The Demise of Copy Editing (Set to Music)

It is indeed a sad thing to witness the layoffs of and general disregard for the honorable profession of copy editing (is it one word or two? if I were a copy editor, I'd know).

But if you're going to go down in flames, you may as well do so with a song!



Great vid. I wonder if all those volunteer cast members are laid off copy editors. Hmm . . . possible alternative career option?

Quotation for the Week of November 29

"You must learn from the mistakes of others. You can't possibly live long enough to make them all yourself."
-- Sam Levenson

What Am I Grateful For?

Anne Wayman has suggested several ways that writers might express their gratitude today on her blog, About Freelance Writing. Her first suggestion was to come up with 108 things they're grateful for. She put together her own list of 108 things and said it took her 45 minutes, mostly because she added links.

I wondered, could I do that? And how long would it take me?

So here's my list (completely off the cuff), started at 10:17 p.m.:

1. The ability to walk.
2. The ability to speak.
3. The ability to write.
4. My novel, IDENTITY CRISIS.
5. My two published short stories, one in CHESAPEAKE CRIMES and the other in The Back Alley.
6. The short story that will be published in CHESAPEAKE CRIMES: THEY HAD IT COMIN'.
7. My family.
8. My husband.
9. My friends.
10. Chocolate.
11. Sunny, warm days.
12. California.
13. Cars.
14. Trains.
15. Planes.
16. Bicycles.
17. Dancing.
18. Singing.
19. Movies.
20. Books.
21. Reading.
22. Theatre.
23. Cranberry sauce.
24. Computers.
25. Social media.
26. Twitter (that gets a special mention).
27. Scientists.
28. Medical advances.
29. Light bulbs.
30. Ovens
31. Microwave ovens
32. Television.
33. DVDs
34. iTunes.
35. YouTube.
36. Breathing.
37. Smelling.
38. Flowers.
39. Grass.
40. Mountains.
41. Beaches.
42. My neighbors.
43. Buddhism.
44. Sisters in Crime.
45. The Maryland Writers Association.
46. The Mystery Writers of America.
47. The Private Eye Writers of America.
48. The American Independent Writers.
49. Network Referral Group.
50. Anyone who's ever paid me to write.
51. Miss Solomon (my teacher in 2nd and 3rd grade).
52. New York City.
53. Baseball.
54. San Francisco.
55. San Diego.
56. Fresno. (Really!)
57. My cousin, Christine.
58. Chocolate-covered strawberries.
59. The Firesign Theatre.
60. The Internet.
61. My cats.
62. Wine.
63. Espresso.
64. Strawberries.
65. Warm blankets on a cold night.
66. The ability to sleep well.
67. My college education.
68. My post-graduate studies in law and library science.
69. My trip to Italy.
70. Mystery conferences.
71. Talking to my sister on the phone.
72. Visiting family in Portland, OR.
73. Visiting family in Boulder, CO.
74. Running.
75. Laughing.
76. Jokes.
77. My house.
78. Electric razors.
79. Air conditioning.
80. Central heating systems.
81. Pretzels.
82. My mother-in-law. (Yes, really!)
83. My husband's extended family.
84. Nancy Drew.
85. Catcher in the Rye.
86. The Big Sleep.
87. Film noir, in general.
88. Hardboiled detective fiction.
89. Honey West.
90. The Avengers.
91. Diana Rigg.
92. Erle Stanley Gardner (and Perry Mason).
93. Mary Tyler Moore.
94. Carol Burnett
95. The Marx Brothers.
96. Night at the Opera.
97. John LeCarre.
98. To Kill a Mockingbird.
99. Alfred Hitchcock.
100. John Ford.
101. The Coen Brothers.
102. The Big Lebowski.
103. Woody Allen.
104. Hannah and Her Sisters.
105. Annie Hall.
106. Stardust Memories.
107. Playtime.
108. The ability to make this list.

End: 10:48 p.m. (without links)
10:58 p.m. (after adding the links)

Quotation for the Week of November 22

"A writer who waits for ideal conditions under which to work will die without putting a word to paper."
-- E.B. White

Tons of Online Promotion for Fiction Authors

Every time I turn around, I find online venues where fiction authors can promote their work. Here's a few you may find helpful:

The Author Exchange Blog: where I was recently interviewed.

Chris Redding's Blog: where she interviews authors and features guest bloggers.

Beyond Her Book: Barbara Vey's blog for Publisher's Weekly. She does book giveaways and three-line reviews, every week.

Book Masons: joined this and still haven't utilized it, but I should explore it (since I do write book reviews and all).

And, of course, you want to keep sending out those queries to agents. Writer's Digest recently named 24 literary agents looking for new clients.

So . . . like I said, every time I turn around, a new one appears. (I just HAVE to stop turning around so much.)

