Blog
Using an editorial calendar to improve productivity
By Cynthia Williams Editorial calendars are used to plan the development and publication of content. The calendar outlines the themes to be covered and articles to be written, sometimes months in advance, helping the editor focus on the big picture and what issues to explore. Such calendars also ensure the inclusion of timely and relevant material, prevent redundancy…
Read MoreScholarships reward six young editors
By Alex Cruden Six college students whose editing experience already covers a vast range of media have won a total of $10,000 in scholarships from ACES: The Society for Editing. The top winner in the annual scholarship competition, Lori Sosa, is working on a master’s degree in publishing at George Washington University in Washington, DC.…
Read MoreCommitted to accuracy, student wins $3,500 scholarship
By Alex Cruden Andrea Halland-Arms, a University of Montana student with a double major in journalism and English literature, is the fourth annual winner of the $3,500 Bill Walsh Scholarship, named for the late author of three books and editor of news at The Washington Post. She is an online and print supervising editor of…
Read MoreAP Stylebook updates race-related terms
By John Daniszewski The Associated Press announced an important change to AP style this summer, after more than two years of in-depth research and discussion with colleagues and respected thinkers from a diversity of backgrounds, both within and from outside the cooperative. AP’s style is now to capitalize Black in a racial, ethnic, or cultural sense,…
Read MoreFact-checker, fact-checker, check me a fact
By Sasha Nyary I’m pretty sure a fact-checking essay in 2020 is expected to be about the all-stars [CHECK] like CNN’s Daniel Dale [CONFIRMED], or how the Washington Post’s “Fact Checker” column [CHECK] decides the number of Pinocchios [CHECK] awarded to a story. But in my decade [CHECK: 1989 to 1998 is nine years] as a…
Read MoreMicroaggressions in editing
By Crystal Shelley, LCSW Editors, like all humans, have implicit biases, which can sometimes be reflected in our edits. Although we may believe that we’re improving the copy, we may actually be undoing the conscious choices that writers have made, especially when we make assumptions as we’re editing. Sometimes our biases show themselves in microaggressions. These…
Read MoreStarting a freelance editing business: My story and lessons learned
By Richelle Braswell Are you considering starting your own editing business but feel unsure? Perhaps you’ve heard publishing and editorial professionals recommend that you work in-house for a few years first. I’ve heard the same thing, but I’m here to tell you that doesn’t have to be the case. You may be more ready to…
Read MoreThe secret to great proofreading
By Jessica DiDonato This tip may earn you “eagle-eye” status. Proofreaders defend against errors that could cost content creators their credibility. They protect the integrity of the work. One might say they are the unsung heroes of the publishing process. Proofreaders do not simply read and wait for errors to jump out at them. They…
Read MorePlease stop using “multiple”
By Bill Swanson There have been multiple times in the recent past that I have run across multiple uses of the word “multiple” … and it’s starting to drive me bonkers. I’m an old codger, too, and I can attest that use of “multiple” is a recent phenomenon (the exceptions being “multiple-choice test,” which probably…
Read MoreThree editors announced as first recipients of Holden Diversity Fellowship
By ACES Staff Three ACES members have been selected as the first recipients of the Richard S. Holden Diversity Fellowship: Ruksana Hussain, a magazine editor and freelance writer in Los Angeles; Erich Lagasse, an editor and translator in Houston who works in Spanish and English; and Vee White, an editor in Philadelphia who specializes in…
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