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Building Your Skillset: A Sampler of Editorial Webinars and Courses

Sep 23, 2024 - Lesley-Anne Longo

Imagine you’re a dentist, and someone comes into your office seeking help with a bothersome tooth. You establish that the tooth needs a crown—and, luc...

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What Is Your Editing Genre? Tips to Help You Identify Your Strengths and Talents

Sep 09, 2024 - Lesley-Anne Longo

I’m sure you’re familiar with the concept of genres—as a reader, you’ll know which genres you enjoy and gravitate toward, and as a writer and author, ...

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6 Social Media Options for Editors: Connecting with Each Other

Sep 03, 2024 - Lesley-Anne Longo

There are many resources out there on the internet for how authors can utilize social media—for marketing books, connecting with publishers and agents...

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3 Key Ways to Edit for Your Audience

Jul 15, 2024 - Lesley-Anne Longo

When most people think of “editing,” they probably think of things like fixing spelling, correcting grammar, and tightening up sentence structure. How...

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3 Next Steps to Growing Your Freelance Editing Career

Jul 09, 2024 - Lesley-Anne Longo

So, you’ve taken your first steps to starting your career as a freelance editor—that’s great! You may have just finished your first paid project or tw...

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Self-Publishing? You Need a Good Editor Too!

Jul 02, 2024 - Chris Cameron

As someone who likes to see writers get into print, I am particularly interested in the growth of the self-publishing community and the opportunities ...

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Self-Editing Your Work? Try These 7 Tips

May 01, 2024 - Lesley-Anne Longo

The process of editing your work can be trying, difficult, and frustrating...but it can also be rewarding, enlightening, and satisfying. This month, w...

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How Is AI Affecting Our Editing Practice?

Mar 20, 2024 - Lesley-Anne Longo

This week, in our series on artificial intelligence, I’m looking at AI tools and how these might be affecting our editing practice. While these new to...

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Book Editing: How to Edit Your Nonfiction Book Like a Pro – A Review

Nov 08, 2023 - Beth McAuley

This book is for everyone—nonfiction authors and editors alike. It is clearly written and covers the essential steps of editing a manuscript in short,...

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A Review of Diana Athill’s Stet: An Editor’s Life

Oct 24, 2023 - Samantha Rohrig

In a departure from the other books reviewed in this series, a wonderful collection of editorial “how-to” manuals and grammar guides, Diana Athill’s S...

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A Review of Steve Dunham’s The Editor’s Companion: An Indispensable Guide to Editing Books, Magazines, Online Publications, and More

Oct 10, 2023 - Michael Bedford

I recently had the pleasure of reading Steve Dunham’s The Editor’s Companion: An Indispensable Guide to Editing Books, Magazines, Online Publications,...

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Editors on Editing: A Book Review

Sep 27, 2023 - Lesley-Anne Longo

I must admit that I was pretty excited to read Editors on Editing: What Writers Need to Know about What Editors Do. The book is a collection of essays...

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6 Faulty Writing Habits to Avoid

Aug 23, 2023 - Lesley-Anne Longo

There’s never a bad time to refresh your writing skills, and now is as good a time as ever (especially if you’re finding yourself with some extra time...

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Everyday Proofreading and Punctuation Marks: Their Meaning and How They Are Used

Aug 15, 2023 - Lesley-Anne Longo

Pretty much everyone uses punctuation marks in their day-to-day life, whether it’s in texts, emails, professional communications, business writing, le...

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Getting “Back to Basics” with Editing Rules

Jun 21, 2023 - Lesley-Anne Longo

As you can imagine, there are a lot of rules to remember when it comes to editing: rules for punctuation, sentence structure, capitalization, word usa...

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Editorial Professional Development Opportunities: The 2023 Edition

Jun 14, 2023 - Michael Bedford

Summer is just around the corner, and in addition to higher temperatures and long-awaited vacation time, many editorial professionals are looking forw...

