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And the M-W editors Peter Sokolowski, Kory Stamper, and Emily Brewster also offer great fun and insight on Twitter. But as a freelancer, I take much comfort in the Chicago Manual forum. Since I have no editor coworkers sitting next to me in an office, these folks provide the next best thing. (You do have to pay for a year's worth of online use of the manual, however, to join the forum. But the easy access to the manual is so helpful, and I deduct the fee as a valid business expense. What's more, the fee automatically screens out the not-so-serious types from the forum.)
What Copyeditors Can Learn Online (Maybe Not What You Think)
Photo: Doris Hausen You might think you can learn to copyedit by taking a class, but I promise, even if your class does a great job of exposing you to a style manual and the general practices of editing, it can only scratch the surface. To learn well, you must have a period of feedback—the...
A friend copyediting a novel for a self-publishing author told him that since the story was set in the 1950s, the protagonist would not have pulled out a cell phone in the bar. "Just stick to spelling and grammar," he told her. Some people truly fail to understand our function (or cannot take criticism!).
How Sticklers Give Copyediting a Bad Name
Public sticklers have annoyed me forever, and I’ve been meaning to write about that, but recently in a post titled “Editors, Would You Do Me This Tiny Favour?” Katy McDevitt at PublishEd Adelaide did a great job of it herself. McDevitt gets to the meat of it in point 3: “It gives people the...
Wise words, as usual, Carol! I'm still not sure why publishing houses don't handle their (noncomplex) books as a single file, rather than, say, twelve files. But anyway, I always first make a master file for my own use for the books I copyedit. Then, using the "Style" function in Word, I usually quickly apply a heading style to all the heads as they are. That is, what appear to be A-heads get "Head 1" style, B-heads get "Head 2" style, and so on. Then in the "View" tab, I check the "Show Navigation Pane" box. Voila! You have a godlike view of how the entire manuscript is organized (or not organized).
This view is much better than the Outline view, as it shows relationships between headings, and you can navigate easily throughout the entire book by clicking on the headings shown in the pane. I find this step well worth the minutes it takes up front. It makes inconsistent or illogical headings much more apparent and helps me see overall tendencies or problems in the book.
Going Up? Plan Ahead
Photo: Alyson Hurt A few months ago I encountered a bank of hotel elevators that made a big impression on me. This might be old hat to you,* but to me it was a wondrous invention: there were no buttons inside the elevators for choosing your floor. Instead,...
I don't know, Anita. What if the author always uses his or her initials only? A style guide that says always use the first name seems pretty rigid to me, anyway. Change J. D. Salinger? T. S. Elliot? But I guess if looked up the author name and found both the spelled-out version and initials for various publications, I would spell out the first name in the bibliog.
Regarding state names, etc.: Many authors omit the place of publishing when preparing their manuscripts, and many of my clients still want this information. Amazon.com doesn't include it. But thank goodness, the Library of Congress Online Catalog does.
You’ve Got the Power: For Good or Evil
Photo courtesy Frédéric Bisson Time and again, copyeditors ask me questions that leave me scratching my head. The question always amounts to something like this: “If I follow all the rules, nonsense and chaos will result. What should I do?” What is it about American culture, or education, or...
Well said, Carol! I love your "What should she do? ... Make up a name? Delete that source? Change all 437 author names to initials only?" You crack me up!
Anyway, perhaps viewing style manuals' prescriptions as guidelines and not as rules would help. After all, we Americans don't have an Académie française.
You're right, Jonathan, in that notes and bibliographies are the main "problem" for rule-followers. As you say, a focus on the real function of references would help editors make the right decisions on styling problems.
As I learned when doing scientific research, the more you know, the less dogmatic you become.
You’ve Got the Power: For Good or Evil
Photo courtesy Frédéric Bisson Time and again, copyeditors ask me questions that leave me scratching my head. The question always amounts to something like this: “If I follow all the rules, nonsense and chaos will result. What should I do?” What is it about American culture, or education, or...
Thanks especially for example number 1. Still, I don't eliminate these pedestrian quotes when I'm told to copyedit a book lightly and when the author is resistant to changes. But when I become queen of the world, I will not allow quotes like these. Also, I will not allow any preface to contain the word "journey." Thank you. I feel better now.
