Saturday 20 September is the first day of the annual conference of the Chartered Institute of Editing and Proofreading (CIEP) and I’m really looking forward to mingling with my fellow freelance editors and attending some inspiring sessions. First on [ read more ]

I’m always thankful for yet another solid month of full booking, but whole days have gone by and I have barely left the house. I have gazed for hours out of my home office window at people strolling past in the hot [ read more ]

Since going freelance, it has become harder to justify attending publishing industry conferences – networking and learning opportunities aside, the return on investment has to be pretty much guaranteed before I’ll even consider booking my place, and even then it is the [ read more ]

I have never understood people’s reluctance to use punctuation – correctly or not. It is the scaffolding that supports meaning and intention, and separates sloganeers from communicators. Pairing down punctuation may seem sleek and machine-friendly, but it sacrifices nuance.

Commas seem especially vulnerable, [ read more ]

Very often I find that much of what happens in scholarly publishing floats unnoticed over my head, as I sigh and chase yet another late payment from a company that couldn’t give two hoots about my cashflow.

But lately, there have been blogs [ read more ]

Phew! It’s been a busy month (something I will never complain about) and there’s hardly been a day when I’ve not had to juggle competing client priorities or pivot more times than, er, well, a pivoty thing in a ‘who can pivot [ read more ]

I don’t routinely copyedit books much anymore, but I still care deeply about books, and I think the world needs them now more than ever. My ears always prick up when I hear industry news about publishing, and there’s plenty around to [ read more ]

I think I have discovered a new personal hero – Ellen Jovin, a published grammar and language specialist in the US, decided to do something deceptively simple. She packed up some reference books, a folding chair and table, and a hand-drawn sign [ read more ]

Is anyone else bereft at the thought of losing WHSmith from the high street (https://www.thisismoney.co.uk/money/article-14380565/WHSmith-shut-branches-new-owner-fears-major-job-losses.html)?

Yes, they have started to look a little tired lately, and nobody would ever think of launching such a business now, but I will sincerely [ read more ]

Urrrrrggghhhh …. January.

I envy animals that can simply hibernate through winter, escaping the relentlessly dull, grey, bone-chillingly damp weather.

Every year, I sigh at the sight of Easter eggs on the shelves from January 2, and the uncomfortably long silence from clients who [ read more ]