Writing / Writers Support Group

As I write this, we’re three months into the worst global pandemic in over a century. The world we live in is unprepared and unequipped to run smoothly. Some of us can keep working from home; some of us can’t.   Productivity during a stressful time can be an especially difficult feat for those of us who spend our time writing. Trying to focus and create when the...

Editing / Usage / Style / Writing / Writers Support Group

There’s never a bad time to refresh your writing skills, and now is as good a time as ever (especially if you’re finding yourself with some extra time on your hands)! Here are some common writing habits to unlearn or avoid if you want your writing to be as clear as possible for your readers.     “Sardine sentences”   Attempting to cram too many facts into one sentence results in what we call...

Publishing / Writing / Writers Support Group

Completing the first draft of your book can be the most daunting thing about writing a book — the revising and editing can be difficult, but first getting the whole draft on the page can be even trickier. How can writers ease this process? We’ve got some tips to help you check that task off your to-do list.     Commit to It   Finishing a first draft is a great accomplishment, but...

Writing / Writers Support Group / Technology / Books And Reading

Some writers may be able to fill their manuscripts with inspired text without any outside help but, thankfully, in this age of apps and user-friendly software, we writers who need a little help organizing our thoughts have some options. Gone are the days of having to rely on sticky notes and bulletin boards to keep track of the countless structural changes you’ve made to your manuscript. Now, like...

Publishing / Editing & Marketing

Here at TEC, we receive calls from potential clients who are new to the writing process. The usual questions are about our services and rates, and about the work we do. In explaining what we do, we naturally ask the caller about their projects. Since we only work on nonfiction content, this is important for us to know. We have noted with some curiosity a rather...

Technology / Social Media / Editing & Marketing

Originally, this week we had scheduled a blog on social media trends. However, given all that is happening in the world today and, especially, how social media is being used in new ways during the COVID-19 global pandemic, we thought it might be better to take a different approach. We especially want to look at how Twitter can connect us in the moment and how it can be...

Technology / Editing & Technologies

The QWERTY keyboard: You may have heard this term before, or said it (FYI, it’s “kwerty”) — but where did this specific layout of keys come from?     QWERTY: An Origin Story   Well, it all started in the 1860s. An amateur inventor/politician/printer/newspaper man in Milwaukee by the name of Christopher Latham Sholes often spent his spare time tinkering with and creating new machines to make his businesses more efficient. One of...

Writing / Writers Support Group / Technology

Although in-person writing circles and book clubs will eventually reclaim their rightful places in public libraries and diners across the land, online editorial communities are rapidly becoming the new — and only — norm for writers and editors who want to keep in touch. It’s important to stay connected, especially during a crisis, because so much can change in a matter of moments. News writers, business writers, sports...

Editing / Usage / Writing / Writers Support Group / Language & Editing

We use different tenses all the time: I am listening to music. I went to the store on Saturday. I will make broccoli tonight. I am waiting for the television that I bought to arrive, and later I will watch a movie on it.   We rarely think about our use of tenses, even in examples like the last one I listed in which I used present, past,...

Publishing / Writing / Writers Support Group

Writing can be an incredibly rewarding career, but it can also be, at times, a lonely one. If you are like most writers, you probably work from home (or from your local coffee shop/café/library) and don’t go into an office on a regular basis where you can interact with other likeminded individuals.   So, sometimes you have to get creative when it comes to building communities for yourself to participate...

Book Reviews / Books And Reading

March 8 is international Women's Day, and to mark the occasion, we'd like to bring out a blog from our archives: Lesley-Anne's review of Toronto Trailblazers: Women in Canadian Publishing, a book all about the women who changed the face of Canada's publishing and literary scene. We hope you enjoy it!   *****   Recently, Beth saw that the University of Toronto Press would be launching a very interesting book in September: Toronto Trailblazers:...

Event / Language & Editing

“Thirty days have November, April, June, and September. With 28 there is but one. All the rest have 31,” but not this year. This year, none of the months have but 28. Instead, February has 29 days, so it seems this handy rhyme is in need of some amendment. How about, “All the rest have 31 but in a leap year you will find that...