Clumsy Quoting: Spot the Problem
I am often distracted by the awkward way in which a writer integrates quotations into the text. But when I started to write here about the specific problems, I didn’t know where to start. Take a look at the following quotations. Why don’t the following quotations read smoothly? See if you feel a...
For real, that South Side sentence? That's hilarious! And Maurianne, yours is pretty funny, too! By the way, is there another term besides dangler for the Grafton sentence? Vague antecedent? I can often recognize errors or awkwardness, but since I'm not an English major, I don't always know the term for the problem.
Dear Author: Your Dangler Is Showing . . .
Photo by Justin Garland Dear Copy Editor, Having looked over your editing, the amount of it strikes me as excessive. Being what I consider a fairly accomplished writer, your intervention at that level seems unwarranted. F...
OMG, Carol, you've nailed it to a tee (and to a tree)! Or should I say, "Reading your humorous letter full of danglers, you really made me laugh"?
Here are my two most memorable dangling incidents as a copyeditor:
1. Once, I reworded something like "Driving around the tight curve, my McFlurry spilled on my lap" to "As we drove around the tight curve, my McFlurry spilled on my lap" to avoid the dangler. Told the author why I made the change. He nixed the rewording and inserted "While" at the beginning of the sentence to "fix" the dangler! He did this for a good number of his bad danglers.
2. On another book, I had reworded a bad dangler in the very first paragraph of the manuscript. The author had approved the change, and I sent the cleaned-up manuscript back to the publisher for typesetting. I happened across the printed book sometime later. There, in the first paragraph, was a new dangler, very similar to the one I had originally reworded: "Being tall, muscular, and strong, many people seem afraid of me." [Details changed, but structure and idea the same.] Unfortunately, my name is in the acknowledgments as copyeditor.
Dear Author: Your Dangler Is Showing . . .
Photo by Justin Garland Dear Copy Editor, Having looked over your editing, the amount of it strikes me as excessive. Being what I consider a fairly accomplished writer, your intervention at that level seems unwarranted. F...
I have been guilty of TMAQs (too many author queries). Not that long ago, I thought I was being preemptive by citing a CMOS rule for a change that I was making repeatedly in a manuscript. I got a note back from the author saying something like "Fine with the changes, but spare me the lecture." I still cringe when I think about it. Live and learn.
On the other hand, some authors (often first-timers) seem thrilled to see lots of comments on their manuscript, equating comments with attention. These authors are the exception, though.
I agree on avoiding the repetitive comments, which are so easy with today's technology. One query at first occurrence, and then do the global search and replace later. And let the author know that you'll fix globally. If it's not a specific, easily searchable term in question, I might highlight the various phrases or underline them for ease in finding later.
Dear Carol:How Do I Know When to Meddle?
Photo courtesy Peter Werkman Hello, Carol, I have been enjoying your blog on editing for quite some time. In particular, I appreciated your tips for newbie copy editors. I have been working freelance as a copy ...
Years ago, I created just such a macro (though my toggling keystrokes are Alt + V + A). But this doesn't seem to work when you are in a notes pane (I almost typed "pain"--Freudian slip?). I have to move my mouse back onto regular text and use my macro then. Now that really is a pain! Anyone have any suggestions? Endnotes is where I really want to toggle back and forth with ease.
Tech Tip #21: A Shortcut Writers and Editors Can’t Live Without
If you’ve ever Any writer or editor who worksed in a document “redlined” inwith MS Microsoft Word’s “tracked changes” feature, you’ve certainly reached a stage where you has encountered the difficulty of reading through a tangle of editingsomething like this:. Most of us have figured out ho...
The older I get, the more forgiving I am with unskilled writers. But I do find that when I reassure the author that if he or she doesn't like my changes, the original can easily and cheerfully be restored, I get better responses. (Though in truth, I do grumble to myself about stets, but I have resignedly written an "undo" keyboard macro so that the task isn't too reprehensible for me.) I too always go back through my comments, many of which get deleted or modified. Sometimes, I'm just so taken with a sentence or two that I want just to write a non-editorial comment (such as a compliment or my own observation that backs up the author's point). Most of the time in these situations, though, I refrain, or relegate this to the author letter. I know what you mean about sometimes having a hard time finding something to compliment in the author letter. But being a mother does help. Remember how we'd encourage our nonathletic kids after a soccer game? "You really ran hard [albeit away from the ball]!" I make similar comments: "Your passion for milky spore grub control really shines through in this manuscript!"
