Editing / Editor/writer

Editors and writers: some see them as bitter enemies, some describe a beautiful partnership—and some say that editors are just writers who’ve given up. It’s common to hear that you can be an editor or a writer—but never both!   I’d like to protest that. You can certainly be both … and you might be already.   As many famous writer-types have said, “Good writing is rewriting. ” Editing is inherent...

Editing

We thought we’d give you a quick overview of some of the projects we’ve been working on here at The Editing Company. We’re keeping busy, and there’s nothing better than sharing an office with a team of editors who are focused on their work. It’s what makes this editor hum.   Editors at Work Nina Hoeschele, our academic/non-fiction editor and proofreader, has taken on an indexing project. Yes, Nina...

Editing

An apology to our readers! We know we are late in posting a blog. In fact, we are seriously out of sync. We have reasons for falling so behind, and we have a new schedule in place to help keep us on top of our postings. You’ll be hearing from us more regularly in the coming months. In the meantime, here’s what we’ve been up to...

Editing

  Today is our last day at 360 Bloor St. West, Suite 507. The Editing Company is moving on Monday, November 1, 2010. They say that with a new move, comes new opportunities.   I believe that, because two years ago when we moved into 360 Bloor, we were just starting out as a company. Over the past two years, we have reinforced our existing networks while building new...

Editing / Usage

In my life outside of TEC, I also work as a sessional English instructor, meaning I am hired on a sessional (or semester by semester) basis to teach courses for which full-time (usually tenured) staff is not available. I’ve done this for a number of years and it’s a good way to add variety to my working life.   I have taught upper- and lower-level genre courses at a well-established...

Editing / Usage

As an editor who works primarily for the Canadian market, I am amazed at all the subtle differences that separate Canadian and American English, and how difficult it can be to keep track of them. Even the work of seasoned Canadian authors often contains inconsistent spellings of certain words. In fact, some Canadian readers may be unaware of all the differences between American and Canadian English.   First off,...

Editing / Grammar

In last week’s blog, Camille mentioned her disdain for the use of the word “impact” as a verb. You’re definitely not in a one-person battle, Camille. I, and surely many others, wholeheartedly agree.   I had an experience with this word several years ago while I was watching the Academy Awards ceremony. A young starlet approached the microphone to present the Oscar for Best Documentary Feature. She...

Editing / Grammar

Crash blossoms: Headlines Gone Wrong Shealah Stratton   What’s a crash blossom, you ask? Ben Zimmer wrote an article about the phenomenon in the Language Section of the New York Times in early January 2010. He provided an insightful look into the construction of newspaper article titles and how the removal of “little words” can result in a headline that is often cryptic, confusing, or humorous when it’s not meant to be. ...

Editing / Usage

During my third year at university, the professor of one of my copy-editing courses began her first seminar by listing the names of several useful style guides. These were the books we were expected to get our hands on if we truly wanted to become well-read and informed editors. She, of course, mentioned every editor’s staples: The Chicago Manual of Style, the Canadian Press Stylebook, and the MLA...

Editing

  I get excited about proofreading. I approach a project as I would a puzzle or a game. The challenge for me is to find as many errors as possible, much as one would find the words in a word-search puzzle. I get a kick out of finding typos and spelling that is applied inconsistently. Even though I’ve taken on a variety of different roles in my...

Editing

When people ask what I do, it’s not uncommon for my response "I'm a copy editor" to elicit a blank or confused expression. Outside of the publishing world, the various roles that editors play (acquiring, managing, producing, and copy editing the written word) are often regarded as a big, mysterious mass. Many think that one person is involved in all the processes listed above. For this reason,...

Editing

Welcome! This is the official blog of The Editing Company.   The Editing Company team delivers high-quality editorial services to publishers, businesses, associations, and authors. Our specialties include proofreading, copy editing, and structural editing. We also handle copyright permissions and photo research. We work on fiction and non-fiction books, academic books and journals, anthologies, festival guides, educational texts, and business materials.   Here’s who we are:   Beth McAuley, our Senior...