Harlequin Launches Digital-Only Publishing House

Things are really moving along in the digital publishing world when an established publisher like Harlequin decides to open its own digital-only press.

According to the Web site: "Carina Press will publish a broad range of fiction with an emphasis on romance and its subgenres. We will also acquire voices in mystery, suspense and thrillers, science fiction, fantasy, erotica, gay/lesbian, and more!"

That's more than just romance novels (Harlequin's claim to fame).

Carina expects to start issuing e-books by Spring 2010.

Quotation for the Week of November 15

"When a man says he approves of something in principle, it means he hasn't the slightest intention of putting it into practice."
-- Otto von Bismarck

Are Things Really THIS Desperate for Freelancers?

Jim Lehrer's News Hour recently ran a piece about how, in a time of unemployment, layoffs and high insecurity about job security in general, the freelance sector is growing. And becoming more competitive.

Since employers can't afford employees, but need people to get work done, they're using freelancers instead. Meanwhile, many former employees are becoming freelancers, often for the very same folks who once employed them. Sometimes this can lead to rather fast and loose usage of the term "freelancer," something the Freelancers Union is highly sensitive about.

But this segment from the News Hour is about increased competition among freelancers.

Check out the video. See what you think.

Man, they make the situation sound dire. Are things really that bad? Are freelancers really in such cut-throat competition for work?

The issue of undercutting fees is raised. How much of that is due to overseas competition? How much of it comes from people who do fast and sloppy work?

And the Freelancers Union is mentioned prominently. (They're probably the ones who pitched the story. Just speculating, mind you, but it isn't the first time I've seen them featured in stories on this subject.) The union would like to make sure freelancers aren't abused or treated as de facto employees who lack the proper employee benefits, simply because they've been labeled freelancers.

So . . . are things really so desperate for freelancers? I don't know. I suspect that, once a few of these freelancers get past the initial siren song of making their own hours, as well as ditching the dress code, office politics and commute, they may find that freelancing is hardly an easy row to hoe.

How many of these fresh freelance candidates can effectively market themselves? And, having marketed, how many are able to close a sale?

I submit these particular talents are as important as (if not more so than) the ability to write or do whatever it is you do for a living.



Bottom line: I think the increased competition among freelancers (to the extent it really exists) will be a war of attrition won by those who decided to be freelancers long before the recession started. And I'm feeling pretty good about the prospects for those of us who are into it for the long-haul. We'll be the ones left standing, after the wouldbes and wannabes flee from freelancing into the "safety" of another employment situation.

Quotation for the Week of November 8

"Sometimes I worry about being a success in a mediocre world."
-- Lily Tomlin

A Grammar Primer: Misplaced vs. Dangling Modifiers

A guest post by Rick Holton

Most of us understand the importance of writing clearly. Stylistic errors, however, can sometimes make our communications harder to read. One common error is misplaced or dangling modifiers.

So what’s the difference between the two? A misplaced modifier is one that is in the wrong position in the sentence and can thus lead to ambiguity. A dangling modifier often appears at the beginning of a sentence and bears an unclear relationship to the text that follows.

The general principle that people in your organization should remember is, always put a modifier as close as possible to the thing it modifies.

An example of a misplaced modifier from a document I recently read: “Mr. Smith stated that a return on equity of 22 percent was unreasonably high on page 6 of his report.”

The misplaced phrase, “on page 6 of his report,” modifies the verb “stated,” so the sentence can be corrected by placing these two elements next to each other: “Mr. Smith stated on page 6 of his report that a return on equity of 22 percent was unreasonably high.”

An example of a dangling modifier might be: “Tripping down the stairs, his drink spilled all over the hostess.” His drink, however, did not trip down the stairs.

In this example, “tripping down the stairs” modifies, not the drink, but the person. Consequently, one simple way to correct the error is to say, “Tripping down the stairs, he spilled his drink all over the hostess.”

Another way to correct this error is to change the participial phrase to a dependent clause by adding a subject and turning the participle into a verb – “As he tripped down the stairs, his drink spilled all over the hostess.” In this case the “he” goes with “tripped,” and there is no possibility for confusion.

A further example might be: “Tired from a hard day at work, the dog’s barking annoyed him.” Again, “tired from a hard day at work” modifies, not the dog’s barking, but the person. Hence, we can correct the error by saying: “Tired from a hard day at work, he was annoyed by the dog’s barking.” We could also say: “Because he was tired from a hard day at work, the dog’s barking annoyed him.”

Attention to common errors like misplaced modifiers enables the reader to understand our message more easily. The less time the reader has to spend figuring out what we’re saying, the more likely we are to achieve our purpose.

Rick Holton is owner of The Holton Group, which specializes in business writing and consulting.

Quotation for the Week of November 1

"Horse sense is the thing a horse has which keeps it from betting on people."
-- W. C. Fields