Politics: The Grammar Effect
Here’s a question to consider as you prepare to cast your vote next week: Have you thought about the candidates’ grammar? According to a recently published study, you may have thought about it, even if only subconsciously. Two psychologists had college students read statements about made-up political candidates and then rate the candidates’ electability. Sadly [...]
Ready, Set, Write!
This post is for all you novelists and would-be novelists. November is National Novel Writing Month (NaNoWriMo if you want to sound cool, or plain old NaNo if you’re super cool and in a hurry). If you want to write a novel but think you don’t have time, or if you think it would be [...]
The Fallible Editor
Here’s another little gem from the 1906 Chicago Manual of Style: Editors are fallible, and should be made to live up to their own rules. (p.100) This one makes me squirm a little—or a lot. It comes from the “Hints to Proofreaders” section and is part of a reminder that the proofreader should not assume [...]
Is It Editing or Proofreading?
Recently a writer contacted me and asked very specifically about editing and proofreading services. I replied with a description of my editing services (mostly copyediting, though I do help with developmental editing from time to time) and explained that proofreading (checking proofs against the edited manuscript) isn’t my area of expertise. The distinction between editing [...]
Viagra for Editors?
Lately I’ve been getting frequent spam e-mails encouraging me to buy Viagra from interesting sources. This morning’s e-mail was from “Trustable Viagra Reseller.” “Hi, editor,” the subject line began. Apparently I can get 70% off, which is not nearly as impressive as “Viagra for editor, 77% off.” The place with the bigger discount wasn’t trustable, [...]
Why I Edit
Last Monday was a gray, rainy, and generally icky day here in the Washington, D.C., region. I felt gray and generally icky and wondered why I ever decided to be a freelance editor. Didn’t I know I was resigning myself to a life spent stuck in front of a computer monitor, worrying about eye strain [...]
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