Proofreading on a Kindle
Can you proofread an article or an entire book on a Kindle? Why would anyone want to do that? I gave myself this exercise recently because I was tired of spending long hours sitting at my desk in front of a laptop screen as I scrolled from page to page…
Becoming a Subject Matter Expert
Should a copy editor be an expert on the subject matter they are editing? This is a question that frequently confronts both authors and copy editors, and it is a topic worth pausing over. I think that being an expert on the subject matter you are editing can be an…
And Now, An Editing Podcast about Blogging
As if blogs and podcasts about editing were not enough to bring the digital age to your eyes and ears, here’s two for the price of one: an editing podcast about blogging, with none other than Carol Fisher Saller. Listen to her in conversation with Louise Harnby as she talks…
On the Bookshelf
The editing book I am reading right now is Peter Ginna’s What Editors Do: The Art, Craft, and Business of Book Editing. Published by the University of Chicago Press in 2017, What Editors Do is an informative compendium of essays by experienced editors and book publishing experts across the US.…
What Matter Who’s Speaking (or Editing)?
Does the identity of an editor play a role in shaping how a work is edited?
Why Hire a Copy Editor?
Many years ago, when I was a graduate student working toward a PhD in English, I experienced a rude awakening in my very first semester, when the professor awarded me a C+ on a term paper I wrote on Matthew Arnold. There were a lot of “firsts” for me that…
Rules of Style
Copy editors are voracious consumers of style manuals, and there’s no shortage of those. Different professions and academic disciplines have their own style guides and style preferences. In the humanities, MLA style and Chicago style are the most widely used; journalists and magazine writers often follow their publication’s house style,…
Writers and Editors
Copy editors focus on the mechanics, intricacies, and nuances of editorial style, punctuation, grammar, and editorial decision-making. I am always learning from the wealth of information I have been able to glean from my more experienced colleagues. But the writer and writing teacher in me often shakes her head at…
Introducing Myself and My Blog
Who I am and how I got here.
Absolute-Ink Editorial 