A new quiz (No. 78) is up. The questions include a hodgepodge of usage issues, and I’ve experimented with question… Read more »
Posts Categorized: Copy Editing
Language debate and sensible advice
Anne Curzan at Lingua Franca has a spot-on blog post about the descriptive-prescriptive debate. Her post is pegged to a Wall… Read more »
Just a little guidance: 10 years of blogging about grammar, usage, and copy editing
“But I’m just a soul whose intentions are good. Oh, lord, please don’t let me be misunderstood.” —Nina Simone* Facebook… Read more »
How knowing grammar can help copy editors
This headline in my community newspaper made me think twice: Growing area not in DOT plan. Nothing is wrong in… Read more »
Keep an eye out for “double-take words”
A former colleague who writes for a newspaper recently posted on Facebook about a reader’s harsh voice mail message pointing out a typo in… Read more »
We have standards and we enforce them
Being a copy editor is like working for the Standards and Practices department of a broadcast network. We know the… Read more »
You don’t know what you don’t know
Copy editors learn early that, despite diligence and best intentions, writers sometimes get facts wrong. The writers don’t mean to, but they do slip… Read more »
‘Each’ has its place
I spent probably too much time overthinking this sentence while proofing an article this morning: If things just don’t work… Read more »
Try a new Grammar Guide quiz (No. 74 with images)
I have a new Grammar Guide quiz for you to try, No. 74. This one is fill-in-the-blank. You’ll see some… Read more »
Grammar posts good and bad
This post started as an irate takedown of “grammar mistakes everyone makes” posts that plague us via social media. This… Read more »
Copy editor at work: Turn to the dictionary
During my time as a newspaper copy editor, I often spoke briefly to schoolchildren on tours about what a copy… Read more »
Cut clichés and save time and patience
When we write, we want to reach readers. It’s not worth the effort if we don’t. So we often use… Read more »
Copy editors as free agents
A Facebook friend posted a link to a Wall Street Journal story about “organization lovers” and “free agents” at work. The… Read more »
Confused words: Quiz on affect and effect
I have written a new Grammar Guide quiz (No. 73) that is all about the often confused words affect and… Read more »
Want to play “Geeks’ Revenge” at ACES 2014?
I’ve come up with a new version of a grammar/usage game that I’ve played with newspaper interns and others over… Read more »
Advice to an aspiring copy editor
Someone wrote to me recently to ask for advice on becoming a copy editor. I stifled the urge to say,… Read more »
The quizzes are working!
The quizzes are working again. Please message me if you find anything not working.
Copy editing in a hub: You’re your own QA
Charles Apple posted on his blog Saturday about a mistake in the pages of The News & Observer of Raleigh,… Read more »
Infographic: the different types of editing
This graphic from the Wine Press Blog explains the various editing functions in book publishing. Source: Original infographic from WinePress… Read more »
Keep your resources close
Someone who is part of a LinkedIn group for “grammar geeks” posted this question (slightly edited): What do people think… Read more »
Copy editors are not (necessarily) prudes
Copy editors enforce the publication’s standards. They often have to enforce rules that they themselves disagree with or might even… Read more »
Do you tell publications when they make a mistake?
I saw a factual error in my local newspaper a few days ago. I resisted the urge to email the… Read more »
Keep the copy editors, Jeff
As a copy editor, I was heartened that Jeff Bezos’s memo to the staff of the Washington Post after he… Read more »
Pardon me, but your editing is showing
Seeing evidence of editing in a published work gives me a little thrill. We copy editors strive to make sure… Read more »
Check out the new Grammar Guide quiz (inspired by good usage)
I often use published mistakes for my Grammar Guide quizzes, but today I was inspired by writers and editors who… Read more »