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Don’t Tick People Off, and Other Tips for Writing and Editing Web Copy

Tuesday October 14, 2014

If you’re writing or editing copy destined for the web, know this: People don’t read. They don’t even finish what they’re not reading. Instead, they scan for answers and, with any luck, take action based on what they find. It’s less about the journey, more about the destination. Your mission, then, is to pave and […]

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James Harbeck

What’s English? | Linguistics, Frankly

Wednesday November 12, 2014

Here’s a quick quiz. Tell me which of the following are English and which aren’t. For each one, say why it is or isn’t English and, if it’s not, what language it is. There’s no place to plug your car in in the parkade. A wha dat dey dem people deh nyam ih smell sweet. […]

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language linguistics Linguistics Frankly usage word choice writing

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Paul Cipywnyk

Time, Money and the Freelance Life

Tuesday March 24, 2015

For a creative professional or craftsperson, the business side of freelancing can be challenging. “I don’t want to run a business. I just want to write!” Or edit, or photograph, or paint or sing. Yet by selling your services or products, you are running a business. Why not run it well? So well that the […]

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business editing Facets of Editing freelancing marketing rates

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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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Ruth E. Thaler-Carter

Facts and Fiction: Grammar Vampires and True Crime

Tuesday June 30, 2015

The Deluxe Transitive Vampire: The Ultimate Handbook of Grammar for the Innocent, the Eager, and the Doomed By Karen Elizabeth Gordon. Pantheon Books, 1984, 1993. Wild, wacky, inventive grammar guide continues to educate and amuse The opportunity to review the new edition (1993) of Karen Elizabeth Gordon’s The Deluxe Transitive Vampire: The Ultimate Handbook of Grammar […]

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book reviews Facts and Fiction grammar

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Greg Ioannou

Crowdfunding for Writers and Editors

Tuesday April 5, 2016

In 2011, I switched Iguana Books from a quasi-traditional publishing model to a hybrid model: the author (or someone who wasn’t me) paid the costs of publication, and we put out professional-quality books that were distributed worldwide as e-books and print-on-demand paperbacks. It sort of worked, but there were problems: lots of people couldn’t afford […]

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crowdfunding crowdsourcing Greg Ioannou self-publishing

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Melva McLean

Film Adaptation Is Just Another Kind of Editing

Tuesday May 10, 2016

Several years ago, I was a reader for a couple of book publishers, and I had the opportunity to read a collection of short stories by the late Emily Givner. Joan Givner, Emily’s mom and a writer of note on her own, wanted to publish Emily’s stories posthumously and shopped the collection around. I was […]

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film adaptation filmmaking Melva McLean

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Dwain Richardson

English Editing in Quebec: All About Gender

Tuesday July 19, 2016

If you’re passionate about foreign languages, you’ll know that most of them contain masculine and feminine nouns. Some languages, such as German and Russian, go the extra mile and use neutral nouns. English has its fair share of masculine and feminine nouns, too, though most of them have been eliminated to make way for more […]

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Dwain Richardson English Editing in Quebec French to English gender gender-neutral pronouns translation

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Marion Soubliere

Winning Contracts With the Government of Canada

Tuesday February 14, 2017

The federal government spends between $15 billion and $20 billion annually on goods and services, including editing and writing. Communication skills are in high demand. The government’s massive web renewal project faces much work ahead in streamlining 1,500 websites into one overarching website, Canada.ca. Small businesses across Canada, including solopreneurs, can contract directly to this […]

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business of editing federal contracts freelance editors government editing Government of Canada Marion Soubliere solopreneur web content web editing websites

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Administrators

Reminder: New Post on the Editors’ Weekly

Thursday March 9, 2017

Due to technical issues, you may not have received your usual email notification this week about the latest post on the blog. “Canada is a kaleidoscope of cultures and languages from around the world. As the number of residents whose native language isn’t English increases, the need for editors who can edit their writing effectively […]

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