Plain language week—October 11–15—is approaching and it’s time to celebrate. In the past, festivities have included public demonstrations, conferences, and art and music exhibitions of plain language. Sadly, there is no special feast or street party celebrating plain language this…
Editors are used to adapting to the shifting landscape of technology to get the job done. Currently, proofreading is the most rapidly changing area of the work we do. We’re still expected to examine material after layout or in its…
In the proofreading classes I teach at Simon Fraser University, and in conversations I have with people new to the editing profession, I often hear questions like “How do you get started as an editor?” “How do you get clients?”…
Over the past few months, I have had a great opportunity to work with a client to develop a mental health training program for post-secondary faculty, staff, and students in British Columbia. It has been exciting to be a part…
One of our neighbours has been downsizing recently, and discards from her bookshelves have shown up on the curb by her house. One volume I snapped up was Watch Your Language by Theodore M. Bernstein, described on the cover as…
One of our responsibilities as editors is to be on the lookout for discriminatory language, hidden bias, and stereotypes in the text we’re editing. We want to use words and phrases that promote inclusivity, respect, and justice. But this process…
In the midst of a global pandemic and social distancing, many editors may have missed a significant change in name and branding of a 32-year-old editing organization. On March 1, 2020, the Society for Editors and Proofreaders (SfEP) became the…
It’s a tiny mark that spawns immense confusion. The beleaguered apostrophe has been in the spotlight since December, following the announcement by John Richards, founder of the Apostrophe Protection Society, that after 18 years of defending the mark, he was…
As we start the new year and decade, we are delighted to announce that we have a new partner joining our team of editors, writers, and trainers. As of January 1, 2020, Lucy Kenward is a partner of West Coast…
