Editing Journal
Allyse Taylor
Module 1: Professional
Website (3-5 edits)
Date
Example from your writing
How you edited
Grammar/style rule
01/25
This applies across all language mediums from written works to radio broadcasts to films. If
Added a comma after mediums
“From” begins a new clause which requires a comma to separate
01/25
A quote by Jacques Barzun from the reading this week does a great job of illustrating this point.
Removed “this week” and “point”
Edited line:
A quote by Jacques Barzun from the reading does a great job of illustrating this.
A time frame had been used a few sentences before, making this seem redundant. I removed “point” as this too seemed redundant to add
01/25
Those who place value on rules, standards, structure will see editing as a necessary and beneficial tool to ensure that what is published is up to par.
Added an “and” between standards and structures - just forgot to add the whole word!
“and “ is used as a connection between a grouping of things in a sentence
Module 2: Job Research &
Analysis (3-5 edits)
Date
Example from your writing
How you edited
Grammar/style rule
02/05
then destroyed it I knew that in order to do this, I
than destroyed it. I knew that in order to do this, I
Had to add a period at the end of prior sentence for proper punctuation, switched then to than as it is used in comparison
02/05
Someone who have the ability to do several types of editing well may be a valuable asset for a company that doesn’t necessarily produce literary works or,
Edited version, changed “have” to “has”:
Someone who has the ability to do several types of editing well may be a valuable asset for a company that doesn’t necessarily produce literary works or,
I used the wrong verb tense, had to go back and conjugate correctly.
02/05
Specialists also fill distinct spaces that, in some situations only that specific person can fill. A unique and well honed voice will always be necessary. They have taken something that they love, that they are passionate about, or that they understand deeply, and made it their mission to be able to help others understand it more fully and with more clarity.
Edited version, changed sentence placement:
Specialists also fill distinct spaces that, in some situations only that specific person can fill. They have taken something that they love, that they are passionate about, or that they understand deeply, and made it their mission to be able to help others understand it more fully and with more clarity. A unique and well honed voice will always be necessary.
The initial writing of this paragraph just felt off - the sentence I moved seemed more like something that would close out the paragraph rather than right after the introduction.
02/09
The editor position that caught my eye was for the Washington Post.
Edited version, added a word:
The editor position that immediately caught my eye was for the Washington Post.
I added immediately here to give my opening sentence more emphasis and enthusiasm.
Module 3: Grammar/Style
Handout (3-5 edits)
Date
Example from your writing
How you edited
Grammar/style rule
02/16
This should be the first ranking because the two cannot come without the other, and because this one is so closely connected with the author.
Edited version, full rewrite:
This cannot come without the other two, but I find that because this path is so closely connected with the author, it should be first in the ranking.
The first writing of this sentence felt clunky. The meaning did not come across as easily, so fixed sentence structure to make it flow more effectively.
02/16
I understand this piece as the ability to communicate openly and honestly with the author of the work.
Edited version, changed tenses:
I understood this piece as the ability to communicate openly and honestly with the author of the work.
Past tense was used throughout the rest of the writing, so changed from present to past to make tenses consistent.
02/23
If the shortened form is being used descriptively, leave lowercase
Edited version, removed “the”:
If shortened form is being used descriptively, leave lowercase
The rest of the bullet points on this handout were in a shortened form, with as few words used to conserve space. Removal of this word helped with the overall consistency of the handout
02/23
While, style manuals recommend
capitalizing trademarks, this is up to
editor discretion
Edited verision, removed the comma:
While style manuals recommend
capitalizing trademarks, this is up to
editor discretion
Comma was not necessary as “while” was not its own separate clause
Module 4: Editing Practice
(3-5 edits)
Date
Example from your writing
How you edited
Grammar/style rule
02/29
No one way or method of editing is correct, like many other facets of editing, and both have their own place and time that they are appropriate
Edited version:
Both editing with a hard copy and with a digital copy come with their advantages, along with their own unique challenges. No one way or method is correct, like many other facets of editing, and both have their own place and time that they are appropriate.
I had the initial version as my opening sentence, but it felt incomplete as and though it did not fit with the following paragraph. I added a stronger introductory line and made this section its own intro paragraph.
02/29
Coming back to the author though these changes may be more difficult to make on paper.
Edited version, added commas:
Coming back to the author, though, these changes may be more difficult to make on paper.
Framed ‘though’ with commas to give more pause around this thought. Without the commas it felt as though it read too quickly.
03/21
Editors are often the people who are holding the keys to the literary kingdom, and what that means for the editor and author relationship is that the author is often at the mercy of what they think and find worth it.