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The Synopsis: The Best Editing Tool You’ve Never Tried

May 09, 2023 - Lesley-Anne Longo

A synopsis—what is it, really? Well, to put it simply, a synopsis is a brief overview of your larger work. For a nonfiction manuscript, a synopsis cou...

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Iconic Editorial Women: Then and Now

Feb 28, 2023 - Michael Bedford

A famous editor might sound like a contradiction in terms to some, but for those plugged into the literary world there are a few names that pop up tim...

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Starting Your Editing Journey with TEC: Some Helpful Advice on What to Expect

Feb 22, 2023 - Lesley-Anne Longo

As editors, we at TEC are well aware of the ins and outs of working with the varying needs of each of our clients and helping them navigate the editin...

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What Editors Do: The Art, Craft, and Business of Book Editing — A TEC Book Review

Feb 08, 2023 - Jonathan Adjemian

When you’re an author looking for an editor, it can be difficult to gauge what, exactly, an editor does. After all, there are multiple types of editin...

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Last-Minute Project? Here Are 4 Talented Editors Who Can Help!

Nov 30, 2022 - The Holiday Elf

The holidays are fast approaching, and there is lots to do! Gift shopping, holiday baking, cleaning, decorating, scheduling visits with family an...

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Ask the Editor: Some Common Myths About What We Do

Oct 12, 2022 - Lesley-Anne Longo

To continue with our "Ask the Editor" theme, we thought it would be helpful to revisit this blog dispelling some of the most common myths surrounding ...

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Ask the Editor: What Do I Do When I Disagree with You?

Sep 28, 2022 - Jaclyn MacNeil

If you’re at the stage where you’re working with an editor, congratulations, you’ve made it a long way! You are now one step closer to completing your...

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Ask the Editor: How Do I Prepare for My First Meeting with My Editor? (Updated!)

Sep 21, 2022 - Lesley-Anne Longo

Your first meeting with your editor is important, as it can really set the tone for your working relationship. This is your chance to show that you’ve...

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Where to Find the Editor You Need

Sep 07, 2022 - Michael Bedford

Editors, much like authors, tend to have specific areas of focus. Even among editors who consider themselves generalists, their literary preferences a...

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4 Tips on Finding an Editor: What You Need to Know

Aug 30, 2022 - Lesley-Anne Longo

So, you’re ready to start the editing process and need to find the editor who will be the best fit for you. First of all, congratulations! The time yo...

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The Top 5 Cocktails to Beat the Heat This Summer

Jul 27, 2022 - Michael Bedford

The recent heat wave provided ample opportunity to enjoy a frosty beverage or two either on a patio or within the confines of one’s air-conditioned ho...

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Ask the Business Editor: What Is Inclusive Language?

Mar 09, 2022 - Benedetta Lamanna

As a human being, language is one of the most influential tools that you have. As with everything in life, language evolves and you need to ensure tha...

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Ask the Editor: Are Editors and Writers Adversaries? Nonsense!

Mar 02, 2022 - Lesley-Anne Longo

When it comes to learning more about how editors and authors work together, you might find that there is a lot of content out there that paints editor...

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3 Formatting Basics in Word: Spaces and Tab Indents, Setting Headings, and Adding Reference Notes

Feb 09, 2022 - Lesley-Anne Longo

Chances are, if you produce written documents on a daily basis—whether professional reports, personal projects, school-related work (such as dissertat...

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Formatting A Stage Play in Microsoft Word

Feb 02, 2022 - Michael Bedford

Writing a good play is hard work but by learning a few tricks in Microsoft Word, playwrights can make the process of formatting scripts easier. Like b...

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A Little Bit of Editing, A Little Bit of Proofreading, A Little Bit of Formatting: The Final Steps in Polishing Your Dissertation

Jan 26, 2022 - Lesley-Anne Longo

TEC has had a number of dissertations cross our desks over the past few months, and working on these important documents is always a process that requ...

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7 Helpful Tips for Self-Editing Your Work

Jan 19, 2022 - Lesley-Anne Longo

The process of editing your work can be trying, difficult, and frustrating...but it can also be rewarding, enlightening, and satisfying. This month, w...

