Tag Archive | editing
Sexist Language? See Something, Say Something
Whoa, who left this blog here? *waves away cobwebs* No one really cares why I haven’t been blogging (it’s because life), so let’s just skip straight to the reason for this resurrection: I’d like your help. Rhiannon Root and I will be giving a presentation at this year’s ACES conference in Las Vegas about how […]
My Copy Editor Confession
Over at The Subversive Copy Editor, Carol Fisher Saller has asked copy editors to share some of their embarrassing mistakes, which I think is a great idea. It’s good to remind non-editors that copy editors are both human and all too aware of our fallibility, and to reassure other copy editors that they’re not the […]
End of the Line
Today I’m wrapping up a two-and-a-half-day workweek, courtesy of Thanksgiving here in the states, and it has me thinking about one of the important tasks journalism copy editors do that doesn’t show up in our job descriptions: We make up time. Everyone in media works under a deadline, obviously, but deadlines are set according to […]
The Irrelephants of Style
Clearly fiction and poetry bring with them a different set of rules (i.e. basically none) to grammar and style, how does one deal with the challenges presented there? Is there any point at which an author’s decision to subvert grammatical norms goes beyond stylistic playing and becomes just plain aggravating? First, I should explain for […]
Test Your Mettle
Can you refer me to your favorite online copy editing test? I may have an in-person editing test for a new job next week, and I think I’ve developed some bad habits after seven years with the same company. I’d like to give my brain a workout beforehand. Thanks! –Brian Well, I can’t really refer […]
Fixing What Ain’t Broke
I talked a little bit last week about how a copy editor’s job is not as much about commas and grammar mistakes as you might think, or how they’re at least lower on the priority list than is commonly assumed. This week I want to tell you about something I do do that you might not […]
Triage
Copy editors’ job description is unusual in that the whole point of the profession is to deliver perfection. But no item of text that has ever gone to print could be called perfect. Something could always be improved—an error could have been cleaned up, an infelicitous phrasing could have been avoided, the perfect word could […]
Ask Copy Curmudgeon 