Writing to Authors by “Feel”
Photo by Janek Mann Do you ever start to show someone how to do something and then realize you aren’t exactly sure how you do it, that you do it differently every time, and that ultimately it’s as much a matter of intuition and experience as it is of following instructions? Like making pie ...
Same way that cats squeeze through tight railing slats. And cats have bones; insects don't!
Questions for Me?
Photo by MrCTeach I’m so pleased that many of you have been submitting questions at my Questions and Suggestions page. But there are two little problems. (1) For contractual reasons, I’m not able to answer style and grammar questions. I urge you to send them instead to the Q&A at the Chicago ...
Valerie--The obsessive in me feels compelled to mention that CMOS, 16th ed., section 6.120, did have an answer to my question-in-a-question question (otherwise known as QIQQ). I just happened to see it now. It suggests using just one of the marks unless they're different or the meaning is unclear. So I guess it's just
What do you say when someone asks, "Can I help you?"
Dear Carol: Hyphens, Commas, and Publication Rights
Hi, Carol: Hyphens are my nemesis! I specialize in economics papers, and professors use concepts with numerous adjectives. Case in point is “short sale rule.” I left this unhyphenated because a “short sale” is a well-known trading term and there is no real chance of confusion. But a proofreader ...
Ah, Valerie, a person after my own heart. I, too, wondered about the question-in-a-question situation. As a matter of fact, I posted it on the Chicago Manual of Style forum (http://www.chicagomanualofstyle.org/forum.html; if you're a member of the forum, go to Punctuation, and search for "Double question mark"). Although the other forum contributors to my question disagreed, I felt that it should be ?"? I also agree that there's no need for the comma in Mike's example, but maybe that's just because I'm used to American punctuation rather than British.
Dear Carol: Hyphens, Commas, and Publication Rights
Hi, Carol: Hyphens are my nemesis! I specialize in economics papers, and professors use concepts with numerous adjectives. Case in point is “short sale rule.” I left this unhyphenated because a “short sale” is a well-known trading term and there is no real chance of confusion. But a proofreader ...
Whoever wrote the comment "phrasal verbs like 'to sign-up,'" thanks for the laugh! "Please clean-up this report, and follow-up with a phone call." Aargh! It's such a waste of perfectly good hyphens. If people who write like this continue to proliferate, we'll be looking under Account Deleted's bed for extra hyphens.
But I do remember how my father, born in 1916, would write the old-fashioned "to-day" and "to-morrow" in his handwritten letters to me, and I wonder if today's "e-mail" will look as quaint as his "to-days" and "to-morrows."
Chicago Scores Big from AP Style Changes
Deputized by The Chicago Manual of Style, the Subversive Copy Editor spoke on Tuesday with an executive at the Associated Press (on condition of anonymity) about the recent changes to the AP Stylebook. What follows is a transcript of our meeting. SCE: Thank you for agreeing to talk with me tod...
I like 'em. Not pages and pages, but a page's worth, I find interesting in a nosy sort of way. Especially when I've finished a good book and I'm not yet ready to say good-bye to the author.
I’d like to thank the Academy...
By an evil coincidence, the deadline for sending the acknowledgments section of my new book* to my editor was last Sunday—on Oscars night. I had already drafted brief thanks to him, my writing group, and my family, and was merely going to proofread and polish before sending. But as I sat in...
So glad to hear that I'm not the only silent mispronouncer! Muh-LANE-ee definitely sounds more Southern. Regarding me-LAN-choly, I think that four-syllable words are often mispronounced, or have two acceptable pronunciations, anyway: Cuh-RIB-ee-in, Care-ib-EE-in; ther-MOM-eter, thermo-MEE-ter. And Nicole, doesn't the recommendation to use a comma wherever you'd naturally pause in the spoken word make sense? That is, unless you are William Shatner.
Still Learning:Fun Language Words
Hanging around the Internet, you pick up some interesting lingo. Not the kind you’re probably thinking—I’m talking about the jargon you learn from linguists at sites like Language Log and Johnson. The terms below are old news to language observers, but some I learned only recently. You will cer...