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TEC Editing Tips of the Year: 6 Dos and Don’ts for Authors

Jan 12, 2022 - TEC Editors

It’s 2022, and the start of a new year may be enough for you to feel inspired to tick off some of the items on your to-do list. If one of the items on...

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6 Faulty Writing Habits

Jan 11, 2022 - Lesley-Anne Longo

There’s never a bad time to refresh your writing skills, and now is as good a time as ever (especially if you’re finding yourself with some extra ...

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TEC Roundup: Our 6 Most-Visited Blogs in 2021

Nov 17, 2021 - Lesley-Anne Longo

Well, 2021 is coming to an end (where did the year go, exactly?), and as 2022 approaches, it’s hard not to look back on the past year and think about ...

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5 Tips for Editors on Managing Authors’ Expectations

Nov 10, 2021 - Michael Bedford

Writing fiction and non-fiction presents trade-specific challenges to authors, and editors provide valuable advice that can help turn a manuscript int...

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Providing Feedback for Authors: How Editors Can Do It Right

Nov 02, 2021 - Lesley-Anne Longo

As humans, we know that receiving critiques and feedback isn’t always easy to do. No one likes to be told that something you did (or are doing) is wro...

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Editing as a Conversation with Authors

Oct 20, 2021 - Beth McAuley

In this blog from the archives, we discuss how the exchanges between author and editor become a conversation between the two as a manuscript goes thro...

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Everyday Proofreading and Punctuation Marks: What Do They Mean and How Are They Used?

Oct 13, 2021 - Lesley-Anne Longo

Pretty much everyone uses punctuation marks in their day-to-day life, whether it’s in texts, emails, professional communications, business writing, le...

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A Brief History of the Pilcrow: A Worldly Mark on Proofreading

Oct 06, 2021 - Michael Bedford

The ways that linguistic conventions change over time are sometimes obvious. New dialects and turns of phrase crop up, and many of them gradually chan...

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Learning to Honour the Writer’s Voice

Sep 22, 2021 - Ronnie Morris

Not too long ago, I was asked about the best piece of editing advice I ever received. I had actually only recently had an epiphany about this, so I re...

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Fact-Checking: The “Behind the Scenes” Editing Work

Aug 17, 2021 - TEC Editors

Why Do We Fact-Check?   As The Chicago Manual of Style points out, in publishing, the author is ultimately responsible for the accuracy of a work. A...

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3 Things I Learned about the Art of Editing a Comic

Aug 11, 2021 - Jean Mathew

In this blog from the archives, our former editor Jean Mathew walks us through her experience of creating and editing her first comic book. The artwor...

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5 Out-of-This-World Tips for Editors of Science Fiction

Jul 28, 2021 - Michael Bedford

The process of working on any manuscript presents a range of concerns specific to the manuscript’s intended genre, so don’t get caught with your space...

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Editing and Proofreading On-screen and Online Content: From Word to Adobe to Pastel!

Jul 21, 2021 - Samantha Rohrig

The first step in preparing a document for publication is the copyediting of the work. The majority of copyediting tasks today are carried out on-scre...

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Starting Your Editing Journey with TEC: Helpful Advice on What to Expect

Jul 07, 2021 - Lesley-Anne Longo & Beth McAuley

As editors, we at TEC are well aware of the ins and outs of working with each of our clients and helping them navigate the editing process.   We als...

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Zero to What? How to Treat Numbers in Different Editing Styles: A Cheat Sheet

Jun 29, 2021 - Lesley-Anne Longo

Here at TEC, it’s our job to provide our clients with the best guidance and advice in the editing and flow of their documents. Recently, we had a clie...

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What Does “Heading A” Mean? Some Key Editing Terms Explained

Jun 16, 2021 - Michael Bedford

Editorial work entails a variety of different jobs. These include substantive editing, line editing, and proofreading. Because the process of editoria...

