A Netflix program card, starring Rowan Atkinson, titled "Man vs Baby" On a wintery day, Rowan Atkinson pushes a baby in a pram and says "Um..."
I'm sick of Netflix showing stupid MME and wrestling crap but this is a fight I might consider watching...
Phew! They've fixed it.
In addition to all the editing tools I shared on my blog this week (www.righttouchediting.com/2025/09/11/s...), I've got a collection of of tools created by editors for editors: docs.google.com/spreadsheets.... Check 'em out! #AmEditing
Once it starts working again, the online subscription is worth its weight in gold (do online things weigh anything?) because it's searchable and full of useful features.
If that website doesn't come back online soon then I'm going to have to.
Screenshot from the Chicago Manual of Style Online: Page Under Maintenance: Due to temporary technical difficulties, some features of CMOS are currently unavailable. We apologize for the inconvenience. Please try again shortly, and if the issue persists contact cmoshelpdesk@press.uchicago.edu.
@chicagomanual.bsky.social Are you doing OK? Any ETA on fixing whatever's gone wrong?
*tries to soothe the hyperventilating list of deadlines*
Orange and white cat reclining on an aqua lounge chair, partially in the sun with tropical plant shadows on its face.
Orange and white cat sleeping on its side on a pillow, hugging two fish-shaped toys.
Here's Alabaster, #StetPet editorial assistant of Morocco editor @geckoedit.com.
"Alabaster's favorite spot in summer is on the deck, on this comfy lounger. That is, when he hasn't spent the day fishing. As long as I keep him supplied with treats and scritches, he's content to leave me to work."
My Bluesky account is becoming an "airing my gripes with M-W" account. I do like @merriam-webster.com, I swear. It's my favorite dictionary. My frustration is more with the inconsistencies of English as it is used than with the people working so hard to descriptively record it. #AmEditing
A screenshot of the entry in Merriam-Webster for pepper mill, showing it as two words.
A screenshot of the Merriam-Webster entry for saltshaker, one word.
@merriam-webster.com whyyyy? #AmEditing
A soft way in could be using Word's Read Aloud feature. I use in it my editing, as it often catches things my eyes would skip over, that aren't actual spelling mistakes but aren't what the author meant, like missing words or 0/O. And like the error I deliberately snuck into this reply... 😉
No one really cares about the Oxford comma. But... @chicagomanual.bsky.social and @merriam-webster.com, the "begs the question" question begs the question: Does this mean war?
Is "begs the question" OK for "invites the question?"
Whose side are you on?
#PedanticNonsense #AmEditing
Thanks and yes, no sperm for me please
I've woken up in a very mentor-y kind of mood. So: If you're a fiction editor at the start of your career, or you're stuck on something editing-related, how can I help?
I'm great at answering questions on:
- Word styling
- client management
- CPD
- efficiency
- SPaG
#AskMeAnything #AmEditing
I *totally* helped this happen.
I lived in Mauritius in the nineties, when there was a werewolf scare. The police put a notice in the newspaper saying "The werewolf does not exist, but if you see it, please report it..."
Unsolicited writing advice, no. 17387:
The world is filled with writing advice.
Some of it is personal, some of it is fairly universal.
But advice is only ever advice: all authors are different. And if a method doesn't work for you, or get you the results you need, you don't have to follow it.
Genuinely was surprised that Missing White Woman won the Thriller Award for Best Mystery! A huge thank you to ITV, Tosca, Jean, and all the judges. Congrats to all winners and nominees! Bio has been updated.
Come join me on July 14 for some real story nerd stuff – there will be charts and spreadsheets and templates! #AmEditing
An orange and white cat sleeps in a shrimpy pose, clutching his feet and showing off his toe beans.
Beanz.
- include a disclaimer that it's uncorrected and may not be directly quoted from in the review cos that bit might change
- make sure the ARC reviewer is clear that their role is not to point out typos, grammatical errors, or stylistic choices that aren't really errors
Congrats on your book!
I used to review ARCs, and I think including a release date (even if it's just the month for now, and not the specific day) can be helpful so they can plan their reading time. It's also totally normal to send uncorrected proof copies to ARC readers, but...
Of the many things I resent about the last decade, toward the top of the list is the way my jaw clenches whenever I think of Anne Frank's "I still believe that people are really good at heart."
It was the "I won't wear a mask, even for a few minutes, to protect more vulnerable people and slow the spread of a deadly pandemic" that convinced me otherwise. Nothing since has changed my mind.
The unique millennial slow-boiling panic at never having done nuclear bomb drills and being too poor (and disillusioned) thanks to the myriad of economy-crashing and totally avoidable yet unprecedented events to be preppers. #WhatHasHeDoneNow
omg *incoherent babbling*
A floofy orange cat naps on an armchair with her flufftastic belly on full display.
Fluffy cat tummies. Let's go!
#Catsky
A cartoon in four panels. A heavy swiss Fountain pen is uncapped with a satisfying click. (closup image of the pen) The gold nib scratches pleasingly across heavy, textured paper. (image of the pen writing) Each completed page is deftly turned with a light rustle. The writer sighs gently and closes the handmade leather notebook with a soft thud. (image of a hand closing the notebook) These sounds are captured with a high-resolution Microphone and uploaded to the author's "Sounds of Creation AMSR" Youtube channel. (Image of a laptop with a youtube video playing) The story itself is utterly dreadful.
My latest @theguardian.com Books cartoon
Who'd have thought that in the twenty-first century we'd excitedly volunteer—even pay—to put ourselves in virtual panopticons to improve our own productivity?
#AmCoworking #Zoom #VirtualCoworking #CapitalistDystopia
She's a neurotic, anxious, mildly deranged, prissy, zoomy princess who is above burying her own poop and prefers burrowing to climbing. She's definitely smarter than our orange himbo, Alabaster.
