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Three dictionaries in a row with letters A - Z on cover.

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Tracey Anderson

Plain Language Resistance: Is “Plain” the Problem?

Thursday November 6, 2025

As a writer and editor who also teaches academic and business writing, I get asked a lot of language questions; it’s a regular and expected part of the job. One recent question, though, caught me by surprise: “How can I justify using plain language to my boss, who’s resistant to it?” The persistence of resistance […]

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plain language Tracey Anderson

Diverse group of six people standing together, representing different cultures and backgrounds. (Copyright: r4yhan © 123RF.com)

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Mahima Bhagwat on Editing with Authenticity

Thursday March 19, 2026

In this week’s post, Mahima Bhagwat shares her perspective on how editors can help authors shape authentic narratives. Q: You mention on your website that you’ve lived, studied and worked in multiple countries. In what ways does the perspective you’ve gained from that help you as an editor? I’m Indian, and all of my teen […]

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diversity editing Mahima Bhagwat

A person on a ladder holds a magnifying glass up to an oversized report with a paper clip attached. (Copyright: Olonezec © 123RF.com)

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Upgrade Your Editing Checklists

Thursday April 23, 2026

Many editors use checklists, but if you’re looking to make an upgrade , consider coming to my session, Build Better Checklists for Your Editing Tasks, at the Editors Canada conference in May. I’ll be discussing how using comprehensive checklists for your editing tasks can transform your workday! Basic versus comprehensive checklists Checklists are everywhere. Search […]

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checklists Conference 2026 Kelly Schrank

A text-only image, which is a definition by Ambrose Bierce, from his acerbic book, The Devil’s Dictonary. The definition reads: “Defame, verb transitive. To lie about another. To tell the truth about another.” In the red and black background, a dictionary excerpt of the word “justice” fades in at bottom.

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R. Franklin Carter

Know Your Legal Limits

Tuesday February 26, 2013

Let’s begin by sketching a fictional but plausible scenario. Dan Ascot is a librarian who works at the University of Western Nebraska. One day, in 2009, he posts a few remarks about a publisher on his blog. He says that Knightsbridge Press, a publisher of scholarly books in Massachusetts, produces “over-priced works of dubious scholarship.” […]

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censorship defamation freedom of expression Freedom to Read Week legal

Colour portrait of Dr. Edwin Battistella, dressed in a shirt and sports jacket with arms open, likely delivering a lecture.

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GETTABLE GRAMMAR: Learning to like “like”

Tuesday April 9, 2013

One often hears complaints about how some people litter their sentences with the word like—not as a noun, verb, preposition or conjunction, but as, like, an interjection. Like that. Now I know that Canadians like to blame Americans for all the world’s ills, but we can’t really lay this verbal tic at the feet of […]

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editing editor Edwin Batistella Gettable Grammar grammar Grammar Gals R.W. Burchfield usage

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WASTED WORDS: A World Without Problems

Tuesday June 11, 2013

“Houston we have a challenge!” “This is Houston Apollo. What do you mean by challenge?” “A power drop in one of the two main electrical circuits.” “That’s a problem Apollo. Can’t copy challenge.” I’ve altered parts of this celebrated exchange from 43 years ago to support my case. At the time challenge was a word […]

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copy editing editing problem useage word choice

Cartoon: 2 women drink tea. One says “Your book was published! How exciting! Can I get a copy?” The other answers, “I only have one left. They are, of course selling briskly,” as she pulls out a copy of The Tearful Rose from behind a curtain where there are many other copies.

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Rosemary Shipton

Editors and Self-Publishing Authors

Tuesday June 25, 2013

As editors, we must break out of our anonymous shell and shout our virtues loudly and clearly for writers to hear. We’ve all heard the stories: a few authors who self-publish do extremely well, earning hundreds of thousands of dollars a year, while the majority have little success, bringing in less than $500 all told. […]

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Edit Yourself—and Get Published editing editors self-publish self-published authors self-publishing

Close up of a red rose lying across an open page of an old book with German text.

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DISPATCHES 5: How to Get a Job in Publishing

Tuesday July 16, 2013

Always, ALWAYS, be prepared to talk about what you’re reading. Despite the auspicious title of this article, I can’t actually tell you how to get a job in publishing. Fewer and fewer jobs are opening up in this industry every day, and young people are having to get pretty creative to snag the few […]

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editor editorial work intern internship publishing publishing programs

film_editing

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The Envelope, Please

Thursday January 16, 2014

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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book editors editing editing awards editor's role editorial work editors film film awards film editing