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Ryerson’s Publishing Program: Insights and Inspirations from Two of TEC’s Editors

Jun 02, 2021 - Ronnie Morris & Samantha Rohrig

Ryerson University’s Publishing Program is celebrating its 30th anniversary this year!    Founded in 1990, the Certificate in Publishing is the larg...

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Active vs. Passive Voice: Understanding How and Why They Work

Apr 28, 2021 - Michael Bedford

Although there are some who would advocate for a world free of passive-voice constructions, an all-out ban on this wrongfully maligned verbal form wou...

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Why Is My Document So Marked-Up? Understanding Track Changes and the Editing of Your Document

Apr 21, 2021 - Lesley-Anne Longo

Picture this: you’re an author who has just sent your first manuscript off to an editor for a professional copy edit. Eventually, the editor returns t...

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Learning to Honour the Writer’s Voice

Apr 14, 2021 - Ronnie Morris

For our blog just a few weeks ago I was asked about the best piece of editing advice I ever received. I had actually only recently had an epiphany abo...

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Find Your Forte with Editorial Niches

Apr 07, 2021 - Samantha Rohrig

niche /niːʃ/  noun 1.  a shallow recess, esp. in a wall to contain a statue etc. 2.  a comfortable or suitable position in life or employment. 3. ...

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Perfection: A Perfect Trap

Mar 30, 2021 - Lesley-Anne Longo

Here at The Editing Company, we occasionally have to answer a familiar question from an inquiring caller: “How can you guarantee perfection?” This is ...

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Ask the TEC Editors: What Is the Best Editing Advice You’ve Received?

Mar 24, 2021 - TEC Editors

Spring is here, and as the trees start to bud, and the snowdrops and crocuses start to poke their green tips out of the dirt, it’s hard not to think a...

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Resources and Tips to Help Editors Stay Current

Editing  /  Grammar  /  Usage  /  Style  /  Usage
Mar 17, 2021 - Michael Bedford

Like any profession, editorial work involves keeping up with how professional standards and tools of the trade change over time. Unlike aviation stand...

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Editing with Empathy: Understanding and Sharing the Feelings of Your Author

Mar 10, 2021 - Lesley-Anne Longo

As an editor, remaining empathetic and sensitive to the author's needs will always be important. So, we decided to revisit this blog from earlier in t...

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Editing with Empathy: Understanding and Sharing the Feelings of Your Author

Jan 27, 2021 - Lesley-Anne Longo

Editing training can teach you many things – grammar intricacies, plotting, structuring, developing proper flow, etc. But there’s more to being an edi...

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What Does “Heading A” Mean? Some Key Editing Terms Explained

Jan 14, 2021 - Michael Bedford

Editorial work entails a variety of different jobs. These include substantive editing, line editing, and proofreading. Because the process of editoria...

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The Nuts and Bolts of Strong Prose: Semicolons, Colons, and Dashes

Editing  /  Grammar  /  Usage  /  Usage
Dec 02, 2020 - Laura Cameron

Punctuation marks are the signposts of prose. They indicate what’s important and where to pause. They add rhythm to your sentences. They help your rea...

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6 Methods of Emphasizing Words and Ideas in Writing

Nov 18, 2020 - Michael Bedford

Emphatic writing allows writers the opportunity to drive home the importance of letters, words, phrases, sentences, and ideas. Aside from mechanical c...

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“Back to Basics” Editing Rules

Oct 21, 2020 - Lesley-Anne Longo

In this week's blog, we decided to share some of the most basic editing rules that editors must remember to follow, regardless of what type of text th...

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Web Citations: Headache Extraordinaire?

Oct 14, 2020 - Jonathan Adjemian

Citing sources from the internet is something most academic writers do all the time; papers can be written without consulting a single sheet of paper....

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4 Handy Tips: A Punctuation Primer

Sep 23, 2020 - Melissa MacAulay

We thought we would repost former TEC Editor Melissa’s blog this week to help us review four of the most common punctuation-related errors or inconsis...

