#MyStory In 1300 characters, it’s hard to fit this in! So I’ll give the edited highlights and, for a different angle to this challenge, fast forward to an imagined future, five years from now. Affirmations written in the present tense, if you will. π©βπ« My story: love English and French. Went to Keele Uni toContinue reading “My story: looking to the future.”
Tag Archives: editing
Should I get a second monitor for my PC? Yes!
I treated myself to a second monitor and my efficiency shot up! π₯οΈπ₯οΈ When I edit a manuscript, if my client doesnβt have a style sheet, I create one.π This oneβs shared with the authorβs permission: manuscript screen 1, style sheet screen 2βitβs so much easier. Whether fiction or non-fiction, I start by setting downContinue reading “Should I get a second monitor for my PC? Yes!”
How many words is your average edit?
π A positive of lockdown: I’ve increased my daily #editing word count. π’ Having just returned my second-longest manuscript to date two weeks ahead of schedule, I’ve done a bit of number crunching. π While I’m not ready to share my daily word count, I will tell you a bit about what I do throughContinue reading “How many words is your average edit?”
March 23rd 2020. Puzzle book: top proofreading spots.
π Today’s #proofreading spots are from a fascinating project I’ve been working on: a lateral-thinking puzzle disguised as a furniture catalogue. Errors shared with permission. β inhance β‘οΈ enhance β β metalllic β‘οΈ metallic β β ubiqitous β‘οΈ ubiquitous β β fascimile β‘οΈ facsimile β β seperately β‘οΈ separately β Problems like this can occurContinue reading “March 23rd 2020. Puzzle book: top proofreading spots.”
Should mum be capitalised? Should university be capitalised?
π Mum or mum? University or university? In the manuscript I returned this weekend, one issue was the misplacement of capital letters in nouns such as the ones above. My client often opted for the uppercase option but that wasn’t always the correct call. βͺοΈKeeping mum Whether to use uppercase or lowercase depends on whetherContinue reading “Should mum be capitalised? Should university be capitalised?”
Want a phone conversation to chat about your editing needs? That’s fine. And it’s also fine if you’d rather not!
We profess that email and messaging is so much more convenient than a phone call. But is it? I speak as someone who almost always uses email. But I had a business phone conversation this week and it was so successful that it has made me reflect. There’s a lot of to-ing and fro-ing withContinue reading “Want a phone conversation to chat about your editing needs? That’s fine. And it’s also fine if you’d rather not!”
I didn’t even know proofreading was ‘a thing’ when I was at school.
Did you even know your job existed when you were at school? π€ When I was at school, there were so many jobs that I didn’t even know existed. And it’s not because of technology. Some of these jobs have been around a long time. There are areas of study that I didn’t even knowContinue reading “I didn’t even know proofreading was ‘a thing’ when I was at school.”
How can I proofread without missing errors?
When I’m proofreading… π ππ π π π I read like a small child. π£οΈ I read the words aloud. π’I read them slowly. πI follow along with my finger. I find this particularly helpful when reading sentences with a lot of two/three letter words in them. Our eyes can gloss over these allContinue reading “How can I proofread without missing errors?”
What even is a ‘proof’? An open invitation to ask me questions about editing jargon.
Jargon, field-specific language. Whatever you want to call it. Do you like it? Find it useful? Does it scare you? I find it fascinating how words can mean so many different things in different industries. Take the word βproofβ. In editing, a βproofβ is the page which is checked for errors prior to publishing. InContinue reading “What even is a ‘proof’? An open invitation to ask me questions about editing jargon.”
What is a modal verb? And is it should ‘have’ or should ‘of’?
Modelling modals. πΆTo the tune of The Model by Kraftwerk.πΆ ‘Could’ is a modal and it’s really good To express possibility so you’re understood. There’s ‘might’, ‘should’ and ‘will’, to use from time to time. It only takes a well-placed one to change a mind. ‘Should have’, ‘could have’, ‘would have’ are the past formsContinue reading “What is a modal verb? And is it should ‘have’ or should ‘of’?”