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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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5 Tips for Writing Engaging Nonfiction

Feb 01, 2018 - Lesley-Anne Longo

I'm open to reading almost anything ­– fiction, nonfiction – as long as I know from the first sentence or two that this is a voice I w...

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Ask the Editor: Editing with Nervous First-Time Writers

Jan 10, 2018 - Lesley-Anne Longo

It’s been a while since I’ve written an “Ask the Editor” blog post! This time, I’m going to talk about how to make the e...

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A New Holiday Tradition: Reading Great Holiday Books

Dec 20, 2017 - Lesley-Anne Longo

As the holiday season moves into full swing, you probably have holiday traditions that you enjoy with your family and friends, or even some traditions...

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The Essential Gift Guide for Editors: 2017

Nov 30, 2017 - Lesley-Anne Longo

It can be difficult to choose gifts for editors (or writers!) – choosing a book is often too risky or nerve-wracking, but if not a book, then&he...

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Man! Unbiased Language Can Be Confusing

Nov 23, 2017 - Barbara Kamienski

A while back, we at TEC were chatting over lunch about Word On The Street, and I mentioned that I had once manned a booth at the event. The reaction w...

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10 Amazing Things about TEC Turning 10!

Nov 16, 2017 - Beth McAuley

In September, The Editing Company began its 10th year of business. We have been celebrating our anniversary by offering 10% discounts, 10 complementar...

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

Nov 09, 2017 - 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 ...

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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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How to Improve Informal Writing in Business Emails

Sep 28, 2017 - Lesley-Anne Longo

    Chances are, you have had a lot of experience or contact with business writing: compiling expense or business reports, writing up cont...

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Subject-Verb Agreement

Sep 21, 2017 - Barbara Kamienski

  It's pretty simple, right? A singular subject takes a singular verb, and a plural subject takes a plural verb. The dog is barking. The dogs ar...

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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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Segues: Another Technique for Writing Transitions

Aug 17, 2017 - Lesley-Anne Longo

Segues are an important part of writing in any genre, and knowing how to use segues well can be the difference between a successful or not-so-successf...

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Two Men and a Printing Press: Keeping Alive the Art of Typography

Aug 03, 2017 - Anne Fullerton

    We're not supposed to judge books by their covers, but like it or not, when shopping around a bookstore with nothing particular in min...

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The Affected Effects of Impact

Jul 27, 2017 - Michael Bedford

Language and the way we use it is undeniably fluid. One doesn't have to look far to find idioms and words that have changed their wording and subseque...

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Less Is Not More: How to Write Longer Sentences (if you really have to)

Jul 20, 2017 - Barbara Kamienski

  Strunk and White's The Elements of Style is a classic, a compendium of pithy advice for writers who want to get their ideas across clearly and...

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Put the Brakes on Bad Breaks!

Jul 13, 2017 - Lesley-Anne Longo

Do you know the appropriate place to break a word like "friendship" or "disenfranchised"? Word breaks aren't something many peopl...

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Stumped by the Subjunctive

Jul 06, 2017 - Beth McAuley

I recently subscribed to the Globe and Mail for the Friday and Saturday editions. Friday's paper includes the Report on Business the last Friday of ea...

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An Insider’s Tale of the Canadian Opera Scene: A Review of Dr. Bartolo’s Umbrella

Jun 29, 2017 - Anne Fullerton

Dr. Bartolo's Umbrella and Other Tales from My Surprising Operatic Life By Christopher Cameron Published by Seraphim Editions, 2017   Form...

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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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A Crash Course on Political Language from Roosevelt by way of Trump to Orwell

Jun 15, 2017 - Michael Bedford

    The political world gets progressively denser every day, especially the world of US politics. And, though Canadians often pretend at b...

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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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Guardians of the Lexicons: A Guide to Editors Canada’s 2017 Conference

May 10, 2017 - Michael Bedford

    With April's end, we draw ever closer to Editors Canada's 2017 conference, entitled "Guardians of the Lexicons." With just o...

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How Public Speaking Can Help You Achieve Your Goals

May 03, 2017 - Laura Marinescu, Guest Blogger

    Standing up and standing out is easier than you may think!   Picture this scene: You are speaking confidently in front of forty...