tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6051744883907551402.post8111363595823496519..comments2024-03-27T19:11:37.620-04:00Comments on You Don't Say: Your role in National Grammar DayJohn McIntyrehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03559687583130468871noreply@blogger.comBlogger9125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6051744883907551402.post-61510863148894425972010-03-04T14:54:58.092-05:002010-03-04T14:54:58.092-05:00Ah, the old "Prig and Peever." I'm s...Ah, the old "Prig and Peever." I'm sure I've been to that pub. Not the most welcoming place -- straight-backed chairs, plain white-washed walls, limited selection of beers, strangely stilted conversation. But at least when you ordered a pint you knew you were going to get exactly a pint, dammit.David Lnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6051744883907551402.post-74078305713874464312010-03-04T11:37:30.613-05:002010-03-04T11:37:30.613-05:00Is there a hire-an-editor model that works for the...Is there a hire-an-editor model that works for the economics of blogging? As any reader knows, most blogs would benefit from a good copy-editing. And most bloggers would probably love to have a pro improve their writing. The trick, then, is making the economics work.<br /><br />With the rise of blogging, much of the value that was once concentrated in a few media outlets has been dispersed across countless blogs. The total value is greater than before (the blogs created more value than they displaced), but each blog contributes such a small portion of the total that most, being in the “long tail,” make no money. How then can a typical blogger pay for copy editing?<br /><br />Is there some service model that can be sustained when the demand for (and the ability to pay for) that service has been dispersed so widely? Is there a way, for example, to concentrate the dispersed, long-tail need for editing to the point where hiring an editor to meet that need becomes affordable?<br /><br />Cheers,<br />TomTom Moertelhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10226129953235804273noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6051744883907551402.post-69753029408211239982010-03-04T11:33:24.950-05:002010-03-04T11:33:24.950-05:00Thank you, John, for a thoughtful approach to the ...Thank you, John, for a thoughtful approach to the day. I generally cringe when these things come around (also, so-called supposed "National Punctuation Day"), because it's not as if we need more reasons to have people trot out their hoary (and often mistaken) complaints about others' usage. Do you read Gabe Doyle's blog? He had this to say for National Grammar day:<br /><br />"My problem with National Grammar Day (and most popular grammarians in general) is that it suggests that the best part of studying language is the heady rush of telling people that they shouldn't say something. But if you really study language, you know that there's so much more to it than that."<br /><br />[http://motivatedgrammar.wordpress.com/2010/03/04/national-grammar-day-2010-ten-more-common-grammar-myths-debunked/]mikehttp://www.mikepope.com/blog/noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6051744883907551402.post-51606243837178459562010-03-03T16:41:50.136-05:002010-03-03T16:41:50.136-05:00So do writers at the Associated Press and just abo...So do writers at the Associated Press and just about everywhere else. That's because a dateline, the location from which the story is reported, is a city, not a state. And Washington, D.C., is by longstanding newspaper convention, is one of the cities that stands alone in a dateline, without a state name or other supplemental identifier.John McIntyrehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03559687583130468871noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6051744883907551402.post-83993692585758415672010-03-03T16:25:08.785-05:002010-03-03T16:25:08.785-05:00Why do writers at NYT use "Washington" w...Why do writers at NYT use "Washington" when they mean "Washington, D.C."? There is a Washington State. It sounds arrogant and condescending, and it just isn't accurate.Marilyn Wisenoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6051744883907551402.post-9655967113568292822010-03-03T12:24:42.604-05:002010-03-03T12:24:42.604-05:00Writing and reporting are not taught as craft in s...Writing and reporting are not taught as craft in school.<br />College professors do not want to educate carpenters.<br />-- Whacked newspaper copy editorJim Callahanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16123579939921963902noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6051744883907551402.post-46401052025418352102010-03-03T09:53:44.317-05:002010-03-03T09:53:44.317-05:00Each of the items is so exquisite and so worthy of...Each of the items is so exquisite and so worthy of attention. I'll try to honour this National Grammar Day with mine.<br /><br />Thank you!Virginia Merchánnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6051744883907551402.post-11844461112851431012010-03-03T09:06:37.144-05:002010-03-03T09:06:37.144-05:00John, it should also be disclosed that I founded t...John, it should also be disclosed that I founded the Society for the Promotion of Good Grammar in part because I wanted custom lunch boxes. Shortly thereafter, CafePress discontinued selling lunch boxes. I've never fully recovered.Martha Brockenbroughhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00921299935406060841noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6051744883907551402.post-60598827802542719302010-03-03T07:06:02.546-05:002010-03-03T07:06:02.546-05:00Who will you be hiring to edit your book?
PS: Che...Who will you be hiring to edit your book?<br /><br />PS: Check the spelling in item five.Bikram Yoganoreply@blogger.com