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Do You Need That Adverb?

Tuesday November 18, 2014

Readers with long memories may recall Tom Swiftie jokes from the early 1960s. Named after the hero in the Tom Swift series of juvenile adventure novels, Tom Swifties relied on a corny use of adverbs. Here are examples: “We’re travelling faster than sound!” said Tom, swiftly. “The temperature is 200 degrees!” said Tom, heatedly. “It’s […]

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adverbs writing

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Sue Archer

Four Guidelines for Editing Your Way Through the Corporate Jungle

Tuesday November 25, 2014

I’ve been thinking a lot lately about what it means to be an editor. Unlike many of my editing colleagues who work in publishing, I ply my trade within a corporation. Although my official title is not “editor,” editing is a large part of what I do. I’ve worked for years in information technology, where […]

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Wilf Popoff

Wasted Words: A Compulsion to Exaggerate

Tuesday February 24, 2015

Frank McKenna, a San Diego photographer, complains that all photos displayed on the web are described as stunning. “What’s going on here?” he asks. “When did every picture become stunning?” McKenna sees this as word inflation. I agree to a point. Certainly it’s almost insulting nowadays to simply say something is delightful or charming; we […]

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adjectives language superlatives usage Wasted Words word choice writing

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Roma Ilnyckyj

Editing Science: Mechanics and Beyond

Tuesday March 10, 2015

I work for a science communications company called Talk Science to Me. Our goal is to help scientists communicate their research effectively, and we offer writing, editing, design and project management services, among others. As an associate editor, I mostly copy edit and proofread research reports, articles, books and websites. Many of our clients are […]

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editing editors at work Facets of Editing scientific editing

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Virginia Durksen

Myth: Editors Read With Their Eyes

Tuesday April 7, 2015

If there’s a cliché image for our profession, it’s eyeglasses. Editors and librarians, it seems, should always have a pair handy, preferably hanging from a chain around the neck. We earn this image, as we earn our reputation, when we limit editing to what the eye sees. Editing is not just an eye thing. It’s […]

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editing editorial skills editors at work Inner Editor tone

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Dwain Richardson

English Editing in Quebec: False Cognates, Syntax and Interferences — Oh My!

Tuesday April 14, 2015

Here are two French excerpts and their translations (emphases and bold prints are mine): Donner la vedette à la nature luxuriante jusqu’à ce point impose le respect. Plus encore, ce lieu intemporel inspire le recueillement propre au dénuement référant à l’art de l’aménagement extérieur japonais.… Récipiendaire du Prix X, le jury a particulièrement remarqué le […]

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faux amis syntax traduction translation

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James Harbeck

Plough Through Enough Dough to Make You Cough or Hiccough | Linguistics, Frankly

Tuesday June 9, 2015

You want some tough spelling for an English learner to plough through? Head to ough. There are six different ways it can be said at the end of a word, as in plough, through, dough, enough, cough and (for those who spell it that way) hiccough. (Never mind the versions with another letter after it!) […]

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history of language language linguistics Linguistics Frankly Old English

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Melva McLean

The Invisible Vocation in Books

Tuesday September 1, 2015

Well, our blog post about Colin Firth playing the great Maxwell Perkins in the upcoming film Genius had a one-day reach of 3,000 viewers. We editors are the invisible and unsung celebrities of the publishing world, so it feels great to get some recognition in print or on film. Hell, we’ll even take word of […]

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book recommendations books about publishing Melva McLean

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Tanya Procyshyn

Gift Ideas for Editors and Other Word Nerds

Tuesday December 8, 2015

December is officially upon us, and with that comes gift-giving season. Whether you’re looking for the perfect Secret Santa item for a fellow editor, a thoughtful gift for a bookwork friend or even a treat for yourself to celebrate the end of a year of hard work, the following items should put a smile on […]

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fun stuff games gifts Tanya Procyshyn word games

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Paul Cipywnyk

Mourning the Demise of Newsroom Copy Editors

Tuesday February 16, 2016

I was fortunate to get my initial on-the-job training in journalism in the days when writers worked with desk editors, copy editors and proofreaders. At least three sets of eyes perused every story after it had been written, and sometimes four or five. Three or more brains worked on massaging and polishing copy and checking […]

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copy editing editorial workflow journalism newsroom editing Paul Cipywnyk