Why editing matters — and it does
We word gurus have a little club. It’s a nice group of people called the American Copy Editors Society. We’re often the people who have duties that our co-workers don’t quite grasp. (Yes, we do more than move some commas and run spell check.) Worse yet, we have talents and make contributions that sometimes our supervisors — the ones who do the hiring and firing — don’t appreciate.
So ACES created a nifty little site, Why Editing Matters. There you can add your own comment about why you think editing is important.
The site is up to 75 comments. And though I wholeheartedly believe in all the serious posts that talk about the value of copy editors’ work behind the scenes, my favorite post isn’t so serious.
But oh lordy is it applicable. So, Post No. 68, why does editing matter?
Because of this dialogue from the movie Clue:
Mrs. White: He even threatened to kill me! In public!
Miss Scarlet: Why would he want to kill you in public?
The Butler: I think she means he threatened, in public, to kill her.
Brilliant. Anyway, go check it out.
AP style lesson of the day:
mph is OK on all references for miles per hour.
mpg is only acceptable on second references; it’s miles per gallon on first.
Why? Because the stylebook says so.
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