"Not only ... but also": Much ado about four words
I've already talked about how some phrases function as splitters—how what goes into either side must look the same. One of the phrases I...
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Four questions to ask a freelance copy editor before you hire
Happy New Year, all! I've discussed why everyone, from small businesses to large corporations and major nonprofits, ought to have a good,...
Pick your parallel path (or: Don't diagram sentences, but do diagram series)
I'm not a huge fan of diagramming sentences. I think so much of how we put sentences together is innate, and it doesn't really serve much...
"Splitter" words: How to make sure your sentences plug in
I just got myself an iPhone 7. And after I had already paid for the phone, I got hit with an unpleasant development: you can't plug the...
How to work with URLs in your copy
One of the things I do when I'm copy editing bibliographies or reference lists is clean up the URLs. (In case you're not sure, the URL is...
Two minutes for tripping
Okay, so maybe I just wanted to use a hockey analogy as a blog title... We do a lot of harping on grammar errors—things that are just...
5 Keys to Writing Successful Business Blogs
Blogs are no longer just the province of the literary-minded. They're now an essential marketing tool for large and small businesses...
What a copy editor is ... and is not
As my career has progressed, I've had to field a lot of questions from people who aren't sure what a copy editor does. Do I write? Will I...
Sweating the small stuff
"The NSA, CIA, and FBI worked together to catch the killer." Does this sentence seem right to you? Would you have inserted a "the" before...
A riddle for you
Q: What takes a lifetime to build, but can be lost with a single typo? A: Credibility. Credibility is the single most important asset you...
I wish I had a Grammar Genie...
Long time no blog. I call my business Magic Wand Editing, but if I had my druthers, it wouldn't be a magic wand I called upon, it'd be a...
The one thing you should never, EVER say to your copy editor
You have a document for copy edit. It's a long one. A report, a review, a proposal. You've worked hard on it. It's been reviewed and...
The sub-sub-sub basement
You ever read a sentence and, once you get to the end, you can't remember where you started? They can make you crazy as a reader, but for...
The singular they: when's it okay?
It's by far the biggest news this month in copy editing circles: The AP stylebook, bastion of contemporary usage and news-appropriate...
Living in a parallel world
This blog is called “Beyond the Oxford Comma.” I call it that because I’m not going to waste time arguing one side or the other of this...
Things Your Copy Editor Thinks About (so you don't have to)
I talked in a previous post about how you deserve a copy editor who will make your work the best it can be. But a copy editor doesn't...
Pet peeve of the day
It's hard to underestimate the importance of this effort. This drives me crazy, in part because my favorite radio host uses it all the...
How hairy is your dinosaur?
Today I am editing resumes. Resumes are tricky beasts because they try to cram as much information as posible into as little space as...
Everybody Needs a Copy Editor
How many typos have you laughed at on Facebook? They're funny until they come from you or your company. If you're writing something down...
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