14 September 2025

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 ]

14 September 20252025-09-14T16:48:35+01:00

1 September 2025

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 ]

1 September 20252025-09-01T17:42:08+01:00

24 June 2025

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 ]

24 June 20252025-06-24T11:37:11+01:00

23 June 2025

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 ]

23 June 20252025-06-23T16:22:09+01:00

20 May 2025

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 ]

20 May 20252025-05-20T16:06:21+01:00

17 April 2025

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 ]

17 April 20252025-05-20T16:04:15+01:00

20 March 2025

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 ]

20 March 20252025-03-20T13:21:15+00:00

7 March 2025

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 ]

7 March 20252025-03-07T10:41:24+00:00

22 January 2025

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 ]

22 January 20252025-01-22T17:18:57+00:00
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