National Grammar Day

Did you know that today is National Grammar Day? Thanks to the good people at SPOGG (The Society for the Promotion of Good Grammar), we have a special day to celebrate proper speaking and writing. Though, really, shouldn't we do that every day? :-)If you don't want to get called out by SPOGG, you might want to hire an editor. Whether you have a book, newsletter, dissertation, report, or business proposal (or anything else using the written word), I'd be happy to check the grammar, punctuation, spelling, clarity, and consistency of your document. Click here for my rates, and feel free to contact me for an estimate.

Here's to good grammar!

Home Page - Julie Coleman - Freelance Editor/Proofreader

Check Out The Loft

If you are an aspiring writer in the Twin Cities, there's no better resource than The Loft Literary Center. Whether you want to take a class in the art or business of writing, connect with other writers, have access to a writing studio or materials, or partake in book-related events, The Loft is the go-to place for local wordsmiths. Even the building itself is warm and inviting--I've been there a number of times. If you love words, you will love The Loft. I encourage you to check it out!

Home Page - Julie Coleman - Freelance Editor and Proofreader

Pressing the Issue

Yesterday I took a tour of the Nomadic Press, located at 878 Stryker Ave. in St. Paul. Kent Aldrich, Cheiftain (as he calls himself) and owner of the letterpress shop, has been in business for about 20 years. He's a really nice guy, incredibly knowledgeable, and does beautiful work. Many of the presses he uses are more than 100 years old. It's good old-fashioned handwork, and the art and craft of it really shows in his finished products. He also creates hand-bound books and portfolios. If you do decide to bring a project to him, you'll need to have it designed ahead of time. (I recommend, Kathy Forss at Daisy Mae Design, who has a gorgeous contemporary aesthetic.) And if you need someone to edit your materials before they're printed, please contact me! I work on a wide variety of projects, large and small, and I'd be happy to discuss your editing needs.
Home Page - Julie Coleman - Freelance Editor

Breaking Down Language Barriers

My husband and I had a wonderful trip to Spain. The main portion of our time was devoted to the Vaughan Town program, in which we spoke English with Spaniards. All the Spaniards on this program have a conversational level of English and are trying to improve their language skills, mainly for business purposes. We met some wonderful, fascinating people from Spain and from other parts of the world (England, Australia, Scotland, South Africa, and the United States). The language barrier was definitely a challenge at first, and we all had to be patient with each other, slow down our speech, and use gestures. One specific difference I noticed was in our use of the phrase "of course." The Spaniards say the word "clara," which literally translates as "clear." So when they say, "Of course, of course," what they mean is, "Yes, it's clear. Definitely." But at first when they kept saying, "Of course, of course," it came across as condescending, like, "Yes, of course I know what you mean. Are you stupid?" It took me a while to figure this out, and I felt much better once I did!
I also hadn't realized before just how many phrasal verbs we use in English (verb phrases that include a preposition or adverb, such as "go out," "put down," "run away," and "look into"). Also, we use a LOT of idioms: "Letting the cat out of the bag," "Keep one's head above water," "A slap on the wrist," "Go out on a limb," etc. We reviewed some of these with the Spaniards every day, and it was a good lesson for all us English-speakers, as well!
In my own editorial business, I sometimes work with people whose first language is not English. It's very helpful in these cases to have an editor look over their reports, proposals, letters, or other documents to make sure that their language is clear, precise, and error-free. If you need this kind of assistance, please contact me!

Home Page - Julie Coleman, Freelance Editor/Proofreader

Vacation in Spain

If you try to contact me and don't hear back right away, it's because I'm on vacation in Spain! My husband and I are going to do the Vaughan Town program (conversing in English with Spaniards) and then spend some extra time exploring Madrid. I will be available again the week of February 23rd. So if you have a project that needs editing, feel free to contact me, and I will get back to you asap.

