As the editing process collapses from many layers down to one single editor, the job of finding and buying images to illustrate the words is more often thrown into editors’ laps. As protectors of intellectual property, editors know it is important to secure permission before using an image. All … [Read more...]
Understanding Contract Terms: The Paper It’s Written On
Book Review: The Paper It’s Written On Into every freelancer's life, a few contracts must fall. When a former-litigator-current-editor and a long-time publishing pro team up to write a guide specifically for the editor–client relationship, you know it’s going to be worthwhile. It’s a slim, … [Read more...]
Adjust PDF Markup Globally
Sometimes you want to change the properties of a whole bunch of markup on a PDF at once. Perhaps it is to tag a whole set of markup with a reviewer’s name. Perhaps you’ve decided that all the pencil marks should be yellow because of the document’s blue background. Or perhaps all of the textboxes … [Read more...]
Creating Hyperlinks
Hyperlinks are clickable areas of a screen that take you to another part of a document or to a website. Anyone who has been on a website is familiar with hyperlinks (now called simply “links”). It’s how we navigate the web. Behind the clickable words or image is the code for a universal resource … [Read more...]
Keep the Tracked Changes in Pasted Text
There are a bunch of reasons that an editor might have to paste text with tracked changes into a master document. Perhaps the original text was marked up by the legal team or safety expert and it helps to maintain that notation during the editorial process. edited to satisfaction in one … [Read more...]
Exit the Comfort Zone: When to Take On Edits in Unfamiliar Subject Areas
A publisher asked if I would edit a math textbook. “Oh, I’m not good at math. I’ll pass,” I said. I said that the next three times they called about that project too. “I’m just not comfortable with math,” I told them. The fifth time they called, I agreed to help them as long as they acknowledged … [Read more...]
Ergonomics for Digital Nomads
With a laptop and an Internet connection, you’re ready to take your editing show on the road. You are location independent, thanks to the internet, a digital nomad. You can work beach side, hospital bedside, or even while sailing the ocean. But it can be downright painful to work on the … [Read more...]
Passing the Ball: Options for Editorial File-Sharing
Editors share files with other team members, with writers, and with themselves. There are hundreds of ways to do that, including sending a CD-ROM or thumb drive by snail mail or sneakernet, as was common back when Internet access meant dial-up. Of course, you can email many files, but there are … [Read more...]