyperlink. Your Web editing program should be able to automatically convert that link into HTML, as NetObjects Fusion does.

This has two advantages:

1. You can test links from inside of Word as you write. Just click on a link and it will open that page in a browser.
2. You save a lot of production time, and also it ensures there aren't errors made when you copy and paste URLs from the text and paste them as a link.

When we aren't sure what the exact link will be, or we want to use NetObjects Fusion's internal linking feature (so the links are automatically updated within NetObjects Fusion), we select the text that will be a link, and we color it red. That way, when the text is brought into NetObjects Fusion, the real links will be blue, and the "links we need to do" are in red. Very easy to spot. (as you can see--and no, that isn't a link, it's just to show you how red type stands out).

Placing illustrations

Most Web programs won't bring in graphics that are in your word processor file. Or, if they do, the program doesn't necessarily do the best conversion from the word processor's native format into GIF or JPG format.

While we sometimes put illustrations in our word files, just so we get a better idea of the flow of the article, we always import graphics separately into NetObjects Fusion so they're the highest quality they can be.

We mark where graphics will go in the text, using their exact filename, such as this:

GP-elephant-01-screenshotbuttons-061500.gif

Coloring the text red ensures that it stands out, so we don't miss it when we're reviewing the article in NetObjects Fusion. Using the exact filename makes it easier to insert the graphic.

Editing
the copy

Now comes the time when you actually read and edit the text. How you edit is up to you. We tend to read the whole article once, then go back through and make necessary changes.

How many edits should you make? Only as many as you need. Some editors think they have to justify their job by making a lot of edits, and sometimes even rewriting. We try to avoid doing that (by hiring good writers). If for some reason, one of our good writers goes a little astray (hey, that happens, we're all only human), then you may have to do more work.

Try to keep the original author's voice intact. Voice is a delicate thing in writing, but good writers tend to write the way they talk. That helps give their writing personality and make it more interesting to read.

When you edit, there's a natural tendancy to write in your voice. This is only natural because it is your voice. But really good editors are sensitive to a writer's own voice and style and work to made edits and changes so they sound like the original author wrote them. That makes the writing stronger, the writer happier, and the reader more satisfied.

A lot of sites, especially corporate sites, tend to think that every page should sound the same. This often leads to everything sounding bland, boring, and dull—the lowest possible denominator.

We believe that Web sites can have a closer, more personal connection to readers than printed material. Why? Because they appear in the same place that your readers' own work does. It's a subtle distinction, but it really does get all mixed together. So Web sites can seem as if they're talking more directly to you than a newspaper or magazine.

So your Web site has the opportunity to really talk to your reader, not "company to person" but "person to person," and there is no better way to do this than for your writing to sound as if it was written by a real person, not some nameless, faceless group.

If you need a lot of revisions: First, ask the author if he or she would like to do it. Of course, authors won't be happy if you ask for changes, but they should want to make them themselves. If they don't want to, or can't for whatever reason, then you will need to do it.

Once you've made your edits, especially if you've made a lot of them, you may want to show the original author the changes to make sure they're acceptable to them—and also that you haven't  introduced any errors (which is always possible).

Tip: Make Comments. If you have comments or questions for yourself, another editor, or the author, use Word's "Comments" feature. This is a valuable feature, because it allows you to add notes without getting them confused with the text of the document. These comments do not appear on your Web page.

• To create a comment, select the text you have a question about and choose Insert/Comment. This adds yellow highlighting to the text you selected, and opens a small window at the bottom of the screen. Type your comment here.
• If you want to move quickly through the comments in a document, just choose View/Comments. As you scroll through the comments in the comment window, the highlighted text appears in the top window, so you can see things in context.

When someone else reads the file, holding their mouse over the highlighted text will cause the comment to appear as a "tool tip." They also can edit the comment by right clicking on "edit comment" or they can insert a comment of their own to reply to your comment.

Tip: Create a blurb. Once you've edited the piece, take a few minutes to write a condensed blurb—a paragraph that describes the article for people who haven't read it. These two or three sentences can be used on your section pages or in your e-mail newsletter to help guide readers to the new article. It's good to write it now, while the article is fresh in your mind.

Copy editing

According to Judith Selby, eFuse.com's copy editor, there are several levels of editing:

• Proofreading— Copy is edited for grammar, punctuation, spelling, and consistency.
• Copy Editing—Copy is read and changed to ensure clarity and conciseness, to avoid verbosity and redundancy, and to correct grammar, punctuation, and spelling. A writer's voice is maintained.
• Editing—More in-depth editing; copy may be moved around and paragraphs rewritten to create clear, concise, well-organized text. When something is not clear, questions will be inserted to prompt the writer to fill out the thought. Editing is not rewriting; a writer's tone and words will be maintained whenever possible.

A really good copy editor, such as Judith, knows how to do all three kinds of editing. Their work really puts the final polish on articles and assures that they are error-free and professional.

One note about errors—they are inevitable. Even with a great copy editor, mistakes happen during the production process. Anyone who thinks they are going to produce the perfect error-free Web site is setting themselves up for disappointment.

What you want to do is aim to be as accurate and error-free as you can. One of the convenient things about the Web is that it's easy to make changes—and your readers are more likely to tell you when they find an error. If they tell you, thank them, and make the change. That's what we do.

About the authors

Daniel Will-Harris is a designer and author whose design and writing work can be found at his Web site. His site features TypoFile Magazine and EsperFonto, the Web's only typeface selection system. He may be reached via e-mail at daniel@will-harris.com.

Toni Will-Harris is a writer, designer, and naturalist who runs the Point Reyes Chipmunk Observatory and Gardens. She can be reached at Toni@Will-Harris.com. This picture is neither recent—or actual size.

Illustrations: G Brian Karas for Artville