Monday, November 23, 2009

Relativity

Ten days is an eternity when, for example, you're counting down to the start of a vacation or the delivery of a new car.

Ten days go by in a flash as you frantically deal with all that remains to complete the editing of a 400-page manuscript.

One look at what remains on your To Do list in relation to the calendar begs the question, "What have I been doing for the past three weeks?"

Tuesday, November 17, 2009

My Work Queue

When I log in to my online article-editing account, I have a list of ten article titles, each of which needs to be edited.

The titles cover a seemingly endless variety of topics, literally almost anything you can think of. For example, yesterday I edited articles on various aspects of computer use, investing in the stock market, foreign currency exchange, auto maintenance, and more.

Since we are paid on a per-article basis, no doubt each editor has figured out an approach to article selection that is designed to maximize hourly earnings.

Given that one of our responsibilities is fact checking, I would think that most editors lean toward subjects with which they're familiar, at least as far as a title can suggest, and away from the opposite, which might require more fact checking.

Many titles are questions, the answer to which presumably is provided in the article; for example, "How do I apply for Medicare?" So another "test" (i.e., criterion) that I use in selecting a title is to ask myself, How likely is it that the question can be adequately answered in the article?

Which brings me to My not-to-be-touched-with-a-10ft-pole title of the day for yesterday: "List of Jobs Requiring a Bachelor's Degree."

What do you think, about a gazillion jobs condensed into a few hundred words?

Monday, November 9, 2009

Rt. 1 South, Revisited

Many years ago I had a job with hours that ended in the middle of the night. The drive home, from Edison to Trenton, New Jersey, was about 20 miles. It was a straight shot down Rt. 1 South, with virtually no other vehicles.

I would occasionally doze off for a few seconds, and then awaken in a panic and feeling grateful to be alive. I often wondered if I had run a red light or narrowly missed a collision during my brief naps.

Editing can, at times, be like that drive home. To wit: I just edited (I hope) a number of articles, including the titles, "How To Remove Rust from Brakes," "How To Use Derivatives To Manage Foreign Exchange," and "NASDAQ Technical Analysis."

I had a good night's sleep, it's only about 10 a.m., and yet I find myself driving my '67 Triumph TR4A, top down, right into the arms of Morpheus.

Wednesday, November 4, 2009

Did you know that most editors have a strong death wish?

From an article I'm editing on paper vs. electronic medical records:

"Electronic records are more efficient than paper because it makes the files easier to read, more assessable and improves on the overall quality of the patience’s files for diagnosis research." Not to mention the subject-verb disagreement.

When I encountered that sentence, I saved the file, turned off my computer, and double-locked the door to my balcony. I live on the sixth floor of an apartment building.

Tuesday, November 3, 2009

Election Day 2009

My vote goes for healthcare.

C'mon, AP, New York Times, and others. Jump on the band wagon. You know that the demise of "health care" is imminent. Please give it a terminal nudge.

The fact that virtually no one uses a hyphen in health care reform is proof that "health care" is seen/read/understood as "healthcare."

Monday, November 2, 2009

This kind of writing grates on me.

From an article I'm editing on email newsletters:

"Email is a great way to communicate. Newsletters are a great way to let people know what is going on in the world, with your company and so on. Put them both together and a great many benefits arise out of them." (Emphasis added.)

I encounter a great many articles whose writers have neither a great vocabulary nor a great degree of original thought.

Sunday, November 1, 2009

Phrase of the Day

From an article I just edited on neck exercises: ". . . spinning your head from one side to the other."

It's perfect for Halloween weekend, and it brings to mind "The Exorcist."

Good thing my stomach's empty, otherwise I might projectile . . .