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4 Important Online Resources for the Business Writer & Editor

Sep 02, 2020 - Deborah MacDonald

Your business documents are vital to getting your message across, differentiating your organization from others, and reflecting your brand. Never befo...

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Editing & Formatting Our Clients’ Documents: TEC’s Tailored Approach

Jun 10, 2020 - Lesley-Anne Longo

At TEC, we work with our clients to organize, edit, and lay out their documents – which are short publications like information guides, professional C...

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A Question of Tenses: Which Tense to Choose and Why

Mar 31, 2020 - Molly Rookwood

We use different tenses all the time: I am listening to music. I went to the store on Saturday. I will make broccoli tonight. I am waiting for the tel...

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Midterm Madness: A Primer on How to Format Your APA Academic Paper

Nov 20, 2019 - Lesley-Anne Longo

November has rolled around again, which can only mean one thing (for students, anyway): midterms and papers are coming up and will be due before the w...

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Editing Acronyms and Initialisms: Tips on Using Them Effectively

Sep 24, 2019 - Molly Rookwood

As anyone who edits (or writes) non-fiction knows, few things are as frustratingly difficult to keep straight as acronyms and initialisms. Two weeks a...

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Editing Acronyms and Initialisms: The Almost Impossible Task of Keeping Them Consistent

Sep 11, 2019 - Ronnie Morris

It has been considered a usual style to shorten words in order to save time or space for some time now. Some of us will remember acronyms and initiali...

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12 Things I Learned Working with TEC’s Editing Team

Aug 28, 2019 - Molly Rookwood

Over the years, TEC has grown, acquiring new editors and a new office. One of TEC’s greatest strengths is that its editors work together in the same r...

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The Online World of Grammar and Usage: Reliable Online Editorial Resources

Editing  /  Grammar  /  Usage  /  Style
Jul 31, 2019 - Michael Bedford

Although you’re unlikely to find many writers or editors willing to give up the hard copies of their dictionaries or style and usage guides, working a...

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Editors Canada: Forty Years of Editorial Vigilance

May 15, 2019 - Michael Bedford

Editors Canada’s website describes its mission statement thus, “Editors Canada promotes professional editing as a key in producing effective communica...

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The Value of Having Your Thesis or Dissertation Edited by a Professional Editor

Apr 25, 2019 - Melissa MacAulay, Guest Blogger

Having your thesis or dissertation edited by a professional editor can be an incredibly valuable investment. After all, a graduate degree is typically...

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How to Use the Semicolon to Connect Your Thoughts & Clarify Your Meaning

Apr 16, 2019 - Molly Rookwood

As an icebreaker activity in one of my publishing courses, a teacher asked us to give our names, what we liked to read for fun, and what our favourite...

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Possessives: Some Basic Rules on Using “s” and an Apostrophe

Editing  /  Grammar  /  Usage  /  Style
Mar 20, 2019 - Jonathan Adjemian

The most common mistakes with grammar often involve seemingly simple things. In English, possession is indicated using an apostrophe and, usually, an ...

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Editorial Women: Then and Now

Mar 13, 2019 - Michael Bedford

A famous editor might sound like a contradiction in terms to some, but for those plugged into the literary world there are a few names that pop up tim...

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To Friend or Unfriend? The Evolution of Nouns into Verbs

Mar 06, 2019 - Molly Rookwood

In 2009, “unfriend” was the Oxford American Dictionary’s Word of the Year, leading to teeth-gnashing of grammar purists across the world. How could th...

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Ask the Editor: Some Common Myths About What We Do

Jan 30, 2019 - Lesley-Anne Longo

There are many myths out there about the editing profession, and there are many myths about editors. An editor is many things, so we know that what we...

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Tidying-Up Your Academic Writing: The Magic of the Reverse Outline

Jan 24, 2019 - Melissa MacAulay

January is the time of year when we begin hearing from students who need help with their dissertations, theses, and papers. To help them out, we're re...