Edited version, added ‘literary’, changed ‘worth it’ to ‘worthy’:
Editors are often the people who are holding the keys to the literary kingdom, and what that means for the editor and author relationship is that the author is often at the mercy of what they think and find worthy.
Fixed the wording in this sentence to make it more interesting and more articulate.
03/21
While the industry that I am experiencing this in is completely different, I think the personal dilemma is rather similar, and something that I work to reconcile with when it comes up.
Edited version, added more context:
While the industry that I am experiencing this in is completely different, I think the personal dilemma is rather similar, and something that I work to reconcile with when it comes up. I’m an extremely empathetic and tender hearted person, and before I make these decisions, I tend to think about how I would be feeling if I were on the flip side of things.
The tone of this section is emotional and almost vulnerable, and I felt as though adding more personal context would bring the point home more effectively.
Module 5: Editing Resource Analysis (3-5 edits)
Date
Example from your writing
How you edited
Grammar/style rule
04/05
I thought that Rubinstein’s overall critique was well evidenced and supported, and felt more in line with how I feel about editing, although with much greater context. She writes about how this method is less concerned with every tiny detail, with rigorous rules and conventions, and more concerned with what each sentence and line means and is meant to evoke from the reader.
Edited version, added more context:
I thought that Rubinstein’s overall critique was well evidenced and supported, and felt more in line with how I feel about editing, although with much greater context. Towards the end of the article, she talks about a new path forward with copyediting, likening a revised and reimagined practice as a form of poetry. She writes about how this method is less concerned with every tiny detail, with rigorous rules and conventions, and more concerned with what each sentence and line means and is meant to evoke from the reader.
The sentence that I added gave my introduction more supporting information and related my writing to Rubenstein’s writing. These sentences were originally at the top of a paragraph, moving them to their own separate paragraph with more information gave it more weight.
04/05
One of the pieces of her critique that I appreciated the most was the examination of what we know of as copyediting is rooted in and the ways in which it contributes to systemic issues
Edited version, added the correct punctuation:
One of the pieces of her critique that I appreciated the most was the examination of what we know of as copyediting is rooted in, and the ways in which it contributes to systemic issues.
Added a comma to separate two different clauses, added a period to end the sentence (somehow I just totally forgot to punctuate the whole sentence???)
04/12
One thing that was pretty confusing to me in this text was the case study put forth in chapter two, pages twenty eight to forty seven.
Edited version, changed numbers:
One thing that was pretty confusing to me in this text was the case study put forth in chapter 2, pages 28 to 47.
Using the actual numerics in the case made more sense than writing out the numbers.
04/12
A developmental editor seems to have a much heavier hand when it comes to what the finished product of the book will be, and throughout this book I found myself thinking that from this perspective, the author is in some ways removed of their agency. There were even lines that felt as though the author is being infantilized.
A developmental editor seems to have a much heavier hand when it comes to what the finished product of the book will be, and throughout this book I found myself thinking that from this perspective, the author is in some ways removed of their agency. There were even lines that felt as though the author is being infantilized, like they are unable to make the correct decisions in their process to bring the book to a place where it is sellable and profitable.
Infantilized is a very strong word, and I felt that it needed something to back it up. Leaving that sentence on that word felt incomplete.
Module 6: Emails to Guest Speakers (3-5 edits)
Date
Example from your writing
How you edited
Grammar/style rule
04/22
This was something that came up in conversation in most interviews, but was most prominent with Hannah, Allegra, and Niki’s conversations. Hannah and Niki highlighted the not only collaboration of reporters and editors, but also the collaboration that comes from working with the community to produce what would be considered the news that’s fit to print.
Edited, added a sentence:
This was something that came up in conversation in most interviews, but was most prominent with Hannah, Allegra, and Niki’s conversations. This, of course, makes a lot of sense when working in journalism like Hannah and Niki do, but was expanded upon in different ways in Allegra’s interview. Hannah and Niki highlighted the not only collaboration of reporters and editors, but also the collaboration that comes from working with the community to produce what would be considered the news that’s fit to print.
Felt like more context could be added here in the differences between interviews.
04/22
She quoted Amy Poehler at one point, saying that “your previous experience is not time wasted, and your twenties is when you figure out what you don’t want to do”.
She quoted Amy Poehler at one point, saying that your previous experience is not time wasted, and your twenties is when you figure out what you don’t want to do.
This was not a direct quote so I removed quotation marks, they were unnecessary.
