Louise Harris is the founder and president of Last Research and Editing, a comprehensive editing service specializing in both fiction and nonfiction books. With a journalism degree from the University of Maryland, Louise discovered early in her career that she's better at editing others' work than writing her own—a realization that shaped her 20+ year editing career. Known for her old-school approach of printing manuscripts and using colored pens (green at Christmas, pink at Easter), Louise provides everything from developmental editing and book coaching to copy editing, line editing, proofreading, and her unique book compilation service that transforms blog posts into published books.
In this episode:
- Types of editing: developmental, copy, line, proofreading
- Developmental editors as writing coaches
- When to hire editors at each stage
- Plot holes: the invisible man's clothes problem
- Why printing manuscripts catches more errors
- Flow from sentence to chapter to book
- The fluff problem: cutting unnecessary content
- Nonfiction editing for business and political books
- American English style guides (AP vs. Chicago)
- Customized packages for different author needs
- Free first chapter editing to test compatibility
- Self-editing tips: print and read aloud
- Grammarly limitations and computer errors
- Why AI writing sounds corporate
- Blog compilation service explained
- Anthology compilation for associations
- Upwork and Fiverr budget options
- Why you shouldn't give editors first drafts
Resources mentioned:
- LAST Research and Editing: https://lastresearchandediting.com/
- Grammarly: https://www.grammarly.com/
- Chicago Manual of Style: https://www.chicagomanualofstyle.org/
- Associated Press Style Guide: https://www.apstylebook.com/
- Print editing techniques
Book recommendations:
- Oh, The Places You'll Go! by Dr. Seuss: https://denuccio.net/ohplaces.html
Connect with Louise:
- Website: https://lastresearchandediting.com/
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/louise-harris-2b04bb13/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/louise.harris.7315/
- LAST Research FB Page: https://www.facebook.com/lastresearch/
- YouTube: @LouiseHarrisTheLASTWord
- Twitter: @lastredit
- Phone: 480-370-3945
- Alignable: https://www.alignable.com/hanover-md/last-research-and-editing-2
Connect with Teddy Smith:
- @teddyagsmith
- Website: https://publishingperformance.com/?ref=ywm3mtc
- Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/publishingperformance/
- Pinterest - https://nz.pinterest.com/publishingperformance/
- Instagram - https://instagram.com/publishingperformanceinsta
- Youtube -https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCHV6ltaUB4SULkU6JEMhFSw
Discover More with Our Curated Starter Packs: https://teddyagsmith.com/starter-packs/
Popular Podcasts
Las Culturistas with Matt Rogers and Bowen Yang
Ding dong! Join your culture consultants, Matt Rogers and Bowen Yang, on an unforgettable journey into the beating heart of CULTURE. Alongside sizzling special guests, they GET INTO the hottest pop-culture moments of the day and the formative cultural experiences that turned them into Culturistas. Produced by the Big Money Players Network and iHeartRadio.
Crime Junkie
Does hearing about a true crime case always leave you scouring the internet for the truth behind the story? Dive into your next mystery with Crime Junkie. Every Monday, join your host Ashley Flowers as she unravels all the details of infamous and underreported true crime cases with her best friend Brit Prawat. From cold cases to missing persons and heroes in our community who seek justice, Crime Junkie is your destination for theories and stories you won’t hear anywhere else. Whether you're a seasoned true crime enthusiast or new to the genre, you'll find yourself on the edge of your seat awaiting a new episode every Monday. If you can never get enough true crime... Congratulations, you’ve found your people. Follow to join a community of Crime Junkies! Crime Junkie is presented by Audiochuck Media Company.
The Brothers Ortiz
The Brothers Ortiz is the story of two brothers–both successful, but in very different ways. Gabe Ortiz becomes a third-highest ranking officer in all of Texas while his younger brother Larry climbs the ranks in Puro Tango Blast, a notorious Texas Prison gang. Gabe doesn’t know all the details of his brother’s nefarious dealings, and he’s made a point not to ask, to protect their relationship. But when Larry is murdered during a home invasion in a rented beach house, Gabe has no choice but to look into what happened that night. To solve Larry’s murder, Gabe, and the whole Ortiz family, must ask each other tough questions.