THE EDITORS' WEEKLY

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David Antrobus

The Editor’s Fedora Part 3

March 10, 2014 by David Antrobus | 12 Comments on The Editor’s Fedora Part 3

Now we arrive at the crucial topic of cost, and the seemingly arbitrary variations in same. Some editors are so brilliant that they really can and do charge top dollar. I know someone who can quote $5,000 for editing an 80,000-word manuscript. Before you gag on that, bear in mind that editing at that rarefied […]

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Wilf Popoff

An Editor Who Laughed at Her Work

March 4, 2014 by Wilf Popoff | 4 Comments on An Editor Who Laughed at Her Work

As an editor Karen Virag never seemed to flinch when she spotted a gaffe. Why should she? She had the smarts to identify the problem and the skill to correct it. She also recognized that without bad writing she wouldn’t have a job. Such virtues apply to any competent editor, but Karen went further. She […]

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David Antrobus

The Editor’s Fedora Part 2

February 27, 2014 by David Antrobus | 2 Comments on The Editor’s Fedora Part 2

Okay, after Part 1, you should now have the MS nice and clean. What’s the next step? How do you find an editor? This part isn’t hard, but it’s crucial you find someone who’s right for your book. And there’s no substitute for research. Ask around. Google. If you haven’t already done so, join writers’ […]

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David Antrobus

The Editor’s Fedora Part 1

February 25, 2014 by David Antrobus | 2 Comments on The Editor’s Fedora Part 1

As an independent writer myself and a passionate believer in the indie ethic, I have to acknowledge one of its major downsides: a real or perceived shoddiness in the final product of self-published authors. Which is where I now switch hats and replace the bohemian beret of the writer with a more conservative form of […]

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Victoria Neufeldt

Bold Words

February 18, 2014 by Victoria Neufeldt | Leave a Comment

One could say that bold words enter the language shouting. An example would be the word AIDS, which was coined in the early 1980s, probably by a journalist, as an initialism for the descriptive medical name of the disease: acquired immunodeficiency syndrome. Because the disease burst upon the world so devastatingly, the word AIDS was in the news just about […]

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Adrienne Montgomerie

This Book Contains Canadian Spelling

February 11, 2014 by Adrienne Montgomerie | 11 Comments on This Book Contains Canadian Spelling

Every publisher who has hoped for a large U.S. audience has asked me to edit to U.S. spelling standards. You know, drop the dipthongs (oe and ae), omit the u from ou pairs, use z instead of s, allow only one consonant before adding an ending… They seem to think Americans won’t buy a book […]

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Dominique Fortier

La majuscule de position sur les cartes

February 4, 2014 by Dominique Fortier | Leave a Comment

La majuscule de position (certains l’appellent « majuscule initiale »), c’est une majuscule que l’on met à la première lettre d’un mot qui n’en contient habituellement pas. Par exemple, on met toujours une majuscule initiale au mot ― quel qu’il soit ― qui commence une phrase après un point. Les toponymes ou noms géographiques font partie de […]

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Susan Glickman

Editing the First-Time Novelist

January 28, 2014 by Susan Glickman | 1 Comment on Editing the First-Time Novelist

I teach Creative Writing in the continuing education programs at both Ryerson and the University of Toronto. My students know that I also work as a freelance editor, so they often ask me whether they ought to hire one. Sometimes they even want to hire me, but generally I refuse. Why? Because first drafts from […]

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Anna Williams Karen Virag

In Memoriam

January 20, 2014 by Karen Virag | Leave a Comment

The Editors’ Weekly mourns the loss of a loved and valued contributor, Karen Virag, who passed away on Jan. 11 following a brief illness. From the EAC’s national office: A longtime member of EAC’s Prairie Provinces branch, Karen was the association’s director of publications. She co-chaired EAC’s successful 2008 national conference in Edmonton and the […]

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Melva McLean

The Envelope, Please

January 16, 2014 by Melva McLean | 7 Comments on The Envelope, Please

I was at a film event the other night, and someone asked, “So what do you do for a living?” I, of course, answered, “I’m an editor.” They asked, “What movies have you worked on?” It happens all the time. But the other night, for the first time, someone asked me if I saw any […]

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