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Have you tried our sample copyediting lesson yet?
Last week our first ever copyediting course was launched, specifically aimed at those who aspire to become a language editor in India. I am excited more about the features we have built into the course: thoughtfully designed modules, plenty of practice papers,...
Using a Copyediting Style Sheet
Watch and learn about style sheets and how they can make you an editor extraordinaire. Download a style sheet template that you can use for your editing work.
Do you use these spell-checking dictionaries for MS Word?
In a recent session on using custom dictionaries, one participant asked what dictionaries are available for MS Word’s spell-checking. Here are some suggestions.
What’s wrong? Correcting a wrong modifier
Whether you are a writer or an editor, when you add phrases, always ensure that they modify the appropriate part of the sentence.
Did you know these are editing myths?
Rules might change, myths might vanish, and only the minds which are open to learning will survive.
A Copyeditor’s Guide Through Stephen King’s Tool Box
Author Stephen King’s uncle had insisted on carrying a large and heavy tool box yet the only tool that was needed to fix the problem was a screwdriver. Can you guess why? Read on!
The most underrated villain of copy editing
What is that one type of error that may go unnoticed even under otherwise careful eyes, but can be very embarrassing when noticed, both to the author and, obviously, to the one who edited the manuscript? Read on…
What’s your story?
Editor’s Essentials invites you to share it with the editing fraternity. After all, a story is to be told, an idea is worth spreading, and editors are the ones who never shy away from seeking advice.
Books I love: Eats, Shoots & Leaves
Punctuation can get tricky especially when it comes to deciphering what the author intends to say and what strokes or dots need to be used to enhance the structure and meaning of a sentence. In Eats, Shoots & Leaves, by Lynne Truss, we discover how even the slightest of punctuation slipups can turn fatal!
The tale continues…
Localization may be defined as the efforts to reach out to end-users and most importantly engage them. And there are various degrees of localization, from standardizing spelling to translation. Want to know more? Read on.
Continuous Learning for Copyeditors
Without the external stimuli – which is nothing but continuous learning – the potential editor only remains that way – a potential editor, not realizing their great editing skills.
Crossword 07 on sentences
This week’s Editor’s Essentials Sunday Crossword is all about sentences. Each clue is a “sentence” that stands as an example of a technique. Identify the technique and that’s the answer to the clue.
Are you a syntax singam?
Being a copy editor means being strong in the fundamentals. Understanding and mastering the syntax of a language is among the best ways to master the language. Answer these 10 questions on syntax. Show the world that you are indeed a syntax singam. Are you A Syntax...
Welcome to our new home
Welcome to Editor's Essentials. Today, on this Teachers Day in India, the diminutive Editor's Essentials blog is stepping into its own home. Welcome to www.editorsessentials.com. Subscribe, if you have not already, and show your love and support by sharing this news...
Comma, the Commander
Commas are tiny, versatile, omnipotent commanders of the punctuation weaponry, helping us mortal editors who wage an everyday Kurukshetra against the evil of loss-of-meaning, the Incomprehensibility.
The find-and-replA/Ce menA/Ce continues…
I talked about it already (here). Without doubt, the find-and-replace option is a handy tool for a copy editor. Here is an example of another instance when the tool was used thoughtlessly. Long live copyediting!
An approach to “approach to”
Not necessarily is “to” always an infinitive marker; it can be a preposition too.
Oh No, Mr Venn, Not Again
We copy editors are always on the lookout for information. Not as aggressive as Google, which accesses and stores every bit of information that comes its way (quite literally), copy editors look out for information that they need. It could be the spelling or usage of...
Endashes reach out to hyphens…
I confess – I learnt endashes and emdashes only after I became a copy editor. In my previous post, "I have wondered what difference will it make when a reader sees an en dash." For very long, I doubted if there is any reader – OK, when I say any, I meant any reader...
Try this exercise on “however” and “though”
One of my blog posts that bring in several new visitors is "however vs. though". So I thought I should share some example sentences with you all. You may try to find out whether the sentences are correct and punctuate accordingly. More precisely, use "however", not...
Adjectives: Beware of suffixes -ical and -ic
One of the ways to form an adjective is to add the suffix ~ic or ~ical. There is no clear rule about when to use which. As a rule of thumb, many of the older nouns have the ~ical adjective, while most of the newer ones have ~ic suffix. The suffix ~ic or ~ical means...
British vs. American spelling
Ensuring consistency in spelling is one of the housekeeping kind of editing tasks for a copy editor. Even though Microsoft Word provides a large array of English options, the global publishing world is divided between – or should I say, united by – two variations of...
Perspectives
One of the important characteristics of a copy editor is eye for details. I would say that perspective is yet another. As copy editors edit as if they were an author – trying to present the author's intentions clearly – and read like a reader, it becomes...
Test yourself – Saller’s copyediting quiz
Glad to meet you again. I would like to take you to Carol Fisher Saller's copyediting quiz. That is a small list of nine sentences. Try them out and see for yourself your copyediting skills. In her next post, First Do No Harm, she discussed the answers, too. But wait....