Today we launch a new series written by . . . you! If you have a story about your editing life, send it to us here and we’ll consider it for posting. Gael Spivak works in communications for the Government of Canada. She specializes in plain language writing and editing. Gael sent us her editing story.
Today CMOS Shop Talk launches a new occasional series called “Getting a Start in . . . ,” in which we ask publishing professionals how they came to do the jobs they do. In this post, editor Carol Saller talks to Erin Brenner and Laura Poole, who own and operate the Pilcrow Group, Inc., which includes Copyediting newsletter and its training division.
This year, Shop Talk asked some trusted colleagues in publishing to introduce us to a favorite book or website. We hope you find a new love among them!
Brooke Borel, author of The Chicago Guide to Fact-Checking, is a science writer and journalist. She is a contributing editor to Popular Science, and her writing has also appeared in such places as the Atlantic and Slate. She teaches fact-checking at the Brooklyn
Bryan A. Garner is the author of the new book The Chicago Guide to Grammar, Usage, and Punctuation as well as the author of the “Grammar and Usage” chapter of The Chicago Manual of Style. His other best-selling books include
CMOS: When we talk about using inclusive language, who are we talking about including? SG: Everyone—but especially readers from groups that have historically been excluded by the conventions used and the assumptions made in publishing. One of the earliest and most obvious examples would be
CMOS: How did you come to think about writing as “flabby”? HS: Many years ago, I read Richard Lanham’s book Revising Prose, which influenced me deeply as a writer. Lanham teaches you to identify the “lard factor” in your writing, based on the percentage of words that you could omit without significantly changing its meaning. The Writer’s Diet follows similar principles, but with
Today CMOS talks with Angela Gibson, associate director of scholarly communication and head of book and online publications at the Modern Language Association, about the newest edition of MLA Handbook.
Today, in a historic first, the reclusive 110-year-old Chicago Manual of Style grants an interview to its youthful offspring, the online “Chicago Style Q&A,” which has been answering readers’ questions on behalf of the Manual since 1997.
Q.Have you seen big changes in what young people want to read over the course of your career as a bookseller turned librarian?