results 169-192 of 462
Behind every delicious comic is a very sharp-eyed editor. Or at least I'd like to think so! I'm mostly a comic writer/illustrator, but over time I learned how to be a comic editor as well. As an editor, I learned that comic editing is a very finicky business. I've been sharing some of my comic-making conundrums with the staff at The Editing Company as I put together...
Read MoreOne 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...
Read Moredramaturgy n. 1 the art of theatrical production; the theory of dramatics. 2 the application of this. dramaturgical adj. ~Paperback Oxford Canadian Dictionary: Second Edition Editors are the unsung heroes of the publishing industry, reading and re-reading tirelessly in an effort to improve others' writing. In the case of substantive editing, a book editor might spend years working with an author, and, though they receive a salary and...
Read MoreIt feels appropriate that my first post for the TEC blog is a review of a style guide. In the two months since I've started working at TEC I've spent plenty of time looking through guides like the APA Publication Manual and the massive Chicago Manual of Style. The best style guides are more than a source of rules and answers for specific questions about formatting and referencing:...
Read MoreAmmon Shea's Bad English: A History of Linguistic Aggravation (Penguin, 2014) is a usage guide of sorts, but far from being a prescriptive guide like Fowler's A Dictionary of Modern English Usage or Bremner's Words on Words, Shea's book records a variety of grammar and usage peeves, and, by examining their roots, exposes them as unfounded compulsions foisted on English users by grammar scolds. Having previously written Reading the OED:...
Read MoreRecently at TEC, I celebrated something of a milestone – my 100th invoice to the company! Maybe it doesn’t seem like that much of a big deal, only 100 invoices, but I invoice every two weeks, so (with vacations and other things) that’s over 200 weeks spent here at TEC. In fact, my four-year anniversary with TEC is coming up in a month. A Little History I started at TEC...
Read MoreThey say you can’t judge a book by its cover. Really? While the saying may be metaphorically true, in a literal sense, as any book publishing professional can tell you, if a book cover doesn’t give you a pretty good idea of what’s inside, it has failed. A book cover’s visual appeal needs to be such that any prospective book buyer can see at a glance that the...
Read MoreHaving worked as a freelance writer and editor in Toronto, Grey County, and now the Hamilton area, I've had the opportunity to learn about some of the pros and cons of doing editorial work in both rural and urban settings. As a returning blogger for The Editing Company, I'm glad that I get to share my experiences serving clarity, consistency, and correctness, and I hope that reading about my...
Read MoreI'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...
Read MoreIt’s been a while since I’ve written an “Ask the Editor” blog post! This time, I’m going to talk about how to make the editing process easier for nervous or skittish first-time writers. While much of this advice might be geared towards how editors can work with writers, these tips can be very beneficial for writers having their work edited for the first time as well. If you are...
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As the holiday season moves into full swing, you probably have holiday traditions that you enjoy with your family and friends, or even some traditions that you do just for yourself. Holiday traditions always seem to help you adopt a more festive mood, no matter what life throws your way! One of the most popular holiday traditions is probably watching holiday films – Elf, A Christmas Carol, Scrooged, It’s...
Read MoreIt can be difficult to choose gifts for editors (or writers!) – choosing a book is often too risky or nerve-wracking, but if not a book, then…what? We’ve compiled some out-of-the-box ideas to add to our list of great gifts for the editor in your life, or even a friend who loves the written word! WORD OF THE DAY CALENDAR These calendars are great because there are just so many of...
Read MoreA while back, we at TEC were chatting over lunch about Word On The Street, and I mentioned that I had once manned a booth at the event. The reaction was an awkward pause, followed by “Manned a booth?” The question was, of course, one of gender neutrality. Shouldn’t I have said “staffed” instead? Didn’t “manning” imply a bias towards staffing being a male bailiwick? So I did what...
Read MoreIn September, The Editing Company began its 10th year of business. We have been celebrating our anniversary by offering 10% discounts, 10 complementary 1-hour consults, and 10 chances to win TEC swag through our Twitter raffles. Our team also had an extra-long lunch (on the Company) at a local restaurant. Year 10 will continue until next September, and we will continue to offer excellent services, building on...
Read MoreHere at TEC, it’s our job to provide our clients with the best guidance and advice in the editing and flow of their documents. Recently, we had a client ask us about working with numbers in text – how to treat them, when to spell them out, when not to spell them out… There are many questions that can arise when you’re working with numbers! So, here is a helpful...
Read MoreEditing is hard work, and sometimes it's nice to take a break from editing a particularly difficult piece of text and have a bit of fun. I've collected some suggestions for little quizzes, intriguing blog posts, and interactive activities for you to help you perk up and give your brain a break! OED Blog: Symbols for Sounds: Dictionary Pronunciations Explained If an interesting distraction is what you’re after, this article from...
Read MoreDid you know that for TEC's tenth anniversary, we are running a promotion where you can get a free consultation with our Senior Editor, Beth, to discuss your project? (Email us to sign up!) It's a fantastic opportunity to get some guidance on advancing your project, what kind of editing it will need, and ways you can make your writing better. So come on in to see us -- we'd...
Read MoreChances are, you have had a lot of experience or contact with business writing: compiling expense or business reports, writing up contracts, and crafting proposals. Whether you work for yourself or for a small or large business, many aspects of your job will involve writing. When most people think about "business writing," they probably think of the type of writing I listed above -- more formal, structured types...
Read MoreIt's pretty simple, right? A singular subject takes a singular verb, and a plural subject takes a plural verb. The dog is barking. The dogs are barking. Most of the time, we apply this rule without even thinking about it. But sometimes, we're stumped. How Complicated Can It Be? It can actually be a bit unnerving to consult a grammar guide for help with subject-verb agreement. ...
Read MoreIn celebration of the 17th edition of The Chicago Manual of Style (both hard copy and digital editions) we thought it would be appropriate to repost a blog from 2012 that looked at the humbler version of the CMS. Here at The Editing Company, we page through our hard-copy edition on a regular basis, and now we page through the online edition that we subscribed to just about a year ago....
Read MoreSegues 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...
Read MoreWe're not supposed to judge books by their covers, but like it or not, when shopping around a bookstore with nothing particular in mind, it's often a cover that will attract the eye. I was recently perusing the selection at the lovely Type Books in Toronto's Queen West neighbourhood, and certain books stood out to me, not by their outside cover, but rather by their typography—what was on the...
Read MoreLanguage and the way we use it is undeniably fluid. One doesn't have to look far to find idioms and words that have changed their wording and subsequently their meanings over the years. Especially in the 21st century, words that were once nouns have now become noun/verb hybrids. Examples that immediately spring to mind are "to text," as in "I'll text you," and the teeth-grindingly common "to...
Read MoreStrunk 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...
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