Meet the Instructor: Frances Peck

Leave a comment

Written by Carl Rosenberg; copy edited by Katie Beaton

Frances Peck

On Saturday, February 29, Editors BC will present a full-day seminar by Frances Peck on usage woes and myths. For anyone intent on preventing (not avoiding) word errors and avoiding (not preventing) usage myths, this seminar will be of great help. People attending will get an up-to-date look at some of the most misunderstood and contentious points of English usage, and identify helpful guides and other resources. 

Frances Peck is a Certified Professional Editor (Hon.) and writer who has worked with words for nearly 30 years. She has taught at the University of Ottawa, Douglas College, SFU, UBC, and dozens of organizations across Canada. She prepared the Canadian edition of The St. Martin’s Workbook, a university grammar exercise book; co-authored the popular HyperGrammar website; and wrote Peck’s English Pointers, a collection of articles and quizzes available on the Language Portal of Canada. Frances lives in North Vancouver and is a partner with West Coast Editorial Associates.

Carl Rosenberg, a volunteer on Editors BC’s communications and social media committee, spoke to Frances about her work and forthcoming presentation.   

Continue reading →

Part of a calendar is shown with one pin lying on top of it, another pin stuck in the 26th of an unknown month, and a blue circle around the 24th.
Image

February 19, 2020: Peer Group “Ant”-ics

Leave a comment

What: Editors BC monthly meeting
When: Wednesday, February 19, 2020, 7:00–9:00 pm
Where: New room | Room 920, 9th floor, Central Library, 350 West Georgia Street, Vancouver | map
Cost: Free for Editors BC members, non-members, and students.

Are you a solitary worker ant, dealing with professional isolation in your office, freelance business, or region? Do you want to discuss victories, challenges, and resources with others in your field? Would you like to create a colony of support and learning? Join us at our next monthly meeting for a panel discussion led by Editors BC member Lynn Slobogian on how peer groups can help you.

Continue reading →

Rows of desks face a projection screen in a classroom-like environment.
Image

February 29, 2020: Usage Woes and Myths

1 Comment

What: Editors BC professional development seminar
When: Saturday, February 29, 2020, 10:00 am to 5:00 pm
Where: Room 400, 4th floor, BCIT Downtown Campus, 555 Seymour Street, Vancouver | map
Cost: $165 for Editors Canada members ($135 early bird), $230 for non-members ($200 early bird), and $100 for student affiliates. Advance registration required. Registration closes February 25; early-bird rates are in effect through February 11.

You’ve sorted out imply and infer. You know it’s not all right to use alright. Hopefully, you accept impact as a verb (not to mention hopefully as a sentence adverb). But what about more troublesome usage points, like the difference between may and might? Or such commonly misused words as dilemma and fulsome? Do you always have to change though to although, till to until? For anyone intent on preventing (not avoiding) word errors and avoiding (not preventing) usage myths, this seminar will help. 

Continue reading →

Book Review: Dreyer’s English

1 Comment

Written by Frances Peck; copy edited by Annette Gingrich

Review of “Dreyer’s English: An Utterly Correct Guide to Clarity and Style” by Benjamin Dreyer (Random House, 2019).

"Dreyer's English" by Benjamin Dreyer

Dreyer’s English: An Utterly Correct Guide to Clarity and Style hit the shelves a year ago. Or perhaps I should say it briefly touched the shelves, seeing as copies sold as fast as they could be printed. Repeating the improbable success of the book Eats, Shoots & Leaves: The Zero Tolerance Approach to Punctuation by Lynne Truss, Benjamin Dreyer’s guide sold umpteen copies and topped bestseller lists.

I’ve long followed Dreyer on Twitter, where he is natty, chatty, and sometimes catty. The same irresistible combination makes his book, from cover to cover, a trove of delights.

Continue reading →

Rows of desks face a projection screen in a classroom-like environment.
Image

January 25, 2020: The Art of the Query and Style Sheets with Substance

Leave a comment

What: Editors BC professional development seminar
When: Saturday, January 25, 2020, 10:00 am to 5:00 pm
Where: Room 555, 5th floor, BCIT Downtown Campus, 555 Seymour Street, Vancouver | map
Cost for both seminars: $165 for Editors Canada members ($135 early bird), $230 for non-members ($200 early bird), and $100 for student affiliates. Advance registration required. Registration closes January 21; early-bird rates are in effect through January 13.

Continue reading →

Part of a calendar is shown with one pin lying on top of it, another pin stuck in the 26th of an unknown month, and a blue circle around the 24th.
Image

January 15, 2020: Peer Group “Ant”-ics

Leave a comment

Our January meeting has been cancelled due to bad weather and travel warnings from the BC Ministry of Transportation and Infrastructure and from Translink. We hope to re-schedule the meeting for February. In the meantime, please stay safe and warm!

What: Editors BC monthly meeting
When: Wednesday, January 15, 2020, 7:00–9:00 pm
Where: New room | Room 916, 9th floor, Central Library, 350 West Georgia Street, Vancouver | map
Cost: Free for Editors BC members, non-members, and students.

Are you a solitary worker ant, dealing with professional isolation in your office, freelance business, or region? Do you want to discuss victories, challenges, and resources with others in your field? Would you like to create a colony of support and learning? Join us at our next monthly meeting for a panel discussion led by Editors BC member Lynn Slobogian on how peer groups can help you.

Continue reading →
Standing on a wooden ledge near a chess board, a black chess pawn and a white chess pawn are next to each other surrounded by a cobblestone pathway and some greenery.
Image

Event Review: Lana Okerlund’s “Do the Work You Want: A Guided Strategic Retreat for Editors”

Leave a comment

Written by Janice Love; copy edited by Emma Caplan

Does your editing career need an edit? Are you doing the kind(s) of editing you want to do? Are you gaining the value, whether monetary or otherwise, you want from the editing work you do?

These are all questions I had, and so Lana Okerlund’s offer to help via her guided strategic retreat for editors was worth the winter trip to Vancouver from Vernon!

Continue reading →

A gift covered in brown wrapping paper and red ribbon sits in the forefront while a blurred Christmas tree rests in the background.
Image

Give the Gift of Boundaries: Navigating Work in the Holiday Season

Leave a comment

Written by Liz Warwick; copy edited by Annette Gingrich

The holiday season has arrived, and if you believe the media, people now spend their days buying presents, baking up delicious goodies, and listening to carols on repeat.

Missing from that picture is any mention of work, especially any last-minute calls from a client or boss asking you to tackle (or finish up) a project that requires working right up to, or even through, the holidays.

Dealing with eleventh-hour requests, at the holidays or anytime, starts long before the call comes. We all need to know our boundaries. Some people are willing to work 14 hours at a stretch to complete a job. Others aren’t. Those boundaries may change depending on the season and an editor’s time of life. But everyone needs them.

Continue reading →

A cartoon of a blue magnifying glass hovers over a yellow document with several horizontal lines.
Image

Distilling Words to Their Essence: Editing Poetry for Impact

Leave a comment

Written by Emily Salja; copy edited by Meagan Kus

When we think about editing poetry, we first have to think about what poetry is. This is something that poets and critics have debated for decades—what is poetry?

All writing, to an extent, comes from the heart—creative writing in particular—and poetry is one of those strange, elusive creatures that is stitched together mostly by heartstrings. Poetry is the least efficient way of conveying a message. It is the language of trauma and inarticulable feelings. In poetry, we write around things instead of at them. How do we edit something so personal?

Continue reading →