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A long-haired person slumps down with their eyes closed to rest their head on their desk, which holds a computer monitor and a stack of books. A low-battery icon appears above the person.

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Discussion Scenario: Editing While Under the Weather

Thursday September 26, 2024

[Content note: This post contains non-graphic discussion of mild pneumonia.] By their very nature, dilemmas don’t offer a clear right answer. So this week, I’m turning the advice over to you. I’ll be honest: this has been a challenging September. I’m feeling much better now, but I spent the first part of the month exhausted […]

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Illustration of a dark-brown-skinned hand extended upward in a fist while holding a red fountain pen.

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Kate Vacek

Why Academic Editors Should Read Black Feminist Writing

Thursday February 6, 2025

Later this month, the academic editing book club will host Dr. Stephanie Y. Evans, the author of Black Feminist Writing, for a 60-minute Q&A. This book club is run by the Academic Editing Special Interest Group, a collaboration of Editors Canada and the Editorial Freelancers Association (EFA). About the book Black Feminist Writing: A Practical […]

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academic editing academic writing book club inclusion Kate Vacek

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Wilf Popoff

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

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Karen Virag

GETTABLE GRAMMAR: I come to praise typos, not to bury them

Thursday August 15, 2013

Summer is often called the silly season—it is, after all, generally a time of cheap escapist paperbacks and brainless blockbuster movies (Sharknado, anyone?). So, in honour of that most thought-free, indolence-inspiring and cogitation-challenged of seasons, for this posting I will neither opine nor berate; instead, I will celebrate the little language mistakes that make us […]

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Gettable Grammar grammar mistakes proofreading typo typos

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Wilf Popoff

An Editor Who Laughed at Her Work

Tuesday March 4, 2014

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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editing editors Karen Virag word choice

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Wilf Popoff

Wasted Words: The Elements and Style

Tuesday December 2, 2014

It’s the time of year when heeding weather reports is a good idea: setting out with meagre insulation can be foolhardy. (News flash: “Hypothermia Blamed When Editor Vanishes.”) I glean data from all sources and sally forth properly kitted, but meteorological claptrap can be irritating. A local CBC station announces that temperatures overnight will go […]

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language redundancy reporting usage Wasted Words weather reports word choice writing

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Administrators General EAC

Letter From the Editors

Monday December 22, 2014

Dear Readers, Thank you all for your readership over the past year. We value our subscribers and would love to hear your thoughts about the blog. If you’re interested in becoming a contributor or have a topic in mind that you’d like to see addressed, please let us know! There will be no post tomorrow, […]

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letter from the editor

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Frances Peck

Perilous Punctuation: The Email Salutation

Tuesday May 31, 2016

An old friend from Ottawa recently visited me in Vancouver. We hadn’t seen each other in years. “One thing I’ll never forget about you,” said Ann (who is not an editor), “is that you taught me the right way to begin an email. Every time I write ‘Hi comma So-and-So period,’ I think of you.” […]

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comma Frances Peck grammar punctuation style usage

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Virginia Durksen

The Inner Editor: The Voice and Its Vices

Tuesday September 27, 2016

When editors talk about a writer’s “voice,” we usually mean something like a writer’s style or tone or stance. Even if you’ve never given much thought to this term, you’ll know what “voice” means if you can recall a moment when you, as a child, first heard “Don’t use that voice with me, young lady.” It’s a command […]

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editing voice Inner Editor style Virginia Durksen writer's voice

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Rosemary Shipton

Editing Is Lifelong Learning

Tuesday June 20, 2017

Editors enjoy their careers for various reasons — the opportunity to work in the exciting literary world or the more lucrative realms of government or business, or to specialize in particular areas of expertise. For me the major attraction is the simple fact that every project is different — I learn new things every day. […]

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biographies books Canada Canadiana career editing career editors at work lifelong learning memoirs Rosemary Shipton the joy of editing