True Crime in Copyediting
In a lather recently over copyeditors who waste time searching for rules that don’t exist, I failed to acknowledge something important in defense of the offenders . . .
Writer, Editor, Helper
(The Subversive Copy Editor)
Writer, Editor, Helper
(The Subversive Copy Editor)
Category Writer-Editor Relationships
Right, Wrong, and the Quest for Peace
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…
English 101: Still Learning
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.
Getting Along with Colleagues Tip #2: Think Before You Send
Last week I handled something badly at work, and I’m still beating myself up about it.
Random Advice for Copyeditor Newbies
If you’re new to copyediting, consider these snippets of advice.
Meticulous, Compulsive . . . and Liberated?
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…
Dodging Editorial Bullets
In copyediting, we forget, we overlook, we nod off. . . .
Editorial Road Rage
You know the feeling: some jerk behind you hammers the horn and flips you off while you wait for the light, even though the sign says “No Turns on Red”; that feeling when someone tailgates, or cuts you off, or…