EBook Technology & Services

It's safe to say that e-books are here to stay, and it's becoming clear that, contrary to warnings we all heard a few years ago, they aren't bringing on the "death of print books. " Quite the contrary, actually. The New York Times recently published an article about how e-book sales are actually declining—seems like the "digital apocalypse" won't be arriving after all. As well, e-book technology has been...

Office Happenings / Social Media & Community

Fall has definitely arrived on this post-Thanksgiving Monday … wind, rain, and turning leaves … at least here in Toronto. And lots has happened since our last update. This August/September marked the start of Year 8 for The Editing Company. Congratulations to our dynamic editing team for reaching this milestone! We celebrated our anniversary over a delicious dinner at Pizzeria Via Mercanti in early September.   TEC is...

Language & Editing

On September 28, musician, academic, and activist Wab Kinew addressed a full house at the Toronto Reference Library’s Bluma Appel Salon. The event was part of the salon’s (free!) ongoing program in which “writers, thinkers, artists and innovators from around the world gather for conversation and debate. ” The CBC’s Carol Off interviewed Kinew about his new memoir, The Reason You Walk. He describes the book as...

Event

On Sunday September 27 at Harbourfront Centre in Toronto, the 26th edition of The Word On The Street once again brought together the people who create books and the people who love to read them. AN ANNUAL CELEBRATION OF THE WRITTEN WORD More than just a book fair, WOTS is a countrywide celebration of the written word in all its forms: reading, writing, publishing, editing, and even book-binding. Parallel...

EBook Technology & Services

Many people don't realize that when they decide to have their manuscript turned into an eBook, they have to choose one of two layout options: fixed or standard layout. This decision can depend on a number of factors, including: the type or genre of book, the level of control the author wants over the design experience, and the level of accessibility desired for the book. In this blog,...

EBook Technology & Services

  The concept of eBooks has been around for a long time now, and it seems the debate over "print vs. screen" has, for the most part, eased. With new developments in eReader technology, reading on a screen can be just as comfortable as reading printed text. However, I still find that, every once in a while, I come across people who are still just as vehemently opposed...

Editing / Style

As one of our Academic Editors here at TEC, I've recently been working on a lot of graduate theses and dissertations, helping students to shape what they've written into something they're proud to defend. Having just defended by own PhD dissertation earlier this year, I have a good idea of what graduate supervisors and committees are looking for in a finished dissertation (in the humanities and social sciences, at...

Copyright And Permissions

September 2015   We are reposting this blog from 2010 because the issue of copyright is still relevant, and the research challenges we faced with our project that year is one that we have encountered several times since. At that time, we were clearing photo permissions for Blood, Sweat and Tears by David Cleighton-Thomas (Penguin 2011). Searching for the Photographers TEC permissions editors just spent several weeks trying to identify photographers of several 40-year-old...

Editing & Technologies

A large manuscript has always presented stylistic challenges to editors, as we are charged with maintaining consistency through the entire work. If the author used a hyphen in “co-operation" on page 20, did he then spell it without one on page 236? Does a "well-known movie actor" become "the well known movie actor" later in the article? We can mandate that a serial comma is to be used, but...

Language & Editing

  Since the term political correctness entered mainstream usage in the 1990s, it's been richly scorned and lampooned. Maybe this is because to some, the word correctness smacks of rules, rigid and arbitrary ones enforced by language police.   Of course, there is no official body governing the use of the English language. Dictionaries and style guides merely document and codify how the language is used. So it's up...

Editing & Technologies

  Hello, TEC readers! Editors, like anyone else, occasionally like to take some time off and go on vacation, which is where I am this week. While I'm gone, please enjoy this "blog from the archives," written by Melissa MacAulay. The digital advances we've made in the past 20 years have affected more than just editors—writers are affected too, especially when it comes to using sources found online. ...

Book Reviews

  A good question to ask, especially when reading the University Press Issue, which was released on July 9. I happened to be at Book City on the Danforth and couldn't resist picking up a copy. The New York Review of Books is, of course, an undisputed source of information for all books literary, poetic, academic, geographic, historical, and the list goes on, which makes for incredibly engaging reading....

