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The Writer at Work: copy-edited manuscripts. *ROLL* in 'em.

  • Dec. 6th, 2005 at 9:40 PM
me and a troll
Editorial instruction to my really delightful CE:

"allow unusual compound words per author style: see Other Terms for a listing of those that have been retained."

Translated: "Let the author have her lameass fucken joinywords so she doesn't write STET all over every goddamned thing, pls, even though you know and I know how pretentious this all looks. *joint editorial eyeroll* kthxbye!"

I love my editor. *g* I love my job.

I also love the "watch" list, which is a list of naughty homonyms that might trip the typesetter and need to be noted, not terms that the author necessarily misuses:

complement/compliment
discreet/discrete
fairy (pretend) / Faerie (real)
fey/Fae
immoral/immortal
leach/leech
mantle/mantel
silver/sliver/shiver

And then there's the tricky-terms lists. The gees, for example:

geas/geasa
Genius (cap in reference to Patience)
geology
give in to it
glamourie, glamour
God (The Christian God and His personal pronouns)
god, goddess (lc)
goddamned
go n-ithe an cat thú is go n-ithe an diabhal an cat
goose pimples
goosenecked
Gothic
granddaughter
grandniece
grape leaf
green-broke
"Greensleeves"
grown-up
guardposts
gym bag
gyros

I am such a problem child.

And I really, really do love my job. This is so much fun.

Is it normal to get this much of a kick out of a copyedit?
  • Mood: touched
  • Music:Jethro Tull - Velvet Green

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Comments

( Leave a comment )
[info]retrobabble wrote:
Dec. 7th, 2005 06:15 am (UTC)
I prefer your translation. *enjoys - keeps*
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[info]juliansinger wrote:
Dec. 7th, 2005 06:29 am (UTC)
Well, some folks I know haaaaaaaate copyedits. But I'm enjoying your reaction.

(I fulminate randomly against Capitalized God versus uncapitalized god/goddess, but I can't do much about it.)
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[info]matociquala wrote:
Dec. 7th, 2005 01:23 pm (UTC)
standard usage, and frankly, I'm just as happy, because it makes my job that much easier. Besides, it's not like the Pagan gods have anything to prove.

(Yeah, I'm a recovering Pagan writing Celtic/Christian/random other culture myth with a side of pop culture. It gets as confusing as a lesbian sex scene in here. "Wait! Whose breast was that?")
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[info]juliansinger wrote:
Dec. 7th, 2005 06:41 pm (UTC)
Yeah, I know it's standard usage, that's why I said I can't do much about it. Other than occasionally and briefly complain to people who will, at least, be amused by my complaining.

(Recovering Pagan? Does that mean you're more Christian now, or does it mean something else entirely? Or should I stop asking questions and let you work?)
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[info]matociquala wrote:
Dec. 7th, 2005 06:50 pm (UTC)
I was raised Dianic, and have lapsed into an agnosticism so relaxed as to be almost comatose, though I do still sometimes stir myself to celebrate sabbats in a very secular sort of way.

It's particularly funny when my practicing Pagan friends forget I'm Pagan, and comment on something in my work--"You know, the Wiccan symbolism in this scene makes an interesting countercommentary--"

When I say relaxed agnostic, I mean that I approve of any religious, areligious, or spiritual path that doesn't involve coercion, evangelism, or abuse, and I have no idea what the answer is and I'm reasonably comfortable that way.
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[info]kaigou wrote:
Dec. 7th, 2005 06:39 am (UTC)
One of these days I'll be enlightened as to whether it's pole-axed or poleaxed. That word is almost as much fun as bamboozled, but it's unfortunately one of those that if you use it more than twice in a really big book...readers notice. Sigh. It's a great word.
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[info]pariyal wrote:
Dec. 7th, 2005 07:26 am (UTC)
Does it really say 'grandneice'? (I before E except before C?)
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[info]kajicarter wrote:
Dec. 7th, 2005 12:45 pm (UTC)
That caught my eye, too! Oh, prufreeder...!
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[info]matociquala wrote:
Dec. 7th, 2005 01:19 pm (UTC)
Yeah, I'm a four finger typist and a crappy proofreader. If you're not used to it by now, you're reading the wrong blog.
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[info]woodrunner wrote:
Dec. 7th, 2005 11:23 am (UTC)
How did geology get into the tricky term list?

Actually, what is a tricky term list?
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[info]matociquala wrote:
Dec. 7th, 2005 01:25 pm (UTC)
A list of things that should be stetted rather than fixed by the copyeditor/typesetter/etc. It's not actually technically called a "tricky terms list," it's an "Other Terms List," but mine is more descriptive for a general audience. ;-)
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(Anonymous) wrote:
Dec. 7th, 2005 11:53 am (UTC)
Is it normal? Probably not. But you knew that already, didn't you, Bear? *g*
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[info]specficrider wrote:
Dec. 7th, 2005 11:56 am (UTC)
Ooops, didn't mean to run around anonymously ...
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[info]matociquala wrote:
Dec. 8th, 2005 02:59 pm (UTC)
Sure, that's why you're wearing the robot costume.
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[info]iamza wrote:
Dec. 7th, 2005 12:29 pm (UTC)
What's so tricky about geology?
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[info]cakmpls wrote:
Dec. 7th, 2005 01:01 pm (UTC)
I wonder if the person who put "geology" on the list meant to put "genealogy," a much trickier word.
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[info]matociquala wrote:
Dec. 7th, 2005 01:18 pm (UTC)
No.



It's there because it's geology and not Geology.
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[info]nnaloh wrote:
Dec. 7th, 2005 01:28 pm (UTC)
I'm totally in love with my copy editor. I get notes from him such as, "AU: in my copy of "Les Fleurs du Mal," this poem is titled XXVII. Do you really mean to title it XXVIII?"

Apart from saving my ass, he owns a copy of "Les Fleurs du Mal"!
| Reply | Thread
[info]matociquala wrote:
Dec. 7th, 2005 03:26 pm (UTC)
That's a good CE.

A good CE is an absolute treasure.
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[info]brotherrabbit wrote:
Dec. 7th, 2005 01:36 pm (UTC)
I hear ya, I'm a word nerd too. Or should I say wordnerd?
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[info]matociquala wrote:
Dec. 7th, 2005 01:54 pm (UTC)
word-nerd

;-)
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[info]antonstrout wrote:
Dec. 7th, 2005 02:18 pm (UTC)
Hmmm.. if it's an Ace book, I wondered what all that weeping down the hall was out of editorial...
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[info]matociquala wrote:
Dec. 7th, 2005 03:27 pm (UTC)
Roc. *g* So, yeah.
| Reply | Parent | Thread
[info]coffeeem wrote:
Dec. 7th, 2005 04:41 pm (UTC)
Hey! Why does the Devil get to eat the cat, huh? That suuucks!
| Reply | Thread
[info]medievalist wrote:
Dec. 7th, 2005 05:19 pm (UTC)
I've just spent ten minutes trying to find the Middle Irish/Early Modern Irish tale that's from.

It's going to bug me all day long. I was looking at it just a couple of weeks ago, and then I filed it . . .
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me and a troll
[info]matociquala
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