You might be a copy editor if . . .
Our upcoming Beginning Copyediting for Fiction class will educate anyone wanting to fix the errors seen on a daily basis in the real world!
Over the past week or so, I’ve caught the following typos and grammatical awkwardness in major news media:
USA Today: “publically released”
USA Today: “could cause driver’s to crash”
USA Today: “exasperating the problem” (should be “exacerbating the problem”)
Yahoo Entertainment: “Affleck has three children with whom Lopez has become the stepmother to.”
People: “A college student is dead after falling to his death.”
CNN: “Crossed first paths”
ABC News: “preventing recruiters from meting with students”
If you, like me, have a tendency to spot errors like this, then you, too, are either a copy editor or could be one.
Tips for Editors & Writers
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Plant a Seed, Earn a Buck
A few months back, a book I wrote more than twenty years ago delivered an unexpected royalty check for $1,000. When I originally wrote the book, I received an advance that earned out in a year or so. After a few years, the book stopped selling all that many copies (this is common), but I…
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Happy New Year!
I ate my grapes (a Spanish tradition for the new year), said “Feliz año!” to everyone in the neighborhood, and snuggled up with a good book, feeling grateful as I embark on my second year in Spain. May your 2026 be filled with happiness and adventure!
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Reading Books for a Living
I discourage editors from saying that our work is “reading books for a living” because that diminishes our expertise and experience. Editing is not reading books for a living; it’s understanding stories and storytelling techniques, cultivating judgment and discernment, practicing effective editorial methodologies and more. But some days, like today, I look around my office…