Home Page - Julie Coleman - Freelance Editor/Proofreader

Books on Demand

Yesterday I went to an event hosted by the Minnesota Book Publishers Roundtable. The presentation was about digital book technologies, including ebooks and print-on-demand books. If trends parallel those of the iPod, by 2014 about one-third of all books will be paperless (such as on a Kindle or Sony Reader). It will definitely be interesting to see if people fully embrace the idea of reading digitally or if we'll still want to cling to our standard books with covers and pages. Somehow curling up on the couch with a good digital reader just doesn't have the same ring.... But I do understand that it's very convenient to download books rather than ordering them or--can you imagine?--actually going to a bookstore.

No matter what type of publishing you do, if you're looking for a freelance editor, contact me. I work digitally or on paper, too!

Home Page - Julie Coleman - Freelance Copy Editor and Proofreader

Freelancers Group Meeting #3

Because of the nasty winter weather, only three of us made it to today's freelancers meeting. But it was good to catch up with folks about their holidays, and I felt very brave for trekking out in the snowstorm! Our group has decided that each month's meeting should have a topic, and this month our theme was Twittering for business. To be honest, I know very little about Twitter, and I've yet to do any Tweeting. But I do think I'll give it a shot. It sounds like a good way to build up connections and relationships. The other two women at the meeting have both started Tweeting; it sounds like it takes a while to really get things going. But I am definitely intrigued!

Home Page - Julie Coleman - Freelance Editor

MIPA Holiday Party

'Tis the season for parties! On Wednesday night I went to the holiday party for the Midwest Independent Publishers Association. This is a group that promotes and supports all aspects of independent publishing in the Midwest. I spoke with another freelance editor, a freelance writer, and various other people involved in the business. Throughout the room, tables were covered with books written by MIPA members. One woman read aloud--to a rapt audience--from one of her books. It was a nice chance to mix and mingle with other publishing professionals.

Home Page - Julie Coleman - Freelance Copy Editor and Proofreader

PEN Party

Last night I went to the holiday party for the Professional Editors Network. One of the members hosted the party at her home, and everyone brought along something to eat. I had a met a few of the other editors before, and I enjoyed meeting lots of new people. It's really interesting to talk to people about their work--especially when they've been doing it for a long time. What kind of projects are they working on? How do they find work? Is employment holding steady in this tough economy? It sounds like many people segue into freelance work by taking on projects from a previous employer. Some freelance editors have one or two steady gigs, while most are constantly on the lookout for new opportunities. And even in a shaky economy, everyone needs an editor! It was fun and interesting evening. Plus we had lots of good food!

Home Page - Julie Coleman - Freelance Editor

Freelancers Group Meeting #2

My freelancers group met for the second time today, and we had a couple new people join us! One is a designer, and another is thinking about breaking into the world of freelance editing and writing. It's good to get different perspectives from people and bounce ideas off them. And, of course, as freelancers, it's nice to have a group of colleagues in the industry. We don't see each other as competition--we all have different niches, and we can learn from each other. Most of my freelance editing work tends to be nonfiction, and I usually work with individual clients rather than companies (though not always). Sometimes I do entire books, but other times I do business reports and proposals, magazine articles, sales materials, academic papers--basically, anything with text can stand to have an editor look it over. We "formalized" our group a little more by creating a Facebook group and events page. It's a nice way for us to keep in touch with one another.

Home Page - Julie Coleman - Freelance Editor/Proofreader

Presidential Grammar

I thought this "article" was pretty funny:

Obama's Use of Complete Sentences Stirs Controversy *Stunning Break with Last Eight Years*

In the first two weeks since the election, President-elect Barack Obama has broken with a tradition established over the past eight years through his controversial use of complete sentences, political observers say.

Millions of Americans who watched Mr. Obama's appearance on CBS' "Sixty Minutes" on Sunday witnessed the president-elect's unorthodox verbal tick, which had Mr. Obama employing grammatically correct sentences virtually every time he opened his mouth.

But Mr. Obama's decision to use complete sentences in his public pronouncements carries with it certain risks, since after the last eight years many Americans may find his odd speaking style jarring.

According to presidential historian Davis Logsdon of the University of Minnesota, some Americans might find it "alienating" to have a president who speaks English as if it were his first language.

"Every time Obama opens his mouth, his subjects and verbs are in agreement," says Mr. Logsdon. "If he keeps it up, he is running the risk of sounding like an elitist."

