Posts tagged as:

Editing

MAD’s Monday Muse: Two Hats

by Mary Ann on September 14, 2009

Besides being MAD about Words, I’m mad about the movies. I often take The Conversations: Walter Murch and the Art of Editing Film, by Michael Ondaatje down off my bookshelf and read it again to feed my two obsessions. Murch is an Academy Award winning film editor who worked on “The Godfather” and many other [...]

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An editor’s work

by Mary Ann on July 20, 2009

Vanity Fair’s  red-pencil-wielding executive literary editor, Wayne Lawson, together with representatives from the research and copy departments, whip Sarah Palin’s resignation speech into publishable shape.[vanityfair.com]

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Poorly Written Promotional Copy Makes Me Sad

by Mary Ann on July 20, 2009

Here is a bit of advertising copy I came across on a local website today.
Invites You For An Exclusive Peek At The City’s New Social Mecca.
We Have Been Working Hard To Compile Some Crucial Elements And Stunning Visuals From The World Of Fashion And Nightlife So We Thought To Ourselves – What A Great Feeling, [...]

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focus on creating the absolutely strongest, most perfect manuscript you can

by Mary Ann on July 3, 2009

In her newsletter, agent Kristin Nelson shares a discussion she had with two other literary agents: “We agreed that for some of our projects, a year ago an editor would have bought the novel and then worked on some revisions with the author. This year, editors are passing and asking for the revisions first before [...]

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Fresh Eyeballs

by Mary Ann on June 23, 2009

Received from a writer today:
“…just want to check for there vs. their, etc.  and make sure you wanted the first 20 pages or just a representative 20 pages.  I once did a proposal for a dance recital software package and had mistakenly used rectal instead of recital.  Of course it flew through spellcheck.”
Like many things, [...]

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on the 50th anniversary of “the little book”

by Mary Ann on April 26, 2009

I have at least four copies of The Elements of Style:  a reproduction of the original
White-less version; the fourth edition with a foreword by Roger Angell;
a fun edition illustrated by Maira Kalman and inscribed "To Mommy, my
favorite editor" by a soon-to-be-famous journalist; and a well-worn, dustless copy I have had ever since Dr. Maloney's [...]

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