Compound words often have me reaching for the dictionary to confirm I’ve spelled them correctly. The Chicago Manual of Style confirms that compound spellings are indeed the most common spelling questions for writers and editors. Is the compound in question two words, hyphenated, or closed up as a single word? Non member, non-member, or nonmember?… Continue Reading
Are you a pompous grammarian with a competitive entrepreneurial spirit? Then get over to FundAnything and help Grammar Girl with her new game, Peeve Wars. Peeve Wars is a card game in which you collect peeve cards to annoy your opponent. My favourite peeve card is the Grammar Snob (“Just because you’re correct doesn’t mean… Continue Reading
From shepherding a project to completion to identifying nitty-gritty mistakes in grammar, there are several types of editing that improve text — not to mention a myriad of additional operations such as rewriting, electronic coding, fact checking, indexing, obtaining permissions, etc. Copy editing is the last type of editing that a text undergoes. When a… Continue Reading
Lots of editors are introverts. We love reading — alone! — and we have little trouble working at home as freelancers. Of course, we must deal with our clients and with any other issues related to running a business — talking with the accountant, with the computer techie, or with the account manager at the… Continue Reading
According to the Toronto Sun, this is PwC’s personal brand week. On its website, PwC offers this tool to help job hunters understand how they’re perceived in online searches. Armed with this knowledge, job hunters can then work to correct any inconsistencies. To get the gig they want, job hunters and freelancers should be clear… Continue Reading
Language is constantly changing, and good editors stay abreast of changes in usage and spelling. But last night, a writer sent me reaching for the dictionary because I was sure he had misused nonplussed, and I was absolutely nonplussed by his incorrect usage. I’m currently reading The Best Laid Plans by Terry Fallis, who will… Continue Reading
Self-publishing is an exciting development for authors and freelancers. Gone are the days when self-publishing was equated with vanity press publishing. Self-publishing has empowered writers and editors to come together without the need for the big publishing house as middleman. Check out www.writer.ly and authorconnections.com. Award-nominated writer Nina Munteanu spoke to the Toronto Branch of… Continue Reading
Whenever I hear about changes in the workplace, I think of the Portlandia skit where Julia is meandering through one of those modern, techie workplaces where cubicles have been replaced with bouncy balls, slides, and “The Basket.” (Watch the skit to the end to see what I mean.) The subject of work and workplaces has… Continue Reading
I bet you’ve noticed my new pet peeve a lot lately: the overuse of event by marketers. We used to talk about event venues or about sports events. There was some importance attached to an event, or at least some kind of formal program. Not anymore. Yes, it’s been a brutal winter, but do I… Continue Reading
Some books are like comforting, wise old friends. That’s how I feel about Falling Upward by Richard Rohr, the book I’m reading right now. The book is about the further journey some of us take after the survival concerns of the first half of life have been successfully wrestled with — things like earning a… Continue Reading