I write for frum magazines AMA

amother

Silver

Thu, Oct 05 2023, 10:38 am

seeker wrote:

As a serious editor but casual social media user, I try to avoid responding to errors in people's posts. But given the judgy tone here, I'm loving the irony of the gregarious errors.

Judgy??? Um, what??

It's not only manpower. It's not knowing the rules, like I explained. It's repeating the same mistake again and again and again. They're not correcting the mistake, not because they miss it, but because they do not know the rules. I've spoken to proofreaders in my office who don't even know the styles, such as CMOS or AP style. They have no idea what it is or that it exists. They never once open a dictionary. I overheard a proofreader argue with a supervisor why she thinks something should be a certain way just because she likes it better (I.e. no comma in the case of two independent clauses joined by coordinating conjunction) but a rule is not subjective. If the rule calls for a comma, you can't decide to omit it.

Or spelling mistakes that jump out at me first time I read it, so how did they miss it? For example, kerisine (kerosene), complement vs compliment, stationary vs stationery.
Of course I'm not perfect (see my error above, lol!) But I do work carefully, keeping rules in mind and constantly checking up style guide and dictionary, and I also go over everything twice so I can catch errors I missed the first time. This is why, like I said in the thread I linked above, that all proofreaders should be required to take a comprehensive course. I do feel the publications can do a way better job proofreading and catching errors.

Getting off soap box. I really did not intend to derail this thread.

amother

Peru

Thu, Oct 05 2023, 11:03 am

I have an idea for a column like a one page. I have samples of past writing to show. But the writing is very tight (600 words or less). Would I have to be more verbose either to make money or to fill the space? How can I pitch it? Can I pitch to 2 places simultaneously? (Would you pm if I left my name)

Librarian

Thu, Oct 05 2023, 11:17 am

amother cornflower wrote:

Why are there so many typos? Grammatical errors? It bothers me to read otherwise decent articles.

The typos and grammatical errors I have learned to live with. But what gets me extremely annoyed is the anachronisms that completely ruin the story. For example, a current day setting with grandparents with Eastern European accents, behaviors etc. There are a few left but they are certainly not in their 50's, 60's or 70's as portrayed! Or stories set in the USA of the 1950's 60's with the new couple going off to kollel! Those are just 2 examples that pop to mind. And I think the one with the kollel couple was supposed to be a true story. It was just a throw away line describing the character's parents and it was stated very casually depicting a norm. It made the whole story completely unbelievable. When I read those kind of mistakes I think where is the editor??

amother

Honeysuckle

Thu, Oct 05 2023, 11:37 am

amother Silver wrote:

...
But I do work carefully, keeping rules in mind and constantly checking up style guide and dictionary, and I also go over everything twice so I can catch errors I missed the first time. This is why, like I said in the thread I linked above, that all proofreaders should be required to take a comprehensive course. I do feel the publications can do a way better job proofreading and catching errors.

I'm not trained by any means, so correct me if I'm wrong in assuming that the bolded sentence can do with some editing.

amother

Silver

Thu, Oct 05 2023, 11:44 am

Librarian wrote:

If you are really an editor then I am going to assume you used the wrong word tongue and cheek. But just in case someone doesn't get the joke and thinks you were serious, the correct word is EGREGIOUS.

Yes, she was being facetious. She was making fun of me Confused

Read the entire thread.

amother

Silver

Thu, Oct 05 2023, 11:46 am

amother Honeysuckle wrote:

I'm not trained by any means, so correct me if I'm wrong in assuming that the bolded sentence can do with some editing.

I'm not a trained writer or editor. I am a proofreader. But I don't think there's anything grammatically wrong with this sentence. And even if there was, this is not meant for print. There's a difference.

seeker

Thu, Oct 05 2023, 12:07 pm

amother Peru wrote:

Short columns are a thing. Sometimes they'll share a page with another short thing but more likely ads.

Don't pitch to two places simultaneously. Very bad etiquette. Request a reply by a specific time instead so you can move on to a second place if needed. But mostly choose who has the best audience for what you're offering.

You can ask for $100 or so instead of pay per word. $150 if there's something especially unique about it (you're a recognized expert on the topic, you plan to and have access to interview experts, it's very research intensive...)

amother

Thu, Oct 05 2023, 12:28 pm

amother Peru wrote:

The magazines definitely print one pagers in that word range. Pay for that is definitely less. You can request more but likely only if there's something special about your piece...and don't pitch to two places at once. What if they both want it? Editors spend time reading and deciding...

amother

Honeysuckle

Thu, Oct 05 2023, 12:32 pm

amother Silver wrote:

Perhaps:
This is why, like I said in the thread I linked above, all proofreaders should be required to take a comprehensive course.
Or:
This is why I said in the thread I linked above that all proofreaders should be required to take a comprehensive course.

But I could be wrong.

seeker

Thu, Oct 05 2023, 12:43 pm

We shouldn't expect person to proofread imamother posts. I'm almost sorry for my ribbing before. It was just too ironic to ignore, exactly in that context.

At the same time, I still maintain that even in professional publications, it's acceptable to do things that sound good even if they're not technically pristine. We're writing for readers. AI is not going to take over my editing jobs too soon.

amother

Silver

Thu, Oct 05 2023, 12:44 pm

amother Honeysuckle wrote:

You know what? I think you're right. I probably should have left out the word "that." (Not that it's very nice to be nitpicky, especially on a forum where I should be free to post without judgment...)
One of the basic rules of proofreading is NOT to edit. That means to leave writing as is, as long as it's not inherently wrong. Although as a proofreader for a frum publication, I do take the liberty to point out issues to the editor, but I will not change it without her ok.

amother

Honeysuckle

Thu, Oct 05 2023, 1:11 pm

amother Silver wrote:

It's not nice. I'm sorry for nitpicking.
I'm curious about how important it is to be properly trained, but it's not relevant here.

amother

Silver

Thu, Oct 05 2023, 1:25 pm

amother Honeysuckle wrote:

It's not nice. I'm sorry for nitpicking.
I'm curious about how important it is to be properly trained, but it's not relevant here.

I posted above why I think it's important. 1. Because they don't know basic rules

For example, according to Chicago Manual of Style, "too" and "either" at the end of the sentence does not have a comma preceding it.

Restrictive vs nonrestrictive clauses, for example, that vs which. That has no comma preceding it; which does.

"Not only...but also" does not get a comma. (She's not only pretty but also clever.)

Serial comma according to CMOS, no serial comma according to AP Style. Which is just one reason why it's important to know which style the publication you're working for uses.

Oh, and the example I posted upthread. Two independent clauses joined by a coordinating conjunction are separated by a comma.
2. They don't know the importance of using the dictionary, style guide, and checking for inconsistencies

seeker

Thu, Oct 05 2023, 1:58 pm

amother Silver wrote:

The magazine I edited for gives out their own style guide with rules of thumb for common situations (including their stance on serial commas, italicizing or capitalizing various Jewish terms, and others). Beyond that, nobody should care whether a casual leisure reading magazine follows APA, CMOS, or nothing in particular, as long as it is not just plain wrong.

That/which, independent clauses, inconsistencies, and the like should have been addressed in high school ELA, and because I don't remember everything, I Google for refreshers when I get rusty.