The historian said that if Mr. Obama insists on using complete sentences in his speeches, the public may find itself saying, "Okay, subject, predicate, subject, predicate--we get it! Stop showing off."

The president-elect's stubborn insistence on using complete sentences has already attracted a rebuke from one of his harshest critics, Gov. Sarah Palin of Alaska.

"Talking with complete sentences there and also too talking in a way that ordinary Americans like Joe the Plumber and Tito the Builder can't really do there, I think needing to do that isn't tapping into what Americans are needing also," she said.

Home Page - Julie Coleman - Freelance Editor/Proofreader

MMPA Excellence Awards

Last night I attended the MMPA Excellence Awards ceremony, which was held at the Metropolitan Ballroom. What a fun event! I had served as a judge in two categories (Best Technical Article and Best How-To Article), and I really enjoyed becoming better acquainted with the variety of publications produced in Minnesota. Before the awards were handed out, we had some time to eat, drink, and mingle with other publishing professionals. The awards ceremony was hosted by local news anchor Jason DeRusha. He was entertaining and kept things rolling right along. The evening's prizewinning magazines really ran the gamut. They included Beef, Minnesota Law and Politics (whose tagline is "Only Our Name Is Boring"), Marine Fabricator, Bowhunting World, Minnesota Monthly, Corn and Soybean Digest, Street Thunder, Minnesota Bride, Trailer Boats, Pheasants Forever, Twin Cities Metropolitan Magazine (my favorite local mag), and the Carleton College Voice, just to name a few.

If you need a magazine article edited, or you work for a magazine and need a freelance editor/proofreader, I have experience with magazines and would be happy to help you out! Take a look at my website, and contact me with questions. To see my rates, click here.

Home Page - Julie Coleman - Freelance Editor and Proofreader

Double Trouble

For all of you budding writers out there, I'd like to point out one of my biggest pet peeves: Double spaces between sentences. Usually the first thing I do when I receive something new to edit is search for and replace the double spaces. You may have learned this rule in high school typing class, but it is no longer correct. On a typewriter, the fonts are monospaced, meaning that every letter (x, i, e, etc.) takes up the same amount of space. Thus, double spaces created a nice open distinction between one sentence and the next. But today's computer fonts are proportionally spaced, so you should use one--and only one!--space between sentences.

I know that a lot of people don't like this rule. It's not what they were taught. It's hard to say good-bye to that double space. But, trust me, your document will look a lot more professional if you use one space instead of two. (Unless you're using a typewriter...but that's a different story!)

Home Page - Julie Coleman - Freelance Editor

New Freelancers' Group

I really enjoy working as a freelance editor. Some of my favorite aspects are setting my own hours and having a flexible schedule, working on a wide variety of projects, and not having to commute. During warm weather, I especially like getting to work on the front porch with my dog, Chloe, at my side. However, I do sometimes miss having co-workers to chat with and learn from, and I think that's pretty common in this line of work. Well, today I had my first meeting with a group of freelance editors/writers. We all belong to the Minnesota Magazine & Publications Association, which is how we met. We decided that we're going to meet up once a month to talk about projects we're working on, any issues we're facing, advice we can share, and anything else related to the freelance life. It's sort of like going to a meeting, except it's fun and productive! It seems like a great group, and I'm looking forward to meeting with them again.

Home Page - Julie Coleman - Freelance Editor/Proofreader in the Twin Cities

Funny (and Ironic) Typo of the Week

http://www.nbc.com/The_Tonight_Show_with_Jay_Leno/headlines/H_2955/10.shtml

Don't let this happen to you! Hire a professional editor to review your documents.