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The Online World of Grammar and Usage: Reliable Online Editorial Resources

Jan 16, 2019 - Michael Bedford

Although you’re unlikely to find many writers or editors willing to give up the hard copies of their dictionaries or style and usage guides, working a...

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Web Citations: Headache Extraordinaire?

Sep 26, 2018 - Jonathan Adjemian

  Citing sources from the internet is something most academic writers do all the time; papers can be written without consulting a single sheet o...

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Talking about Pictures: Describing and Citing Artwork

Aug 08, 2018 - Jonathan Adjemian

  The publishing world has well-developed rules and guidelines for describing and citing work that exists as printed text. Things can be less cl...

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A Post- Post

Jun 06, 2018 - Laura Cameron

      The postgraduate student researching the rise of postmodernism in the postwar period found herself with post-traumatic stress ...

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What’s the Matter with ibid.?

May 09, 2018 - Jonathan Adjemian

The Latin word ibidem, better known these days by its short form ibid., is one of the technical tools of academic writing and editing. Literally meani...

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On Dramaturgy, Substantive Editing’s Theatrical Cousin

Apr 16, 2018 - Michael Bedord, TEC Freelance Blogger

dramaturgy n. 1 the art of theatrical production; the theory of dramatics. 2 the application of this. dramaturgical adj.   ~Paperback Oxfo...

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Notes from a Town & Country Editor and Writer

Feb 14, 2018 - Michael Bedford, TEC Freelance Blogger

  Having worked as a freelance writer and editor in Toronto, Grey County, and now the Hamilton area, I've had the opportunity to learn about...

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Take a Break, Editors!

Nov 01, 2017 - Lesley-Anne Longo

Editing is hard work, and sometimes it's nice to take a break from editing a particularly difficult piece of text and have a bit of fun. I've collecte...

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Ask the Editor: How Do I Prepare for My First Meeting with An Editor?

Oct 12, 2017 - Lesley-Anne Longo

Did you know that for TEC's tenth anniversary, we are running a promotion where you can get a free consultation with our Senior Editor, Beth, to discu...

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Hot Off the Press! The Chicago Manual of Style 17th Edition

Aug 24, 2017 - Beth McAuley

In celebration of the 17th edition of The Chicago Manual of Style (both hard copy and digital editions) we thought it would be appropriate t...

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Back from the Archives: Editing & Hyphens: Tips on Hyphenating Your Writing

Jun 22, 2017 - Barbara Kamienski

This week, we wanted to re-post one of our most consistently popular blogs: Barbara's 2015 blog on hyphenation! Even two years later, it's always at t...

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Misplaced Modifiers: How to Find Them and How to Lose Them

Jun 01, 2017 - Barbara Kamienski

    Remember Groucho Marx's famous quip? "One morning I shot an elephant in my pyjamas. How he got into my pyjamas I'll never know.&q...

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A Little Bit of Editing, A Little Bit of Proofreading, A Little Bit of Formatting: The Final Steps in Polishing Your Dissertation

Apr 12, 2017 - Lesley-Anne Longo

TEC has had a number of dissertations cross our desks over the past few months, and working on these important documents is always a process that requ...

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The Value of Having Your Thesis or Dissertation Edited by a Professional Editor

Apr 06, 2017 - Melissa MacAulay, Guest Blogger

  Having your thesis or dissertation edited by a professional editor can be an incredibly valuable investment. After all, a graduate degree is...

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Have Questions? Book a 15-Minute Complimentary Consult with Our Senior Editor

Feb 16, 2017 - Beth McAuley

  We at TEC welcome phone calls from our potential clients looking for guidance about the editing process and the cost of editing. When we recei...

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Tidying-Up Your Academic Writing: The Magic of the Reverse Outline

Sep 21, 2016 - Melissa MacAulay

Could your academic writing use a good de-cluttering?   While doing structural editing for a client—especially with graduate students&...

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10 Steps for “Working” Your Manuscript

May 11, 2016 - Beth McAuley

  What does it mean when we say an author is "working" the manuscript? It means that we recognize that the author is making the time...

