Caring About Every Comma
Recently, I wrote a post about journalist Gene Weingarten’s comment on writers who care enough to agonize over every word (“Caring About Every Word”). Are those writers obsessive? Maybe. But they’re also likely to mature into very skilled writers. I think something similar is true for editors. When you care enough to agonize over every [...]
5 Things Your Editor Needs to Know
Often I receive queries or see online job postings that include only minimal information about what the writer actually needs. Queries like “How much to edit my 100-page book?” are not unusual. They are, however, difficult to answer accurately. Including the following five specific bits of information in your query or job post will help [...]
Affect vs. Effect
These two words are very commonly confused, and while there are many accurate online explanations of the distinctions between them, most of those explanations only tell part of the story. The part that is most often told goes like this: Affect is a verb meaning “to produce an effect on.” Effect is a noun meaning, [...]
The Lofty Origins of Slapstick
I don’t know why we enjoy watching other people pretend to beat each other up for a laugh, but we do. Sure, some of us claim to be too intelligent and cultured to find any value in such cheap theatrical antics—at least that’s what we say in public (secretly, though, we just added a stack [...]
Oop’s! London Borough Decides It’s Cheaper to Be Wrong
It must have seemed like a good idea at the time: Place some nice posters in bus stops to promote local schools. Brag a little about how those schools are some of the best in the country. Unfortunately, Barnet, the North London borough responsible for the posters, forgot to hire an editor and the posters [...]
Caring About Every Word
Several weeks ago, I heard Washington Post journalist and funnyman Gene Weingarten on the radio* talking about journalism, comic strips, and other things. At one point, speaking about writing, Weingarten said something like this: “If you care enough to agonize over every word, you will be a good writer.” I think that’s true. Over the [...]
Quidditch for Muggles
Admit it, Harry Potter fans, you secretly (or maybe not so secretly) dream of flying around on a broomstick. You long to wear the cool wizarding robes to work and whip out your magic wand to cast a spell on that annoying prat in the next cubicle. You wish you had a house elf to [...]
Dear Editor: Don’t Be a Rude Idiot
What’s with all the rude behavior going on online? I’ve come to expect a certain number of snarky, mean-spirited comments on popular sites, but lately I’ve been noticing rudeness in some comments made by alleged editing professionals on freelance job sites. A few examples: In the public question/discussion area of one editing job posted on [...]
Holly Mackerel!
Some spelling mistakes are more distracting than others. A couple of weeks ago, I was reading an online article in which the writer meant “holy mackerel” but actually wrote “holly mackerel.” I stopped reading at that point. Sure, adding one extra letter is easy to do; that’s a forgivable mistake that I’m sure we’ve all [...]
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