(The Subversive Copy Editor)
(The Subversive Copy Editor)
I remember when my first son was little and I would be listening to music, and John would confound me by humming a different tune while he played at my feet. Maybe the ability to literally “tune out” so profoundly…
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…
My writing group met the other night for our monthly critiquing love- and slugfest. We know each other well enough to be pretty brutal and frank, and that’s good, because . . .
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.
In copyediting, we forget, we overlook, we nod off. . . .
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.