Editing / Grammar / Usage / Style / Writing

As anyone who edits (or writes) non-fiction knows, few things are as frustratingly difficult to keep straight as acronyms and initialisms. Two weeks ago, TEC editor Ronnie Morris broke down the difference between, and history and uses of, acronyms and initialisms. For anyone who needs a refresher on what those are, read Ronnie’s blog post on acronyms and initialisms, and then check back in here for some tips...

Writing / Writers Support Group / Book Reviews / Language & Editing

For academics across disciplines, writing and publishing journal articles is an unavoidable part of professional life. Anyone who’s been or been close to a scholar starting out in their career, struggling to find work, or approaching tenure knows that the need to publish can be a tremendous source of stress. The huge field of journal publishing can seem arbitrary and impersonal, and the connection between quality of thought...

Writing / Writers Support Group / Language & Editing / Guest Blogger

Though I can agree with the adage that anyone can write, we seldom take the time to unpack how people come to the writing process. In my world of academia, writing is not a choice but an expectation. Because of this, one has to quickly find their flow and stick to it. Everyone has their own style when it comes to writing. I’ve had the good...

Writing / Writers Support Group / Usage / Language & Editing

Our blog series on confusables (a. k. a. , easily mixed up words) has remained popular throughout the years, so we thought we’d revive it and take a look at some more tricky word pairings!     I. e. vs. E. g. These are both Latin abbreviations that we often see switched around. “E. ...

Writing / Writers Support Group / Language & Editing

When I first considered this blog post, I had a brilliant idea. I’d compare it to Marie Kondo’s The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up! I’d call it “The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up Your Writing”! How clever!   As I learned by turning to Google, Grammarly already has a blog post with that exact title. And The Writing Cooperative has a similar post by Teresa Ingalls, titled “De-clutter Your Writing...

Publishing / Writing / Writers Support Group / Social Media / Editing & Marketing

What is a publishing plan? Here at TEC, we’ve created many publishing plans for our non-fiction authors who have contracted us for our Publishing Consulting services.   A publishing plan is exactly what it sounds like: it involves scheduling and planning for the writing and publishing of your manuscript, from start to finish. Publishing can be an amazing journey, but also an overwhelming one. A well thought out plan...

Writing / Writers Support Group

Starting an editorial career can be a complicated undertaking. Whether pursuing a career as an employee at an established company or starting out on one’s own as a freelancer, it’s important for young writers to show prospective employers and/or clients that doing editorial work comes naturally.   Working as a writer often involves managing a multi-faceted schedule composed of a variety of editorial tasks and deadlines. So, depending on...

Writing

  One of our more popular blogs is 3 Ways to Avoid Repetition in Writing, in which I discus how repetition in writing can disengage your reader from the flow of your work. In this follow-up blog, I add three more strategies for avoiding repetitive words and phrases that can help you write clear and engaging prose.   1.    Limit your research This probably seems counter-productive to some of you, but...

Writing

I'm open to reading almost anything ­– fiction, nonfiction – as long as I know from the first sentence or two that this is a voice I want to listen to for a good long while. It has much to do with imagery and language, a particular perspective, the assured knowledge of the particular universe the writer has created. - Amy Tan   One of the most important things a writer...

Writing

Segues are an important part of writing in any genre, and knowing how to use segues well can be the difference between a successful or not-so-successful piece of content. First, let's get this out of the way: A Segway is a trademarked name referring to a motorized, two-wheel personal vehicle. A segue (in writing, anyway) is a smooth transitional phrase that moves the reader from one point or...

Writing

  Strunk and White's The Elements of Style is a classic, a compendium of pithy advice for writers who want to get their ideas across clearly and succinctly. Their Rule # 13, "Omit needless words," sounds like a slam-dunk: just do it. But how do you decide what's needless? Where do you start?   Well, sometimes working your way backwards helps – like taking apart a clock so you can...

Writing

Well, it's February 2017! We're solidly in Canadian winter, but we'll also be transitioning into spring soon (we can hope). In the spirit of great transitions, we've decided to revisit this great post about proper use of transitions in writing! We hope it helps you.   While drafting the February edition of the TEC newsletter, I found myself flipping through Beth's collection of Editorial Eye back issues, searching for inspiration for our...

Writing / Writers Support Group

  Imagine you have been asked to write an article for the Rotman Management, the Magazine of the Rotman School of Management at the University of Toronto. You want the writing to be clear and concise, and you want your punctuation and spelling to be in the publication's style. Perhaps the website doesn't offer a detailed style guide, so what should you do? You can pick up a copy...

Writing

Have you ever sat down to write a business article for a journal or a magazine and wondered what the editorial style of the publication was? Perhaps the website doesn't offer a detailed style guide and you know how important it is to punctuate properly or to capitalize key words. In this blog, I describe my detective-like approach to identifying the editorial style of a business magazine or journal....

Writing

  An editor is an expert at revising collections of written words. In fact, one French term for editor is "réviseur. " As a professional editor, revising someone else's text is part of my job. But as a writer, I love revising my own work, and all writers should learn to do this.   The American journalist Ambrose Bierce said that a saint was a just sinner who had been...

Writing

  While drafting the February edition of the TEC newsletter, I found myself flipping through Beth's collection of Editorial Eye back issues, searching for inspiration for our monthly Editors' Tip. I came across an interesting article on transition usage, and there was just too much useful information to fit into one newsletter tip. So, I decided to include the rest of the information in a blog, especially since transitions...

Writing

When reading a document, there are any number of writing errors or distractions that can take you out of the moment and interrupt the flow of your reading. The error I will discuss today is word repetition: how it occurs, and, more importantly, how to avoid it. Read It Out Loud You may have the memory of former teachers or professors scrawling "Word rep!" on your essays, papers, and reports...

Writing

The Challenge I am a perfectionist.   I realize this might not be the most shocking admission for an editor to make. Still, while it serves me well at work, there are many occasions in life where perfectionism is less an asset than a useless exercise in self-obstruction.   The second-biggest challenge in writing a novel is forcing yourself to make the time and do it. But the very biggest is...

Writing / Writers Support Group

In the spring of 2010, two authors agreed to become our inaugural writers for The Editing Company’s Writers Support Package. Ann Eyerman and Barbara Fish came on board and were just as enthusiastic to participate in the package as we were to offer it.   We all agreed on the mission: Within a time period of 18 months, Ann and Barbara were to each write a full-length manuscript. As...

Writing / Writers Support Group

  We have been editing and proofreading a number of manuscripts over the past few weeks that have made us here at TEC come to realize just how hard authors work.   This is not to say that I haven’t realized this before—having been an editor for so many years now, I have worked with an amazing array of writers. And I have always been in awe of how they do...

Writing / Writers Support Group

When a writer shows her/his work to someone and asks them to read it, there is the inevitable dread that she/he might hear those infamous words, “This is your first draft, right?”   This phrase can be said in two distinct ways. If the person reading your work looks at you and grimaces as she says, “It’s your FIRST draft, RIGHT?” what she really saying is, “This is your first draft,...

Writing

The Editing Company is introducing a new support package for writers. Currently in its trial run, The Editing Company’s Writers Support Package is a comprehensive approach to the writing process, offering feedback, community discussion, and inspiration to writers at all levels of experience producing works in all genres. TEC knows that a writer needs four key elements when she/he is working on a manuscript: structure, constructive feedback from a...