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Brendan O’Brien

Beginnings

Tuesday June 19, 2018

In 1988 I found myself at a career crossroads. I put a small ad in the Irish Times seeking editorial work, hoping to learn on the job. One of the (very few) responses was from a man I’ll call John, who was running a free newspaper in South Central Dublin (Ireland). He suggested that I […]

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Review: Elements of Indigenous Style: A Guide for Writing By and About Indigenous Peoples by Gregory Younging

Tuesday May 29, 2018

When I heard an Indigenous style guide was being published this year, I was excited by the opportunity to learn a framework for approaching the works of Indigenous authors. I am a non-Indigenous editor — a settler — and in recent years I have become very aware of my long-standing ignorance regarding the perspectives of […]

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book review editing Elements of Indigenous Style Indigenous authors Indigenous Peoples Indigenous style publishing style guides writing

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Marion Soubliere

Perks of Being a Federal Supplier Aboard ProServices

Tuesday May 8, 2018

The Government of Canada is eager to buy from small businesses. My 2017 post Winning Contracts With the Government of Canada explained how to register as a supplier to this annual $15-billion to $20-billion market. How to Market Your Services to the Feds, meanwhile, suggested ways to continually keep your small firm top-of-mind with federal buyers. […]

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business practices federal contracts freelance editors government editing Government of Canada Marion Soubliere marketing small businesses translators

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Eating Frogs and the Tomato Technique: The Art of Getting Things Done

Tuesday May 1, 2018

There are many ways to get things done. Given the nature of our work, productivity is crucial for editors; many of us grapple with multiple projects in fluid, distraction-filled environments. The passage of time and how to manage it has preoccupied me since the arrival of my daughter, as I’ve struggled to get things done […]

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checklists editing Marianne Grier multitasking prioritizing

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Wasted Words: Salvaging a Thesis

Tuesday March 20, 2018

In the past I refused students seeking a thesis editor — mainly for ethical reasons. The preamble to the Editors Canada “Guidelines for Ethical Editing of Theses / Dissertations” states: “In part, academia uses theses as a way of testing the ability of students, especially graduate students, to use written words for communicating ideas and […]

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editing ethical editing ethics post-secondary thesis university Wasted Words Wilf Popoff

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Learning Baby Talk

Tuesday March 6, 2018

As editors, we rely more than most on our communication skills. Whether we’re conversing with clients, sharing knowledge within the editing community or sculpting a client’s words to help them shine their brightest, our communication skills impact the success of our work and relationships. Nearly all the time, we use these skills in tandem with […]

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client relationships communication communication skills communication tools Marianne Grier online communication professional editors remote communication

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Standards Communication Task Force

PES in the Field: Raising (the Topic of) Our Standards

Tuesday February 27, 2018

“I’m talking about making something less boring.” This was feedback from an Editors Canada member on a draft of the latest update to Editors Canada’s Professional Editorial Standards (PES). The 2016 update was a year-long process that incorporated feedback and comments from many members. When a draft of the new text was circulated for final […]

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Brendan O’Brien

The Perils of Not Knowing

Tuesday January 16, 2018

One of the downsides of freelance editing is that you’re not there (wherever “there” may be) to explain your thinking on occasions when it might be appropriate to do so. Furthermore, you’re probably unaware that such occasions have even arisen. When I had in-house jobs, I learned a lot from bosses and colleagues. In my […]

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Happy Holidays and Year in Review

Tuesday December 19, 2017

Dear Readers, We’ve had some fantastic content on the blog this year, from Marianne Grier’s description of her reintroduction to Canadian English to Marion Soublière’s report after attending an editing conference in Scotland. We enjoyed Brendan O’Brien’s inaugural post about being a reluctant editor and were fascinated to learn about Dracula puzzles from Sara Goodchild. We’ve […]

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Anna Williams letter from the editor Year in Review

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The Story of Canadian English

Tuesday November 21, 2017

For those of us still grieving the defunct Canadian Oxford Dictionary, the release of the second edition of A Dictionary of Canadianisms on Historical Principles, on March 17 this year, lent some comfort. First published in 1967 to coincide with Canada’s centennial, the DCHP not only gives spellings and definitions but also tracks (and sometimes […]

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Canadian English DCHP dictionary Frances Peck lexicographers lexicography Stefan Dollinger