Some lessons are harder to learn than others. Unfortunately for new copyeditors, sometimes the only way to recognize bad habits is to get slammed a few times by writers pushing back or by supervisors writing stet all over the copy. So let me save you some grief and humiliation! Here are three bad habits I identified the hard way as a young editor.
Do you know Chicago style for number ranges? Is it 142–3, 142–43, or 142–143? This month’s workout, “Inclusive Numbers,” covers paragraphs 9.60–64 in CMOS 17.
Can you spy anything wrong with the following sentences?
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 month’s workout, “Word Usage, Part 2,” again centers on the usage list under paragraph 5.250 in CMOS 17. Writing and editing are more efficient when you never have to look up biennial or dither over between and among.
We’ve all read those bossy directives from advice mongers: “Do rock a ripped T with a bright floral skirt.” “Don’t chew gum during an interview.” “Do practice blending eyeshadow with your brush.” “Don’t yank electrical cords from the wall.” Aside from being either fatuous and trendy or obvious and unhelpful, such lists actually pose some editorial dangers.
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
Frequently, writers to the “Chicago Style Q&A” express the belief that when an abbreviation is introduced in a document, it must be introduced once and once only (when the term first appears) and that thereafter the spelled-out term must never be used again.
This month’s workout, “Possessives,” centers on paragraphs 7.16–29 in CMOS 17. Advanced editors might tackle the questions cold; learners can study that section of the Manual before answering the questions.
Today we’re turning the spotlight on you, reader! We’d love to know what you like about the CMOS Shop Talk blog and what you don’t like, what you’d like to see more of—or less of. Here’s a short survey, or if you prefer, use the comments box below to give us a piece of your mind.