Home Page - Julie Coleman, Freelance Editor/Proofreader

MMPA Editors' Roundtable

This morning I attended an "editors' roundtable" sponsored by the Minnesota Magazine & Publications Association. Today's topic was Time & Money. We spent the first half of the meeting discussing how we spend our time as editors: What do we waste our time on? What do we wish we had more time for? What strategies do we employ to use our time wisely? Most people agreed that the biggest time-wasters are e-mail and other online time vacuums, chatty coworkers (for those who work in office settings), clutter, and unproductive phone calls. Everyone seems to have their own methods for staying focused and organized. First of all, it's important to know when you do your best work each day (early morning? mid-afternoon? late at night?), so you can do your most challenging work then. One person suggested not answering the phone all day and then returning calls late in the afternoon. Other people use websites or social networking sites as a reward: As soon as I finish this article, I get to spend 15 minutes browsing my favorite site. Some people make prioritized to-do lists every day, while others dive into work first thing in the morning when they're most productive and save their e-mails for later. It was interesting to get so many different time-management tips--many of which were very helpful! During the second half of the meeting, the magazine editors talked about their 2009 budgets. Many are staying the same, but a few are going down. The cost of paper, ink, and postage are all increasing, so many magazines are moving toward more online--and less print--content. However, it sounds like most local publications are still going strong!

Maybe you've written an article you'd like to submit to a magazine, but you'd like to have an editor look it over first. I would be happy to! Please check my website for rate and contact information.

Home Page - Julie Coleman, Freelance Editor

Grammar Girl

Many people find the idea of editing kind of intimidating. There are so many rules! How will I know if I'm doing the right thing? In many cases, editing is actually a subjective art. However, there are some important rules--but you don't need to be intimidated by them! I suggest checking out the friendly and informative Grammar Girl website and signing up for her "Quick & Dirty Tips." (She also has a book available now, too.) She makes grammar accessible and even fun. However, if you'd rather have someone else do the editing for you, contact me, freelance editor Julie Coleman, and I'll help you with your book manuscript, sales materials, website text, report, dissertation, or whatever else you're working on. For me, editing really is fun!

Julie Coleman, Freelance Editor and Proofreader

A Different Kind of Dictionary

I recently picked up a copy of Bryson's Dictionary for Writers and Editors by Bill Bryson. It's a wonderful resource, listing all sorts of names, places, phrases, titles, and other things an editor or writer might look up for clarification. Did you know that Calcutta is now officially known as Kolkata? Or that the correct phrase is "Music hath charms to soothe a savage breast"? I have learned that a pooh-bah is someone who holds many offices at once, and a valetudinarian is a person obsessed with their health. It's a treat just to browse through this fun and fascinating book--a great resource for anyone interested in words.

Freelance Editor and Proofreader, Julie Coleman

Book Design Workshop

On Saturday I went to a workshop entitled "Judging a Book By More Than Just Its Cover," hosted by the Twin Cities chapter of the American Society for Indexing. This was my first time attending one of their events, and I enjoyed getting to meet a whole new group of publishing-related people. In fact, one of the women was an indexer I had hired when I was working in Chicago! I had never met her face-to-face before. The main speaker was Dorie McClelland of Spring Book Design. She showed us a variety of samples of her work and explained some of the elements of design (including font selection, white space, photo placement, proportion, etc.). I learned that people read phrases rather than words, so if the text is too big it's actually difficult to read. Also, a block of text should not be more than five inches wide, for the same reason. There are countless subtleties involved in book design--more than I had ever realized, to be honest. I enjoyed learning more about the process. If you are looking to self-publish a book or you need a book designer, consider contacting Dorie. She does beautiful work. And if you need an editor, please contact me! (You can find info about my editing rates on my web page.)

Home Page - Julie Coleman, Freelance Editor

Welcome To My New Blog!

Hello! My name is Julie Coleman, and I'm a full-time freelance editor. I worked at a publishing company in Chicago for 15 years, and I've been in St. Paul (working freelance) for almost exactly a year now. I've gotten to work on some really interesting projects, and I'm enjoying getting more connected with the local publishing community as a whole. I thought it would be fun to start a blog to talk about projects I'm working on, grammar tips/opinions/pet peeves, publishing-related events, "word news," and anything else that might be of interest to readers.

In addition to the items I mentioned above, I plan to blog about:

• Recommended resources
• New books, magazines, seminars, and websites
  
• Ideas and opinions on the publishing industry
• Information about new rules and trends in word definitions and usage
• Tips on improving writing
• Thoughts on editing rates and style
  
• Opinions on grammar, usage, and editing in general
  

Please bookmark this page, and come back often!

Home Page - Julie Coleman, Freelance Editor