Grade-level Science Vocabulary List for Science Writers and Editors

Posted on September 29, 2011 by catchsun| 1 Comment
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Or, How to write science at a level kids can understand.

Hey Paul, licensed under CC by 2.0

Science vocabulary, by provincial curriculum grade level

Children’s writers turn to vocabulary lists to ensure their target audience won’t find what they write inaccessible. Some lists are based on analysis of popular literature – listing the most common words in books read by kids at each age. Some lists are based on current literacy trends and theories relating to the number and complexity of words kids will know at various ages. (See Dolch and Mogilner.)

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Posted in copy editing, editing, education, substantive / stylistic editing, tips

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Basic PDF Mark-Up for Copy Editors and Proofreaders

Posted on May 31, 2011 by catchsun| 9 Comments
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I never see paper anymore. Manuscripts are developed in Word, much to my chagrin. When the book goes to layout, I get page proofs in PDF form. The mark-up I do is in Adobe Acrobat, which I love. I have a stylus, which I love. And my computer has a big-ass screen, search, and undo. Actual-size paper just cannot compete with that.

ITPM has beautiful layout and inspiring travel stories. You'll get lost in there. Best hide your air miles card whilst you read.

Sample fictional PDF mark-up using stylus and stamps in Adobe Acrobat Pro9.

First, learn the traditional proofreader’s marks,  Continue reading →

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Posted in Acrobat PDF, computers, copy editing, editing, how to, mark-up, proofreading, tips

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Productivity Rates in Editing

Posted on July 15, 2011 by catchsun| 2 Comments
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(Archive share, updated.)

“How long will it take to edit this?”

productive writers in a newsroom used under CC BY-SA 2.0 license

The question comes up a lot. At first, estimating seems like a shot in the dark. The best bet is to do a few random pages and multiply your findings to take in the whole manuscript. Also, take 60 seconds to edit a sample and identify the most pressing changes that are needed. However…

[Page per hour guidelines follow.] Continue reading →

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Posted in copy editing, editing, freelance, how to, proofreading, substantive / stylistic editing, tips

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How to Survive on Freelance Income

Posted on May 11, 2012 by catchsun| 2 Comments
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When I decided to freelance, my mother gave me a book called How to Survive Without a Salary, by Charles Long.

The first thing this book taught me was that to survive without a salary, I’d have to start earning more money. Much more.

Over the 16 years since then, various people have mentioned the title to me, and I always give them my summary:
1. earn more money
2. delay, delay, delay
3. beg, borrow, and go without

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Proof in a Hurry

Posted on May 4, 2012 by catchsun| Leave a comment
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When a client wants a proof (test print) proofread in a hurry, focus on the weakest links:

  1. titles – cover, spine, headers, footers, chapters, and sections
  2. sequential numbering in lists
  3. labels and headings on graphics, chart, and graphs
  4. first and last word of each paragraph (for omissions)
  5. spelling of your name – and the author’s, publisher’s, etc.

Working in a hurry is never fun. You know the work cannot be as good as you would like. Sometimes there isn’t even enough time to read every word.

Work can be fast, good, or cheap; never all three.

Rush work is a compliment, though. Even though the printer is waiting, the client wants to pay you for one last look.

What’s on your “proof in a hurry” checklist? What “weak links” have you identified in your field/product?

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Invoicing is My 2nd Favourite Day

Posted on March 30, 2012 by catchsun| Leave a comment
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Favourite days of the month:

  1. Deposit day
  2. Invoicing day
  3. Writing cheques to subcontractors and utilities

The start of a new project can’t count as a monthly occurrence. Most of my projects span the seasons.

 

Two years ago I wrote a post on how to invoice. It is a dated gem. Update to that post: While anyone who pays you money is entitled/required to collect your SIN (if you don’t have a business number), you may not want to provide that on your invoice. You may want to just give it to the HR or accounting dept. They need it to issue you (if you’re not a business) the T4A required by RevCan for tax purposes.

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This work (including my photo) is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported License.