Business / Writing / Writers Support Group / Language & Editing

Chances are good that you will have to do some writing at some point in your business career. And regardless of your field, your writing will have to be clear, correct, and effective. For many of us, this can pose a big challenge. In this blog, we offer seven key tips to help you engage readers and promote your ideas clearly and effectively.     Consider Your Audience   Always write...

Publishing

This week, we took a look at some of our popular archived posts and decided to share this one with you one more time! We hope it helps you achieve your publishing goals, and remember, you can always give us a call if you need guidance.   *****   So, you've finished your manuscript. Congratulations! Now, it's time to think about next steps. If your dream is to be traditionally published,...

Writing / Writers Support Group / Language & Editing

So, you’ve done your years of studying. You’ve written countless essays and papers and exams. You know enough about a specific subject that you could write dozens of pages about it, and now that your next step is to write your thesis, you’ll have to do just that.   At The Editing Company, we edit a wide range of academic writing, including academic theses. By the time we...

Event / Language & Editing

On January 25, 2020, the Chinese lunar calendar will turn over once again. In preparation for this year’s Spring Festival, I did some research, and prepared a brief history of this important annual event. The Chinese calendar is a complicated and storied institution with uncertain origins, but key points to remember are that years, months, days, and even hours are associated with animal and elemental symbols. These...

Publishing / Editing & Marketing

As an author, you probably think about the relationship you want to have with your readers. After all, you are writing to appeal to your audience, and that fact will influence many decisions you make along your writing journey. But how often do you stop to consider the relationship you may have with your publisher? What if you submit your manuscript to a traditional publisher (rather than choosing...

Writing / Writers Support Group / Usage

There are plenty of different approaches to writing. Some writers like to let the words pour out on the page and clean and shape them later; some outline and structure in detail and then fill in the framework; others might be writing up point-form ideas developed through team work or provided by someone else.   Regardless of style, in non-fiction and argumentative writing a writer needs to take a certain...

Event

It’s the holiday season, and nothing gets party guests feeling as festive as a delicious cocktail! In this quick blog, we’ll share some great recipes for you to try.   First up, TEC blogger Michael shares two of his picks for seasonal cocktails, both using ingredients you might not have tried before: advocaat (an eggy Dutch liqueur) and Lillet (a wine-based aperitif).   “Despite Jack Torrance's appreciation of bourbon and advocaat in The...

Event

The holidays are fast approaching, and recently we started talking about what would be on our “pie in the sky, dreaming big” editorial wish list — what we would ask for if money was no object! Check out what TEC editors are dreaming of this holiday season!     Molly’s Ideal Office Reno If I could ask for anything as an editor, it would be an all-expenses-paid office renovation. I’d have bookcases built into...

Language & Editing

As the world grows dark and cold in the Northern Hemisphere, cultures across the globe gather to drive away the gloom. There are dozens of holidays celebrated around the world in the darkest months of the year, and almost all of them centre on light, warmth, and community. For this week’s blog, I’m going to step away from editing and focus on candles and light in some of...

Event

Days get shorter, nights get longer, and festive winter holiday markets start popping up everywhere. Some holiday markets are understated, and others sprawl down streets, taking over entire city blocks. One doesn’t have to look hard to find holiday markets cropping up. In fact, on November 17th I attended the first one I’ve been to this year.     Christmas Market in the Creek   Christmas Market in the Creek, hosted...

Editing / Grammar / Usage / Style / Editor/writer

November has rolled around again, which can only mean one thing (for students, anyway): midterms and papers are coming up and will be due before the winter break!   We’ve had a flurry of formatting projects at TEC in the last few weeks, and a few of them have involved formatting academic papers. Writing the paper is hard enough, but when it comes to proper formatting, depending on the assigned style...

Usage / Language & Editing

Punctuation marks are the signposts of prose. They indicate what’s important and where to pause. They add rhythm to your sentences. They help your readers follow the twists and turns of your thoughts.   But there are so many different kinds of punctuation marks that it can be tricky to decide which one to choose. Periods and commas are the most common, but trying to write with...