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An Editor Contemplates Holiday Overindulgences

Jan 06, 2016 - Chris Cameron

The holiday season is like a mercifully distant relative who visits only once a year; I am always glad to see her arrive and always gladder to see her...

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3 Essentials for a Great Thesis or Dissertation

Sep 09, 2015 - Melissa MacAulay

As one of our Academic Editors here at TEC, I've recently been working on a lot of graduate theses and dissertations, helping students to shape what t...

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3 Ways Editors Can Keep Current

Jul 01, 2015 - Melissa MacAulay

At this year's EAC conference, a major theme was professional development and keeping up-to-date. Just as a physicist must keep abreast of advances an...

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Editors Go Global: Inspiration at the Keynote Address

Jun 24, 2015 - Lesley-Anne Longo

Last week was a very exciting event for editors in Canada (and around the world)--the 2015 EAC International Conference, "Editing Goes Global,&qu...

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Ask the Editor: How Do I Prepare for My First Meeting with An Editor?

Jun 10, 2015 - Lesley-Anne Longo

  In the last “Ask the Editor” blog, I talked about bringing an editor on board before you’ve even started writing the book, a...

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Ask the Editor: Why Work with an Editor during the Writing Process?

May 27, 2015 - Lesley-Anne Longo

We posted this blog in 2015, but the information below is timeless! If you're looking to write a book, or have started already, reaching out to an edi...

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Editing & Hyphens: Tips on Hyphenating Your Writing

Mar 18, 2015 - Barbara Kamienski

They say that an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure. So when I recently came upon a text riddled with hyphens popped in willy-nilly where th...

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First Things First: Building a Good Author-Editor Relationship

Feb 09, 2015 - Lesley-Anne Longo

Recently, we posted our second eBook publication, The Author's Guide to the Pre-Publishing Editing Process. In this blog and a few to follow, we want ...

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5 Chicago-Style Citations for the Web-Savvy Editor

Jan 05, 2015 - Melissa MacAulay

As 2015 rolls around, our use of social media continues to grow. Now, more than ever before, authors (both academic and non-academic) are citing socia...

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Perfection: A Perfect Trap

Dec 16, 2014 - Lesley-Anne Longo

Here at The Editing Company, we occasionally have to answer a familiar question from an inquiring caller: “How can you guarantee perfection?&rdq...

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What Is Copy Editing, Really?

Nov 19, 2014 - Lesley-Anne Longo

  Editing. It sounds like a simple process, but what many people don’t realize is there are actually a few types of editing that aim t...

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Back to the Future II: A 1990s Technological Overview

Sep 24, 2014 - Melissa MacAulay

Leafing through past issues of The Editorial Eye, I am offered a glimpse of what it might have been like to be an editor in the 1990s. These issues ...

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Back to the Future: Tips for Editors from The Editorial Eye (January 1990)

Sep 18, 2014 - Beth McAuley

The Editorial Eye was a professional newsletter for editors and writers published by the Editorial Experts, Inc. in Alexandria, Virginia. I began su...

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Adapt and Flourish: The Editors’ Association of Canada Hosts a Milestone Conference

Jul 02, 2014 - Beth McAuley

“Tracking Change: e-Merging Methods and Markets” was the theme of the Editors’ Association of Canada Conference held in Toronto th...

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4 Surprising Side Effects of Being an Editor

Jun 03, 2014 - Lesley-Anne Longo

So, you’ve decided you want to be an editor. You love books, working with words, and maybe even enjoy all the grammar rules that might drive o...

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Punctuation Marks & Symbols: The Comma and the Hashtag

Nov 06, 2013 - Sara Rozenberg

I wanted to write about punctuation marks and symbols because I’m fascinated by their use. When used correctly — that is, according to s...

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6 Simple Steps to Becoming a Confident Abbreviation User (CAU)

Aug 02, 2013 - Jessie Hale

From the Jersey Shore (anyone up for GTL?) to high government offices (the GOP signed an MOA with the DED!), abbreviations are handy little tools ...

