Editing / Editor/writer

For our blog just a few weeks ago I was asked about the best piece of editing advice I ever received. I had actually only recently had an epiphany about this, so I replied without hesitation: “Remember, it’s not your book. ” The same might be said about any writing format, but it was this phrase in particular that rang in my head when the penny finally dropped. ...

Editing / Style / Book Reviews

niche /niːʃ/  noun 1.   a shallow recess, esp. in a wall to contain a statue etc. 2.   a comfortable or suitable position in life or employment. 3.   a specialized but profitable corner of the market: [also attributive]: niche marketing. 4.   (Ecology) a position or role taken by a kind of organism within its community.   To be honest, I had no idea what to expect when Beth first slid this slim volume across...

Editing / Editor/writer

Here at The Editing Company, we occasionally have to answer a familiar question from an inquiring caller: “How can you guarantee perfection?” This is an excellent question, and one I’d like to take a few minutes to discuss.     How Can We Guarantee Perfection?   Well, the short answer is that perfection cannot be guaranteed—a fact that holds true for pretty much every other profession out there (and life in general, actually). ...

Editing / Style / Editor/writer / Language & Editing

Spring is here, and as the trees start to bud, and the snowdrops and crocuses start to poke their green tips out of the dirt, it’s hard not to think about growth, in all senses of the word. At TEC, this got us thinking – as we’ve grown as editors, picking up knowledge and tips along the way, what is the most important piece of advice we’ve kept in...

Editing / Grammar / Usage / Style / Usage

Like any profession, editorial work involves keeping up with how professional standards and tools of the trade change over time. Unlike aviation standards, though, changes to editorial standards aren’t always big news, so it’s generally up to individual editors to try to keep on top of how and when the editorial goalposts have shifted. One of the most effective ways for writers and editors to make sure that...

Editing / Editor/writer / Publishing

As an editor, remaining empathetic and sensitive to the author's needs will always be important. So, we decided to revisit this blog from earlier in the year!   ***   Editing training can teach you many things – grammar intricacies, plotting, structuring, developing proper flow, etc. But there’s more to being an editor than just correcting commas and restructuring sentences.   A big part of being a good editor is knowing how to...

Publishing / Copyright And Permissions

So, you’ve determined you do need to request permission for something you’re using in your book. It might be a poem, it could be an excerpt of text, or it could be a single quote. But what exactly are your next steps? How do you know who to apply to, or where to find their contact information? What exactly are you supposed to say?   Here are the basic steps...

Publishing / Writing / Writers Support Group / Copyright And Permissions

Self-publishing opportunities allow authors to reach their audiences on their own schedules and through their own publishing initiatives. An important step in the publishing process is securing copyright information that allows the author to write/create a copyright statement to protect their published book (often referred to as “the work”). This copyright statement is usually placed on the copyright page, which is a page that often follows the internal...

Publishing / Writing / Writers Support Group

It's still the beginning of a new year, and that usually means lots of new authors are out there working on the first draft of that book they've been wanting to write! Getting that first draft completed isn't easy, so, from our archives, here's a post that will help you cross that finish line.   *****   Completing the first draft of your book can be the most daunting thing about writing a...

Copyright And Permissions / Social Media / Editing & Marketing

Newsletters, websites, business cards, advertisements — social media icons are everywhere. These icons are shorthand symbols that can send users to your company (or personal) profile on different social networks, such as Twitter, Instagram, or Facebook. It’s fair to say that most people know what is going to happen if they click on the Facebook icon in a company’s email or newsletter.   Because of their widespread use, many...

Copyright And Permissions

Copyright and permissions can be a tricky subject for any author to navigate. At TEC, we often get questions and queries from authors about whther they need permission to include an image, a song lyric, a quote from a book, etc. So, we thought we would revisit this blog post from 2019!   *****   Anyone writing a manuscript — be it a book, a journal article, a blog, a newsletter —...