Patricia Boyd added a favorite at Writer, Editor, Helper
Feb 16, 2011
One of the links you listed has "eggcorns," for a word or phrase of similar sound for the correct one. A common one in our local Pennysaver is "For sale: rod iron table and chairs."
Similar, but a tad different is this: How about a term for when you silently mispronounce a word when reading and don't connect it with the spoken word? Usually, you find out your error when you develop a close relationship and your partner says, "Huh?" when you mispronounce. My bad was "Tucson," which I silently read "Tucksin" in novels and which I assumed was a different city from "Tooson" I heard in the news. A friend's word was "voila!" which he silently pronounced "viola" (the musical instrument) in books and figured was a different term when he heard "Voila!" on TV.
Still Learning:Fun Language Words
Hanging around the Internet, you pick up some interesting lingo. Not the kind you’re probably thinking—I’m talking about the jargon you learn from linguists at sites like Language Log and Johnson. The terms below are old news to language observers, but some I learned only recently. You will cer...
OK, here's my plug. After reading "The Subversive Copyeditor," I modified my approach to authors and have had much more luck with them than I've had before. Used to be, authors would be happy with my catches of outright errors but sometimes seemed pretty resistant to any tightening-up of run-on sentences or suggestions for clarity. (Both such types of edits would have been requested by my publisher clients.) I'm not sure exactly how I've done it, but I think I just focus a little more on assuring authors that this is their baby and that they should feel completely free to stet or modify a suggestion. So thanks, Carol, as you have really helped me improve my professional skills by encouraging to me see the big picture. I'm not the Word Police or Grammar Patrol; I'm an editor helping a writer get something across to a reader and helping publishers and authors sell books.
“Leave My Prose Alone”: The Resistant Writer
“Please tell the copyeditor to leave my prose alone.” That’s an actual author request I encountered in a newly arrived manuscript. I looked at the first few pages. The content was complex, phrasing idiosyncratic, punctuation random. A more mature and compassionate person would have recognized...
What about editing a friend or relative's job cover letter so that it shines? What if he or she gets the job? Some folks have felt that this might be an unfair advantage. I say, this shows that the applicant knows how to improve writing on an important document. Thoughts?
For Writers: When Help Is Hard to Take
As a writer, I sometimes receive smart suggestions from readers or editors. They rewrite a line, ask a pointed question, or present an argument that prompts major rethinking: maybe an entirely new direction for a plot, or the elimination of a character. A writer should feel elated and grateful ...
Most of my publishers use separate files for chapters; one dear publisher puts them all into one big file. I have had no problems (now that I have a new computer) editing the big file. And Carol is right; all the cleanup goes much faster. The bigger question is, Why not encourage the publishers (and their contractors like copyeditors and typesetters) to work with one big file? But for those who want separate files, I always, at the start of a project, create a master file containing all the files. I actually color-code each chapter with a background according to the rainbow. Red = ch. 1; orange = ch. 2, yellow = ch. 3, etc. That way, when I'm globally searching, I can easily see what chapter a term is located. By the way, after I reach the end of the rainbow (are you following me on this, Dorothy?), I start again, only adding borders: red in a single border = ch 7, orange in a single border = ch 8, etc. It takes about 10 minutes, but it's way worth the time!
Tech Tip #16: Combining Documents for Efficient Copyediting
I have never understood why anyone would choose not to combine all the files for a project into a single document rather than copyedit each one separately. Before you all write to tell me why, let me agree that there are some reasonable exceptions, such as when (1) a file such as a table or a bi...
Most ask me, "So you make sure things are spelled correctly and correct the grammar?" Oh, that it were this easy! I've usually tried to justify my profession by explaining the details of what I do. But yours is a far, far better suggestion: just switch topics quickly and ask what they do! The only things I judge are memos from my kids' teachers and principals. Errors in these letters made me cringe. These folks are teaching our children? Sorry, so if you're a teacher, yes, you'd better watch your grammar around me!
How to Talk to a Copyeditor
Do you often find yourself at a party where the person making introductions is unaware of the etiquette whereby you mention a likely mutual interest such as “Carol also has a garden,” or “Carol also has a rotator cuff injury,” or “Carol also loves to watch really bad movies,” and instead says, “...
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