Apply for ACES scholarship by Nov. 15

I know you’re probably up to your eyeballs in internship applications, but add this to you to-do list: Apply for an ACES scholarship worth up to $2,500.

Each year, ACES gives out five scholarships: four $1,000 awards and one $2,500 Merv Aubespin Award named for the “godfather” of ACES.

The deadline to apply is Nov. 15, but don’t procrastinate. The application process is fairly comprehensive, but well within your reach if you start soon.

What you’ll need to send in

Complete info is available on the actual application form, but here’s the rundown:

Please send FIVE copies of this form and FIVE copies of each of the following items. Use 8.5 x 11-inch paper.

• A list of course work relevant to copy editing. You may include courses outside journalism.
• A list of your copy editing experience, including work on student and professional publications.
• An essay on what you think makes a good editor and why you want to be a copy editor. Write no more than 750 words, double-spaced.
• Two recommendation letters: one from a faculty member or adviser at your college and one from someone on a college or professional publication. Letters should include information about your commitment to professional copy editing.
• Copies of five to 10 headlines you have written. (Photocopies on 8.5 x 11-inch paper, please.)
• A copy of a story you’ve edited that demonstrates your ability. Include an explanation of the changes you made in the story, along with the circumstances under which it was edited (tight deadline, etc.). If possible, include an unedited version of the story.
• Material that appeared online may be downloaded to a CD; send five CDs with your entry.

I was lucky enough to get one of the ACES scholarships last year, so I know how much an extra $1,000 can help.

Apply now.

Off to Minneapolis

I’ll be hitting the road later this afternoon, headed for Minneapolis for the 2009 American Copy Editors Society National Conference.

Can’t make it to conference this year? Check the ACES Web site for resources from speakers and panelists. (Click on Schedule at the top of the page.) Some sessions already a PDF or PowerPoint posted.

Happy editing!

ACES-UNL is on the Interwebs

Confession: I’m a nerd who spends her free time building Web sites.

Good, now that we have that out of the way, you can go check out ACES-UNL’s new Web site.

It’s still a work in progress, but I’m happy with what we have so far.

While you’re at it, go visit the national ACES group’s snazzy Web site for our national conference that is sneaking up on us.

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.