New year, new partner
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…
A fascinating account of pioneer life and early medical practice in northern British Columbia
This month marks the arrival in bookstores of Service on the Skeena: Horace Wrinch, Frontier Physician, by Geoff Mynett, published by Ronsdale Press. Geoff brings readers a slice of BC history with this biography of Horace C. Wrinch, farmer, doctor,…
Storytelling in non-fiction business writing
While doing substantive edits of several business books this year, I found myself repeating the same thing over and over again to authors: “This section could use more of a storytelling style.” These books were about different business subjects, but…
Summer reading, editorial style
Ah, summer. The longer days, relaxed (or fewer) deadlines, and well-earned vacation time make this the perfect season to catch up on our reading. One of our go-to blogs for keeping up with the editorial scene is The Editors’ Weekly…
A brief primer on how to lower your standards
We editors are perfectionists, so it may seem odd to introduce the topic of lowering standards. After all, it’s our job to uphold the very highest of standards as articulated in Professional Editorial Standards, a publication of Editors Canada. But…
Fact-checking: More art than science
A 2018 article in the New Yorker describes actor Daniel Radcliffe going undercover as a fact-checker to prepare for his role in the Broadway show The Lifespan of a Fact. Peter Canby, head of fact-checking at the New Yorker, tells…
Three decades of usage
In 1989 things seemed fresh. The Berlin Wall came down. Reagan finally left the White House. Seinfeld hit TV screens; so did The Simpsons. New Kids on the Block were actually new. For me 1989 marked a fresh start. At…
New Year’s resolutions
’Tis the season of New Year’s resolutions—with a constant stream of articles, TV and radio news stories, and online clickbait telling us what we need to do to have better health, better productivity, and a better life in 2019. I’ve…
Happy 60th, BCMJ!
Congratulations to the BC Medical Journal on 60 years as the flagship publication of Doctors of BC. For a good many of those years, the journal has been a favoured client of ours. Claudette Upton, a founding member of WCEA, served…
It’s cool to be kind
One of the best editing tips of all time, and one I apply in every project, is to begin query letters and emails to writers with a compliment before launching into the many surprising and creative ways the author may…