The 10 Best Things About Being an Editor

One day, this WILL BE MINE. (Did that sound slightly maniacal? Hm.)

Nightwolf A.D.E.

There have been a lot of articles floating around the interwebs lately detailing the uglier side of editing, the harsh reality and bitter truth that publishing generally prefers to keep hidden. And I’d guess a lot of you are wondering why anyone would sign up for a job that clearly comes with a large side of misery. Or, if you’re a fledgling editor, you’re probably thinking it won’t happen to you, that those of us “griping” are just jaded old farts yelling “GET OFF MY LAWN!” at anyone who comes near. But trust me, you’re wrong. It will happen to you. I said I’d never fall prey to it either, and now look. I struggle daily to hold on to the passion and enthusiasm I started out with, to avoid turning into that hateful, jaded editor I said I’d never become. Because, you see, being an editor is a lot…

View original post 1,652 more words

…Ellipses’ Abuse Awareness Day…

Another Milestone, or Very Cheerful Tidings

So, it’s been a while.  Again.  And this is going to be short.  Sorry about that.

Maybe I can appease you with the good news that, a) this is not another grammar rant, and b) I come bearing Very Cheerful Tidings.

Very Cheerful Tidings Exhibit I:  I have finished this edit of Novel #2!

Very Cheerful Tidings Exhibit II:  I have exactly one run-through left of Novel #2, in which I shall conduct a final grammar check.  After that, I will endeavor to gain constructive criticism from mine peers.  Then—to querying!

Very Cheerful Tidings Exhibit III:  …Actually, I don’t have a third Exhibit.  I just wanted one.  So there.

Thus concludes this Brief Message Bearing Very Cheerful Tidings.

 

A Thing I’ve Noticed OR What No One Understands About Grammar Nazis

Dear World:

I know I haven’t sounded all that understanding of grammatical errors recently.  “Another Grammar Rant” was impassioned and frustrated; “Ode to the Em Dash” was both pretentious and angsty.  I know what I sound like when I rant about grammar, what I sound like when I rant about anything I care about.  I know what I sound like when I’m whiny.

I will freely admit that part of my love for semicolons exists because using them makes me feel correct and intellectually superior.

That’s not why I’m a grammar Nazi.  Not entirely, at least.  Not even mostly.

Recently, I’ve been trying to find some inkling on the Internet that what I do is appreciated, even by a sliver of a minority.  Instead, I’ve found scientific studies “proving” that I, being a grammar Nazi, am a jerk; I’ve found grammatically incorrect memes telling me I, being a grammar Nazi, am ridiculous; I’ve found people who are convinced that I, being a grammar Nazi, exist only to make their lives painful and annoying; I’ve found entire articles intent on proving that I, being a grammar Nazi, am just a bully who is insecure and unwilling to reveal my own imperfection.

That’s not me, either.

Even the kinder things I’ve found have been purely to tell me to be more compassionate, like I’m not already.  To tell me just to give up the greatest passion in my life.

Let me say this now, World: I won’t.  I can’t.  This is who I am.

I will not apologize for that.

I cannot speak on behalf of every other grammar Nazi in the world.  I cannot say that every grammar Nazi is not a scientifically proven jerk, is not ridiculous, does not exist to make others’ lives painful and annoying, or is not an insecure bully who attacks others’ imperfections to conceal his own.

I can speak for myself, though.  Maybe, somewhere out there, a fellow grammar Nazi will read this and realize that there is someone else like her; that not everyone thinks people who love grammar are useless and outdated.

Editing: The Adventure Begins

Last night, at approximately 5:30 PM, something momentous happened: I finished rewriting Novel #2 with a final tally (for this draft, at least) of 67,841 words.

Allow me to translate this into Excited  Teenage Girl for a moment:

OH MY GOD, I, LIKE, TOTALLY FINISHED MY BOOK AGAIN!  AND NOW I GOT TO, LIKE, EDIT, AND IT’S GOING TO BE A. MAZ. ING.  Totes.

In Which Aloisa Finally Decides to Write…

Note: this post is not meant to shake the tree or ruffle feathers – it’s just a different perspective on grammar and words. :-) Please realize I wrote all of this with a smile on my face and lighthearted intentions.

Well, what a turn out huh? Bet you never thought you’d ever see me finally pick up my pen (or keyboard as it is…) and devote an hour or so to a blog post. As you see, I am now. I know, it is long over due. I apologize immensely and could spend my time convincing you that I am truly sorry or we could just accept it as understood and move on.

Another Grammar Rant

I just found out it’s National Grammar Day!  How is this a thing I didn’t know about‽  I’m so happy right now!  (And still not using “tears of joy” emojis; take that, Oxford English Dictionaries!)

So, here’s the thing about grammar.  It’s kind of my life.  And that sentence just got me a lot of really strange looks from people reading this, I know, but bear with me.

Ode to the Em Dash (The Musings of a Sleep-Deprived Grammar Enthusiast at 1 AM)

Dear Oxford English Dictionaries

Dear Oxford English Dictionaries:

On November 16, 2015, you declared the “face with tears of joy” emoji the 2015 Word of the Year.

In addition to expressing the churning abyss of sorrow and loss and unwavering rage that this has evoked within me, I am writing this mock-letter that you will likely never see in order to inform you that November 16th will forever be the day that you, one of the most respected dictionaries in the English-speaking world, let down everyone who speaks or wants to speak the language and defiled and ridiculed the great tool and art that is our language and the use of it.

Language Geek Quiz

Because I am just this nerdy and couldn’t help it. And because it’s fun.

I got “Grammar Despot” (I know, shocker, right?):

How ’bout everyone else?