Intro to The Editor's Blog

“Some editors are failed writers, but so are most writers.” – T.S. Eliot

Only good writing communicates. To communicate, the words need a structure that enables the writer to convey his or her ideas to the reader in a way the reader can understand. Appropriate use of grammar and punctuation provide that structure. The mere fact that you haven’t left this blog is a pretty good indication that you have an appreciation for good writing. You know that grammar is important. You probably have won a spelling bee or two in your day. You cringe when you see typos. Anywhere. On menus, billboards, Web sites, coupons. Even on the back of shampoo bottles. You read books, pen in hand, and you correct missing apostrophes and dangling participles. As much as you complain that typos should not exist in a book that you paid hard-earned money for, you also know that finding such errors is one of the most satisfying activities of your day. You are an editor. Your friends say you are nit-picky, anal, and obsessive compulsive. You like being right.

This blog is designed to be both a resource for editors (whether it’s your job title or obsession) and a sounding board for you share the annoying and egregious errors you come across to others who will appreciate it (because your husband or sister or roommate is tired of listening to you). I hope you will share editing experiences and opinions on certain subjective edits like the serial commas and UK vs. U.S. English, as well as grammar bloopers and other questions and/or reference materials you have. If anything, I hope this blog spares you the embarrassment of asking a friend or colleague a question that they think (and you know) you should know the answer to. After all, you like being right.

My first few posts are some important “lessons learned” that I want to share. Hopefully, some of these will spark ideas and discussion. I am also posting links to some essays and Web sites that have either been particularly useful or particularly funny. I hope you do the same.