Bridget Carrick

Not what I was expecting! I was told early on in my career to query authors when there was a discrepancy in chapter lengths—albeit only when 1–3 stood out as way too long. (Again, only in nonfiction) I'll still query, but this is good to know! #AmEditing #WritingCommunity

I'm curious to see what people actually care about and notice while reading: In nonfiction books, do you prefer chapters to be mostly the same length? #WritingCommunity #AmEditing

There's a macro for that! If you do repetitive tasks during your edit, a macro may shorten your keystroke count (& thus sanity). e.g. One ms had way too many scare quotes. Then I found a macro that deletes nearby pairs of quotation marks (parentheses & brackets too) #AmEditing

I just found another word that made me shudder during this new edit: dialogue, as a verb. As in, "Let's dialogue about [topic]." Yikes 😬 #AmEditing #PetPeeves

I'm not sure I've ever worked on a manuscript without some bizarre hidden code of paragraph marks and extra tabs and spaces. But I actually enjoy the beginning clean up of copyediting! It's like the small-talk phase of getting to know the ms before diving in. #AmEditing

Lots of ellipses fixes today. My CMOS 13.50–58 is getting a workout today (because I will never have all these rules memorized). #AmEditing

"Rather than being authority figures, let's think of ourselves as subject experts." I loved @LindsaySchopfer's "Developing Your Bedside Manner" from @EdsGuild's Red Pencil conference. It's easy to forget how scared of editors writers can be! This was a helpful reminder.

Question for fellow #freelancers and #edibuddies, what do you do during your quick breaks throughout your work day? My breaks are starting to get too long again, and timers aren't always foolproof (e.g., I'll unload the dishwasher, but then I'll want to wash that pan...)

Fully capable and educated copyeditors everywhere slowly sounding out words that are written in all caps like they're in first grade again—just to make sure they're being spelled correctly. "DE-IN-STI-TU-TION-AL-I-ZA-TION" I hate all caps. #AmEditing

Hey #edibuddies, so I'm catching up on the #EdsGuild2023 Red Pencil Virtual Conference. Do you have any sessions you loved and would recommend watching? While I'd like to think I'll watch them all over the next month, I'm trying to be realistic 😅

I couldn't go to the #EdsGuild2023 Red Pencil Conference this year 😭 (we had to move that weekend) But I said I would catch up on some of the virtual sessions—and I've actually been doing it this week! Yay for not waiting till last minute! 🥳 #edibuddies

I had taken on so many editing projects before, during, & after moving. So I took yesterday off to buy some plants and prep our new garden beds with my mom. Then I slept in today. It's so easy to forget the perks of being a freelancer. I should do this more often! #edibuddies

Great resources and thoughts here! This is an excellent thread that shares what writers have to go through to publish their book traditionally, and what writers who are looking to self-pub are missing and have to create on their own. #publishing #books

TIL that the British et al. say "there and then" while the Americans say "then and there." My question is, Why? Why, and how, did that happen? Why can't we just agree? #AmEditing

Are any other editors noticing a trend in writing time as "two a.m."? Especially in creative nonfiction. If so, do you suggest a change (all numerals and a.m./p.m. or all spelled out)? Can't say I'm a fan of this styling. #AmEditing #edibuddies

I'm one step closer to making our living room a cozy little library space. Look at this gorgeous lamp I found! #bookish

Pangur constantly playing in all the empty bookshelves from the move is making me consider having empty shelves for him all the time. But does the cuteness outweigh the delight of seeing all the books I've read and loved?

For the Pacific Northwest editors and writers out there: Today I learned that while the town and river are spelled Yakima, the tribe, people, and reservation are spelled Yakama. #AmEditing