Office Happenings / Social Media & Community

What's Up @ TEC! August/September 2015 Edition   Here we are in August, enjoying the summer and all that it has to offer. Toronto has been abuzz with the Pan Am and Para Pan Am Games. Our TEC editor Chris Cameron volunteered as a field-of-play marshal at the men's and women's triathlons on the course of the road cycling events. "It's a great thrill to watch the elite athletes from...

Editing & Marketing

  Recently, we created a worksheet for self-publishing authors to calculate a rough estimate of what their costs for editing services might be. Budgeting your money in order to self-publish is a smart move---there are so many different services you might need for your book, anything from developmental or copy editing to cover design, formatting, or printing. There are lots of resources on the web that can assist you...

Language & Editing

  Editor Barbara: She's Been There!   So you've been in Canada for a while now, and you've gone from understanding very little English to understanding almost everything. From there, you've taken the leap to speaking fairly fluently. And yet . and yet . writing is a lot harder than you thought it would be. Learning the Language I hear you. ...

Publishing

As someone who likes to see writers get into print, I am particularly interested in the growth of the self-publishing community and the opportunities it offers for both authors and editors.   Arlene Prunkl, an editor with many years of experience, works almost exclusively with authors who self-publish. At EAC's Editing Goes Global conference this year, Prunkl presented an inspiring workshop on the agonies, ecstasies, and pitfalls of working with...

Publishing

  Are you thinking about self-publishing a book? Many people feel they have a book idea rattling around in their head, just waiting to be written. If you are one of those people and you decide that now is the time to get that book onto the page, I have some things you might want to think about.     First, if you would like to write this book just for the...

Editing / Grammar

At this year's EAC conference, a major theme was professional development and keeping up-to-date. Just as a physicist must keep abreast of advances and innovations in her field, so too must the editor keep up with the constant evolution of language. As keynote speaker Carol Fisher Saller pointed out, you may have learned to never split infinitives (see what I did there?), but that was twenty years ago....

Editing / Usage

Last week was a very exciting event for editors in Canada (and around the world)--the 2015 EAC International Conference, "Editing Goes Global," was held in Toronto. Organized and hosted by the Editors' Association of Canada, this  was the first-ever global conference of editors, and obviously TEC staff jumped at the chance to attend! There were so many great seminars, it was hard to choose which to sit in on,...

Books And Reading

On Wednesday, June 10, I attended the Summer Edition of "45 Books in 45 Minutes" at Ben McNally Books in Toronto. This semi-annual event is a must for those wishing to keep abreast of the latest fiction and non-fiction publications. Advertised as a "quick and informative rundown of the best, or most talked about, books of the season," in 45 minutes Ben McNally and Lynn Thomson provide you...

Office Happenings

  There are no words I can use to apologize for the hiatus in the bi-monthly updates from TEC. Since January/February a few things have happened!   New Editor: In April, Chris Cameron joined our editing team as academic and non-fiction editor. We welcome him and look forward to having him on board.   New Editing Services: TEC is pleased to announce a new service for writers of English as a Second...

Editing / Editor/writer

  In the last “Ask the Editor” blog, I talked about bringing an editor on board before you’ve even started writing the book, and I pointed out how using your editor in this way can help make your book better from the first word you write. If that struck a chord with you, read on!    This week, I’ll be talking about how you, as an author, can prepare for your first...

Usage

Ever wonder what editors do while they ride the subway on their way to work? One engaging pastime is to read subway posters for minor errors. The other morning I spotted these four. See if you can identify them. “A simple solution to a sophisticated look. ”                –An Outdoor Deck Company “Paying more for less...

Editing / Editor/writer

So, you want to write a book. You’ve got the idea in your head, and a vague plan of how to move forward. But how do you get started? Finding an Editor to Write With Many authors seek out an editor before they have even started writing their book. The reasoning is that an editor can help you as you move through the writing process: she/he will keep you accountable, provide real...