Blog

By Lisa McLendon One of the topics in my #ACES2020Online session, “Grammar Arcana,” was ablaut reduplication. I had a hunch this would be a talked-about topic for two reasons: first, it has a fun name, and second, everyone knows what it is, even if they don’t know what it’s called. Ablaut reduplication is the pattern…

By Crystal Shelley, LCSW During my social work practicum in hospice care, someone mentioned that a patient had passed away. My supervisor later told me how much he disliked that term. His explanation has stayed with me a decade later. “What does ‘passed away’ even mean? It’s sugarcoating a reality that happens to all of us. A person…

By Jill Freshney Graphic novels combine text and sequential art to tell a story or convey information. Examples of this increasingly popular format are Smile by Raina Telgemeier and March by John Lewis, Andrew Aydin, and Nate Powell. Copyediting graphic novels can be both fun and challenging, and while it requires a lot of the same skills as…

By Paula Froke The Associated Press in late May released the 55th edition of the AP Stylebook, including some 100 new or updated terms related to technology. Most of these changes are the result of the talent, dedication, and hard work of Deputy Technology Editor Nick Jesdanun. Jesdanun, along with Technology Editor David Hamilton, completed…

By Steve Bien-Aimé In June, the ACES Twitter chat featured Steve Bien-Aimé, an assistant professor at Northern Kentucky University who researches race and gender issues in media and a member of the advisory council of Conscious Style Guide. Steve spoke about the editor’s role in ensuring that diverse perspectives are represented. View the full recap…

By Neil Holdway I’ll bet that my neighbors who are taking walks or going for runs in our Chicago suburb wouldn’t believe that one of the local daily newspapers is being edited and produced right inside the house they’re passing. My wife, Michelle, and I—we’re both nighttime multimedia copy editors for the same daily newspaper—have…

By Andy Hollandbeck “A hotel that feels as homely as Middlethorpe Hall is a rarity,” declares the Dorset Echo. “Perhaps that’s because it was a home at one time.” Some readers might see in these lines a great howler of an error. Although homely began its life meaning “suggestive or characteristic of a home; homelike,” over time the…

By Berna Ozunal In 2018 at the Editors Canada conference in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, we were fortunate to have Yann Martel, author of novels such as Life of Pi, Beatrice and Virgil, and The High Mountains of Portugal, as the keynote speaker. Something he said during his address really stuck. I hope he doesn’t mind me…

By Amy Spungen Recently I applied for a freelance editing job that seemed tailor-made for me. After a couple of positive exchanges, I learned that the company had “decided to head in a new direction.” I visited the organization’s website a final time, noted the millennials populating it, and decided the direction they referred to was toward younger people. Maybe…