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Editors, sheep, conferencing: the SfEP 2018 conference
It was a total thrill to go to the annual conference of the English editors’ association, the SfEP (Society for Editors and Proofreaders), in Lancaster in early September. I attend the Editors Canada conference every year, but this was my first editing conference in the UK, […]
Why, oh why?
Tomorrow I start a copyediting certificate program at UCSD (the University of California, San Diego). Quite a few people have asked why. I have a PhD, I have years of experience, don’t I know all the stuff yet? That got me to thinking.
These are not my reasons for […]
PUNCTUATION IN BULLETED LISTS
This is something most people have to look up. Which of the examples is correct?
Example A
Several recent incidents have caused concern on the part of Management:
- unauthorized science experiments in the staff room
- employees pointing and laughing at rude or annoying customers
- conspicuous tap dancing in the […]
Landfall Trust Writer-in-Residence!
Photo by Landfall Trust board member Dennis Flynn
I’m completely thrilled to have been awarded a writer’s residency in Brigus this fall. Brigus is, of course, a place of spectacular beauty. And I will have two whole weeks to hide away and do nothing but write. […]
WHEN CLIENTS DON’T WANT TO FOLLOW THEIR OWN STYLE GUIDE: WHAT’S AN EDITOR TO DO?
I had this note from a colleague.
Sorry to bother you on a weekend, but I have combed my books and cannot find an answer to satisfy a client on this issue.
The client asked for APA. The supervisor asked for APA. However, both […]
DON’T BE ON A FIRST-NAME BASIS WITH YOUR CITATIONS
A colleague emailed me recently about APA style and how to identify the author of a citation.
“I have a picky question,” she said. Good! I like that kind.
The first time the author’s name is given, she wondered, do you give the full name, as follows?
Claire […]
IS MY BAND’S NAME SINGULAR OR PLURAL?
I received the following question about singular/plural usage. It’s one a lot of people struggle with, so I’m posting it here, with my response.
The basic question is: should a group of people referred to by a singular name (the CBC, the government, One Direction) be considered singular […]
LAST-MINUTE SHOPPING: THE FORGOTTEN WALTZ
If you’re looking for a last-minute gift, think about Anne Enright’s book The Forgotten Waltz. Enright, who shot to celebrity when she won the Man Booker in 2007, gave a terrific reading with Lisa Moore at the Winterset literary festival in Eastport in August. The Forgotten Waltz […]
EDITING OUT THE PASSIVE
A friend submitted an article to a journal. The reviewer wanted the passive voice removed from the beginning of a particular section of the article, and the friend wanted to know what’s involved in that kind of revision. The section in question is here.
There […]
AND THE WINNER IS…
You’ll have to go to the Contest page to see!