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Building Meaningful Author–Editor Relationships

Aug 13, 2012 - Beth McAuley

One of the first booklets I read as an editor starting out was Author & Editor: A Working Guide, written by Rick Archbold, Doug Gibson, Dennis Lee...

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Seven Things An Editor Needs

Apr 17, 2012 - Beth McAuley

Editing isn’t for everyone. It can be quite strenuous and demanding, as well as rewarding and satisfying. Those of us who are editors know that ...

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Self-Published Authors Need Editors Too

Mar 05, 2012 - Laura Cok

With the rise of self-publishing, more and more authors are able to bypass traditional avenues and get their books directly to their readers. Instead ...

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On Editing Footnotes

Jan 27, 2012 - Beth McAuley

I fell in love with the footnote when I was an undergraduate in Montreal. I was learning to write academic essays: first in English literature and the...

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Not All Styles Are the Same

Dec 16, 2011 - Beth McAuley

At The Editing Company, each time we begin a new editing project, we make sure we have a style sheet to guide our work. What is important to know, and...

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Getting Started as an Editor

Nov 02, 2011 - Nina Hoeschele

It’s not an easy world for new editors out there. The publishing industry is changing while job markets everywhere are suffering. And yet, if yo...

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What's Up @ TEC!

Jul 01, 2011 - Beth McAuley

Happy Canada Day and Happy Pride Day! It’s July and summer has arrived. We’ve been keeping busy through May and June with new and ongoin...

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The Overlap between Writer and Editor

May 20, 2011 - Nina Hoeschele

Editors and writers: some see them as bitter enemies, some describe a beautiful partnership—and some say that editors are just writers who&rsq...

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What's Up At TEC

May 05, 2011 - Beth McAuley

We thought we’d give you a quick overview of some of the projects we’ve been working on here at The Editing Company. We’re keeping...

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What's Up @ TEC

Dec 31, 2010 - Beth McAuley

An apology to our readers! We know we are late in posting a blog. In fact, we are seriously out of sync. We have reasons for falling so behind, and ...

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TEC Is On The Move!

Oct 29, 2010 - Beth McAuley

  Today is our last day at 360 Bloor St. West, Suite 507. The Editing Company is moving on Monday, November 1, 2010. They say that with a new ...

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I Teach, Therefore I Edit

Sep 23, 2010 - Camille Issacs

In my life outside of TEC, I also work as a sessional English instructor, meaning I am hired on a sessional (or semester by semester) basis to teach...

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Canadian Versus American English: Surprising Differences

Sep 09, 2010 - Shealah Stratton

As an editor who works primarily for the Canadian market, I am amazed at all the subtle differences that separate Canadian and American English, and...

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Debatable Grammar: Impact as a Verb

Sep 02, 2010 - Nadine Bachan

In last week’s blog, Camille mentioned her disdain for the use of the word “impact” as a verb. You’re definitely not in a on...

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Crash Blossoms: Headlines Gone Wrong

Aug 05, 2010 - Shealah Stratton

Crash blossoms: Headlines Gone Wrong Shealah Stratton   What’s a crash blossom, you ask? Ben Zimmer wrote an article about the phenome...

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Book review: Bill Walsh’s Lapsing into a Comma (2000)

Jul 29, 2010 - Nadine Bachan

During my third year at university, the professor of one of my copy-editing courses began her first seminar by listing the names of several useful s...

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Proofreading as Puzzle-solving

Jul 07, 2010 - Camille Isaacs

  I get excited about proofreading. I approach a project as I would a puzzle or a game. The challenge for me is to find as many errors as possib...

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What is a Copy Editor?

Jun 30, 2010 - Shealah Stratton

When people ask what I do, it’s not uncommon for my response "I'm a copy editor" to elicit a blank or confused expression. Outsid...

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Greetings from The Editing Company

May 13, 2010 - Nadine Bachan

Welcome! This is the official blog of The Editing Company.   The Editing Company team delivers high-quality editorial services to publishers,...