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Copyright and Permissions

Posted on February 26, 2012 by catchsun| 3 Comments
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You’ve written your piece and carefully cited the source of all material that is not your own. Excellent. You have avoided plagiarism. I’m so proud that I could weep. Seriously, I’ll buy you a celebratory cookie.

Citing is not permission

Next, you need to write to the copyright holders and ask permission to use their copyrighted material.

If an author doesn’t obtain permission of the copyright holder then they, the author, will have breached the copyright and will be liable for (potentially large) damages. The author will have stolen the copyright holder’s intellectual property.

- Janet MacMillan, editor and recovering lawyer (with permission, you betch’a)

What needs permission?

  • Any graphic, photo, set of points, chart, song lyric, etc.
  • Any quote that is a significant part of the original.
  • Maybe more.

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Thinking of a Career in Editing?

Posted on December 12, 2011 by catchsun| 2 Comments
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Most editors come at the profession from other areas of expertise. They find they are good with words and have become the “go to” person at their workplace. Stepping from science (say) into science editing, is a sideways step that can be much less painful than a complete career change. These steps can help you gain experience and an idea of whether or not editing is for you. It’s an incredibly diverse career group. As you navigate the early phases, remember that whatever someone tells you, the exact opposite may also be true.

The Editors’ Association of Canada (EAC) just released a booklet about careers in editing. For now, you can see their advice on the (soon to be revamped) website.

My advice is four-fold, expanded below:

  1. join a professional organization
  2. take a course or seminar
  3. read a style guide, or four
  4. complete exercises

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How to Find Freelance Editing Work

Posted on November 24, 2011 by catchsun| 4 Comments
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i can haz edit?

An editor just told me she’s desperate for work and striking out in the freelance world. She’s not awake yet, so I looked her up everywhere I knew to find out what kind of editing she does. I have potential clients for her, if she has the subject matter experience.

She has ZERO professional presence online.

404 Editor Not Found

I still don’t think that having an online presence is THE way to get work. But NOT having one is a good way to prevent offers.

Consider the world wide web to be integral in the modern-day network:

  1. Meet people
  2. Fill in your profiles
  3. Interact online
  4. Create your own content Continue reading →

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Editing Strategies: Checklists

Posted on October 6, 2011 by catchsun| 2 Comments
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Checklists can help ensure all elements are in place.

Every now and then, someone asks me if there is a method to my editing. Do I go from “big picture” to “minutia,” for example.

No. It’s not usually that orderly. There is a lot of art to editing. Especially at the start of a project, I just read it, changing or making notes as I go.

However, when I’m well into a project, the editing needs become clearer – the problem spots more apparent – or the elements to check get longer, out comes my checklist.*

Copy editing and proofreading are a lot more amenable to systems than structural editing is.

Below is my checklist from proofing pages on a recent project. Continue reading →

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How to Start a Style Sheet

Posted on August 12, 2011 by catchsun| Leave a comment
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A style sheet is a record of style choices made as the editor works on a document. They may also be specific to a project or client.

The bare bones of a style sheet should note:

  • dictionary preference and whether we will always use the first given spelling option
  • style guide preference
  • reading level
  • British or US punctuation (for commas and quotes)
  • number treatment

This style sheet is jotted on the back of an envelope because the job was tiny, at the final stage, and non-repeating.

Now, this reflects the typical subject of my work and often includes notes on the treatment of Continue reading →

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Using the PDF Markup Comments List: One User’s Experience

Posted on July 26, 2011 by catchsun| 2 Comments
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 I am very pleased to release the first guest post on this blog, by my colleague Dawn Hunter, a freelance editor and an award-winning author.

I [Dawn] use Acrobat’s markup tools, but I don’t use the Summarize Comments function, and neither do the formatters I work with. I have to say it is a neat function and I appreciate Adrienne’s showing it to me.

What we use is the Show Comments List. You can open it by clicking the icon that looks like two speech bubbles on the left of your screen.

The comment bubble on the left side of the screen will reveal the comment list pane below your PDF. 

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Posted in Acrobat PDF, computers, copy editing, how to, mark-up, proofreading, tips

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