(The Subversive Copy Editor)
(The Subversive Copy Editor)
In Being Wrong: Adventures in the Margin of Error, Kathryn Schulz contrasts the embarrassment and deflation of being wrong with that “gleeful little rush when we are right.” Going further, she points out the extra-delicious feeling we have when someone…
Q. Which formation is more correct, “The information requested” or “The requested information”? Questions like this to the online Q&A at the Chicago Manual of Style used to get me riled.
If you’re new to copyediting, consider these snippets of advice.
Copyeditors have a reputation. We’re conscientious and task-oriented. We like our little routines. We like things tidy. That’s what’s good about us—it’s why we’re useful. We are valued for our tolerance for tedium and our willingness to plug away till…
Two popular types of bad copyediting are (1) editing that didn’t need doing in the first place, and (2) needed editing that didn’t get done. Both types can be accomplished with or without the aid of a computer, but there…
Recently John McIntyre blogged at the Baltimore Sun about “pedagogical malpractice,” inviting readers to submit stories of English teachers run amuck. I read them with mixed feelings of horror and glee. After all, English teachers, not unlike copyeditors, are an easy target.
I am so tired of people looking down their noses at my e-reader and explaining that they love books. So today I’m going to answer their complaints, one by one.
Last night I was lucky enough to sit near a popular public radio host at an awards banquet. (I wasn't supposed to sit at the head table, but I couldn't find a seat . . .