Editing / Editor/writer

Editing training can teach you many things – grammar intricacies, plotting, structuring, developing proper flow, etc. But there’s more to being an editor than just correcting commas and restructuring sentences.   A big part of being a good editor is knowing how to develop relationships with the authors you work with. Like any working relationship, it’s important to conduct yourself a certain way. Relationship-building is the lens through...

Publishing

To be an editor is a rewarding career choice. There are so many different types of editing and so many different types of editors. And for those in the field, a common question we are asked is, “How do I become an editor?” Well, there are many ways to become an editor, but one of the key components is training. If you are looking into becoming an...

Publishing

Independent Canadian publishers help define the Canadian literary scene. In 2019, we published the first listing of 5 such publishers for emerging authors. In this post, we are introducing another 5 publishers.   Much like Invisible Publishing, founded in 2007, some of these publishers have been publishing for a decade or more, broadening their mandates periodically by launching new imprints. But, whether brand-new or well-established, all of the publishers mentioned here...

Editing / Style / Editor/writer / Publishing / Proofreading

Editorial work entails a variety of different jobs. These include substantive editing, line editing, and proofreading. Because the process of editorial work occurs largely through written exchanges — through emails and through editorial comments left in the manuscript’s margin, for example — it’s critical that writers and editors share a common glossary of editorial terms.   Editorial work, like work in most industries, employs an ever-expanding list of technical...

Language & Editing

As the world grows dark and cold in the Northern Hemisphere, cultures across the globe would normally gather together to drive away the gloom. However, this year, things are a little different. Just because we cannot gather together as we normally would though, doesn't mean the holidays have to be dark and gloomy. Lights can shine even in the darkest of spaces.   There are dozens of holidays celebrated around...

Usage / Language & Editing

Inclusive writing is often confused with politically correct writing, but political correctness isn’t an author’s main goal when writing inclusively. Instead, inclusive writing seeks to limit reader alienation by avoiding the use of phrases and terms that include some demographics at the expense of excluding others.   When writing inclusively, a glossary of politically correct and incorrect terms could be used as a reference, but this glossary would act as...

Editing / Grammar / Usage / Usage

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...

Writing / Writers Support Group

When I first wrote this blog, we were just three months into the worst global pandemic in over a century. It is November and we have been living in the pandemic for eight months now. As I pointed out then, 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...

Editing / Usage / Style / Writing / Writers Support Group

Emphatic writing allows writers the opportunity to drive home the importance of letters, words, phrases, sentences, and ideas. Aside from mechanical considerations, such as italicization and CAPITALIZATION, there are six common methods that writers can use to give specific sections a bit more oomph.     More Space   The first of these is probably the most obvious method for emphasizing an idea: giving a specific topic lots of space on the page...

Editing & Marketing / Social Media / Editing & Marketing

Imagine you go to your local market to do some shopping. You have your list and you browse the aisles, choosing the products you want and the products you know … you’ve bought them before. But what if you want to try something new, say a loaf of bread or a box of cereal? In my market, these two products line either side of a long aisle, and...

Usage / Language & Editing

Our blog series on confusables has remained popular over the years, so we thought it was time to post a new list. This one includes some explanations of confusables you’ve likely heard in the news recently.     Epidemic vs. Pandemic   Both these words are used for disease outbreaks, which I suppose is why it’s so easy to confuse them. The main difference between the two terms has to do...

Event / Usage / Language & Editing

October 2020 is drawing to a close, and pandemic-fatigued children and adults are turning to the warm embrace of holiday nostalgia to help ease their minds. With December still more than a month away, though, it’s anyone’s guess what kind of public health guidelines will be in place when Christmas and Hannukah arrive, so many are scaling back their festive celebrations in favour of online get-togethers.   Remembrance Day gatherings...

Editing / Usage / Style / Editor/writer

In this week's blog, we decided to share some of the most basic editing rules that editors must remember to follow, regardless of what type of text they're working with.     Do No Harm Perhaps the most important rule in editing is this: do not introduce errors into the text you are working with! If a text requires a lot of markup and heavy editing, sometimes it can be easy to miss...