Author Archives: Editor Amy

Reminder: Please Like/Follow My Editor Amy Facebook Page!

Hi, all! My presentation last month at the Houston Writers Guild Authorpalooza conference had a few technical hiccups, but aside from those it went well. Today I just wanted to provide a quick reminder and request to please like and follow my Editor Amy Facebook page. I like to post funny images, including unfortunate misspellings and language-related jokes, writing/grammar/punctuation tips, specials/discounts, and more. Regarding specials and discounts, you never know when I’ll post a limited-time discount, so keep an eye out and be sure you have notifications for my page turned on! See below for my new timeline cover and one of my favorite funny images.

Editor Amy

HWG Presentation: Working with an Editor

Good morning, all! This weekend is the Houston Writers Guild’s Authorpalooza conference in Houston. Yours truly will give a presentation on Sat. called Working with an Editor. In it, I’ll go over the typical editing process and, yes, working with an editor and all that entails. I’ll detail how to make the editing process an ideal experience, what to expect when working with an editor, the different types of editing, costs, what to put in your first email to an editor, and more. After my presentation, I’ll be at my vendor table in the foyer talking to anyone who comes by and wants to chat. Come see me!

Editor Amy

Becoming a Freelance Editor: HPL Presentation

Hi, all! I just wanted to make a quick announcement: I’m giving a presentation titled Becoming a Freelance Editor for the Houston Public Library this Thurs., March 17, online (free). You can register here. Some items on the agenda include recommended editor qualifications, editing organizations, best practices, finding clients / marketing yourself, freelance taxes, tips from other editors, and more. Please feel free to pass this along to those who might be interested. Thanks!

Editor Amy

New Master’s Degree!

It’s been a long time since I wrote a blog post. (Sorry!) This is a special occasion, so I thought I should write again. I just completed my master’s degree in publishing from George Washington University! It’s been a very interesting two-year adventure, and I really loved the program. I took classes such as The Professional Editor, Book Design, Marketing Strategies, Global Publishing, Ethics in Publishing, and Book Publicity and Promotion. It was certainly a challenge juggling grad school along with my full-time corporate editing job and my Editor Amy freelance work, but I did it! I feel even more prepared now to help my clients with their goals. So, if you have a project ready for editing, let me know!

Editor Amy

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Updates in the Editing Field

When I learn new things that I consider interesting about the editing or publishing field, I can’t expect much of a reaction from most of my friends and family. They just don’t get it. But you, readers, might!

Did you know that the Chicago Manual of Style, the style guide of all style guides, is coming out with a 17th edition this September? New editions are several years apart, and as language evolves, more changes will occur in our style guides. So, I’m excited to see what’s new and what’s changed.

One example of a change is the acceptance of the word “themself.” If you even try to type that in a program that has spell check, you’ll see an angry red squiggle under it, or else spell check will automatically replace it with “themselves.” Since the singular “they” is becoming more and more accepted, we need a reflexive pronoun for it that’ll fit. For example, if you’re using “they” in a sentence to represent a singular person, usually with an unknown gender, you wouldn’t later say “himself” (what if the person is not a male?); “themself” is what would fit now.

Is any of that interesting to y’all? I hope so. As always, I’m here if you have questions.

Editor Amy

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