Blog
Writers and editors: rules for managing vicarious trauma
If you are about to launch into an activity or project that involves working or dealing with people who have suffered or are suffering from violence or abuse, you are at risk of suffering vicarious...
Tips: hyphens, and em and en dashes
While the way hyphens are used is pretty universal, rules of usage about en and em dashes differ depending on your country, and your organisation's style guides. The below rules apply to Australian...
Safety for female freelancers and sole traders
This article is based on my experiences as a female freelancer in Australia, and is directed at other female and female-identifying freelancers; however, some of the safety risks/strategies mention...
Recovering from vicarious trauma: an editor’s case study
Recently, I woke up to discover I was falling slowly into a pit. I have been there before, several times, many years ago. The difference now is that I know its name: vicarious trauma. And I k...
Tips and helpful links: grammar, punctuation, spelling
Grammar 'That', 'which' and whether to put a comma before which Traditionally, we use "that" with restrictive clauses and "which" with non-restrictive clauses. A restrictive clause 'restricts' th...
The benefits of networking online with other editors
Networking and information-sharing is an important aspect of an editor's professional development but attending face-to-face professional editor events is not always possible and can be costly. Onl...
How is editing poetry different to editing prose?
Poetry is different to prose (if you want to know exactly how it's different, click here). And editing poetry needs a different approach to editing prose. Different level of collaboration When li...
Proofreading hard copy publications
A manuscript intended to be self-published in hardcopy needs to be edited, designed, proofread, sent to the printer, then the final 'proof' checked or proofread, before the print run commences. ...
Proofreading the printer’s final ‘proof’
Once you have submitted your proofread manuscript to the printer, there is one proofreading task left to do. The final 'proof' When your manuscript is in the printer's system and ready for printi...
Self-publishing: file formats from writing to proofreading
Most manuscripts are written and edited in MS Word or other word processing programs. Sometimes they are written in Google.docs or another program, but editors usually like them converted into Word...