04/22
I found this very useful as it put in perspective how essentially marketing and sales is to have some knowledge about when considering publishing and editing as a career.
Edited, adjusted a word:
I found this very useful as it put in perspective how essential marketing and sales is to have some knowledge about when considering publishing and editing as a career.
Changed ‘essentially’ to ‘essential’ - wrong word choice
Module 7: Final Website Edits (include all edits)
Date
Example from your writing
How you edited
Grammar/style rule
05/05
editing is a positive thing because it helps bring a gap between fantastic ideas
Change “bring” to “bridge” - was stream of consciousness writing and didn’t even clock that I typed the wrong word
Incorrect word usage, changed to the correct word to convey proper meaning
05/05
I confess, I was atrocious at editing things I’ve written, and as the empress of procrastination, I had a habit of busting out whatever it was that I was writing within mere hours of its deadline, which often meant submitting whatever it was without much more than a second glance to check for anything that might be out of place or incorrect.
Edited version, broken into two sentences:
I confess, I was atrocious at editing things I’ve written. As the empress of procrastination, I had a habit of busting out whatever it was that I was writing within mere hours of its deadline, which often meant submitting whatever it was without much more than a second glance to check for anything that might be out of place or incorrect.
There was way too much information packed into what I was trying to make one sentence. Reading it back it felt like it would be more understandable and have more readability if broken up
05/05
The main caution that I think is important to keep in mind is the reasoning behind how we’re editing, or where the guidelines that we are using come from.
Edited version, removed “I think”:
The main caution that is important to keep in mind is the reasoning behind how we’re editing, or where the guidelines that we are using come from.
Redundancy avoidance - after I read through this, I realized that I’d used “I think” several times and it had become redundant and unnecessary
05/05
It is relational, and it is a practice that is integral to any space that requires use of the written word.
Edited version, expanded on a thought left unfinished:
It is relational, and allows us to forge connections with people in order to bring creative work to life. It is a practice that is integral to any space that requires use of the written word.
These two thoughts work well together, but the prior thought was left unfinished, leaving this space feeling a little incomplete. Expanding on what I felt needed more information gave the full picture of what I was trying to say.
05/05
Communication professional and aspiring editor based in Casper, Wyoming.
Communication professional and freelance editor based in Casper, Wyoming.
Changed “aspiring” to “freelance”. I may not have picked up a job yet, but I am no longer just aspiring, I am out there and ready to edit!
05/05
Just had a placeholder
Editing, for me, is not just the act of fixing radical comma usage or the errant misspelling. What I offer as an editor is a second set of eyes and ears to help you achieve your best work yet. Whether it is a line by line edit to catch what you might have missed when you finally finished your chapter, or a full developmental edit of your work, it is my highest priority to bring your idea to the next level, grammatically or otherwise. I might nitpick over word choice every now and again, but it is not to question your command of the English language; rather, it is my intention to bring your intention more clearly to the forefront of your readers’ minds with these queries. I value open lines of communication with my authors above all else, and strive to take your ideas and thoughts into consideration as we find what works best for your work. At the end of the day, I’m here to be a tool and resource for you and your writing. As a self proclaimed comma lover, I’ll be able to find grammar and spelling issues that might need a little work. As an avid reader and sometimes editor of fiction, I specialize in finding plot holes and asking questions that make both of us consider different angles and avenues for your story to travel down. I don’t just want to edit your work, I want to understand where it came from and what you want to say so that your message and tale can reach as many people as possible.
Added my full editing philosophy blurb
05/05
Just had a placeholder
As a recent communications graduate, I am in search of new opportunities to help you communicate your ideas to the world as effectively as possible. I have worked in sales, training and marketing for the last six years, and this background along with my recent studies afford me the ability to work flexibly between modes and styles. I aim to help a variety of authors make their voice stronger, their intentions more clear, and their stories or arguments more cohesive.
I have edited countless papers, three different drafts of a novel, and a litany of presentations, and find joy in each piece that I edit. I have been writing my own stories since I could pick up a pencil and have been editing them for just as long. I have a family of writers, and persistently annoy my author husband with questions of why he’s put that comma there again as I edit his writing. I have an eye for detail, and have used that to bring projects within my sales, training, and marketing positions to new heights.
With four years experience as a training professional, something that I specialize in is honest yet compassionate feedback, and I bring that to my editing practice in an effort to help foster the best working relationship possible. In every season of my career, I have been led to positions of helping others realize their potential and dreams, and I am to do that as your editor. I am always looking for new projects to take on, and look forward to hearing about yours.
Added full about me
