Interview conducted by Keith Goddard. A career as an editor is often a solo adventure, especially if you’re a freelancer. So, we thought one way to better connect with fellow editors was to ask them the Five Ws: who, what, where, when, and why. Read on for some thought-provoking, enlightening tidbits from those of us … Continue reading Editor for Life: James Harbeck, Freelance Book Editor
Tag: James Harbeck
Just for reference
by James Harbeck If you edit academic books or articles, you probably spend a lot of time tidying up references. Sometimes as much time as editing the entire rest of the text. First, you have to pick your style: Chicago (note or name-date), MLA, APA, or, in the sciences, AMA or Vancouver. Then, you have … Continue reading Just for reference
Book Review: Making Sense: The Glamorous Story of English Grammar by David Crystal
Crystal against crystallization by James Harbeck (Oxford University Press, 2017) How can we have crystal-clear language spoken by people with a crystal-clear understanding of how it works? For one thing, don’t try to crystallize it—just Crystal-ize. Making Sense: The Glamorous Story of English Grammar, by David Crystal, is for anyone who wants to get Crystal … Continue reading Book Review: Making Sense: The Glamorous Story of English Grammar by David Crystal
Webinar: A linguist’s guide to grammar
What you learned in English class will help you with syntax about as much as what you learned in driving lessons will help you with mechanics—you get by fine until one day you find yourself stopped in the middle of a sentence with smoke coming out from under the hood. In this webinar, we're going … Continue reading Webinar: A linguist’s guide to grammar
Is it art? Well, how does it feel?
By James Harbeck There has been much discussion of the Nobel Prize in Literature being awarded to Bob Dylan. I have no interest in weighing in on whether his work is Nobel quality—I won’t pretend to understand the judges’ criteria—but I do have some thoughts on the question of whether a songwriter is even eligible … Continue reading Is it art? Well, how does it feel?
Wordplay: The old “ye olde”
Wordplay is a regular column by editor and language writer James Harbeck in which he tastes and plays with English words and usages. If you want to make something look, y’know, old and classy and stuff, what’s better than adding an e to the end of it? Think how much extra you pay to stay in … Continue reading Wordplay: The old “ye olde”
Wordplay: Assimilation by the mutants
Wordplay is a regular column by editor and language writer James Harbeck in which he tastes and plays with English words and usages. Every so often, someone asks, “If it’s one foot and two feet, and one tooth and two teeth, why isn’t it one book and two beek? If we have louse and lice, and … Continue reading Wordplay: Assimilation by the mutants
Wordplay: Contronyms: To sanction or to sanction?
Wordplay is a regular column by editor and language writer James Harbeck in which he tastes and plays with English words and usages. There are some words in English we may not know whether to sanction. They are so impregnated with meaning that their meaning may seem impregnable. If you try to hold them fast, you … Continue reading Wordplay: Contronyms: To sanction or to sanction?
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