ISSUE #2 JUNE 2005 MENU Coordinator's Corner Featured Editor Humorous Anecdotes Conference Information Notices of Contests Editing Exercise Member News PUGS Pointers Ask the Editor  Editing Tips Online Courses Editing/Writing Quotes

Kathy's Corner Dear Christian PEN Networkers: I am thrilled to present our first official issue of PEN Points, the newsletter of The Christian PEN: Proofreaders and Editors Network. In March we presented a "teaser" issue to all members of our network. Beginning with this issue, the newsletter will only be sent to contributing (paid) members. You'll be receiving it via e-mail on a quarterly basis: every March, June, September, and December. We have an amazing staff, and they have some incredible ideas for this newsletter.           Chief Editor, Kathy Ide           Staff Editor: Katherine Swarts           Articles Editor: Marjorie Vawter           Snippets Editor: Katherine Swarts           Layout/Design Coordinators: Marjorie Vawter and Vennessa Ng           Final Copyeditor/Proofreader: Nanette Thorsen-Snipes           HTML Editor: Amber Ferguson Each person on the newsletter team is a staff writer as well. Here's what we have planned for PEN Points: ARTICLES/COLUMNS:           Featured Editor           Editing Exercises           "Ask the Editor"           Reports of Past Writers Conferences           "PUGS Pointers"           Book Reviews SNIPPETS:           Editing Quotes           Humorous Anecdotes           Member News           Announcements of Upcoming Writers Conferences           Notices of Contests           News from the Publishing World           Typo Sightings If you'd like to submit anything for the above categories, please contact:           Marjorie Vawter for articles           Katherine Swarts for snippets If you'd like to be added to our newsletter staff, or if there's a new category you'd like to suggest, feel free to contact me. Please let me know what you like about the newsletter, as well as any recommendations you may have for improving it. This newsletter is for you. Your input will help us make it better and more useful for all our members. Featured Editor Katherine Swarts By Eileen Key © 2005 Hi, Katherine. We're interested in getting to know you. First, tell us a little about yourself. What are your hobbies and interests outside the workplace? I enjoy birding ("bird watching" to non-naturalists) and other outdoor activities: hayrides, picnics, stargazing and sky-watching, camping (nothing too rugged, though--I still like a hot shower at night). I also enjoy listening to folk music and old hymns, playing board games, and reading. Does being a writer help or hinder your work as an editor? I think being an editor helps your work as a writer. Editing forces you to constantly review the rules of usage and style. Also, the ongoing contact with other writers' work keeps you well informed on readers' current interests, which helps you spot trends before the market is saturated. Being a writer does have a few disadvantages in editorial work. If I'm not careful, I can rewrite someone's perfectly adequate manuscript in my own style. The biggest temptation, though, is to become impatient with writers who make mistakes I never would, to develop a "Doesn't this writer know anything?" attitude. What determines the length of time it will take to finish a project? Do you set deadlines? I usually let the clients set the deadlines, though I'll help them plan schedules if they don't have any in mind. If a client wants something within a difficult time span--say 350 pages within two days--I charge a substantial rush fee, more to discourage the client from trying that again than because I really want the extra money. I plan my schedule in detail, and it doesn't take well to last-minute changes. So it's not so much a matter of how long it will actually take to finish a project as when I can fit it in. How do you determine your fees? I try to charge $80 an hour, which is more or less average for freelance business editors, though perhaps on the high side for book editors. I leave plenty of room for negotiation. Charging by the houris tricky because most clients want a cost estimate at the beginning, so it's essential to estimate the time accurately. If you've already set a fee, but the writer asks you to do anything additional (or do anything over), it makes sense to charge for the extra work, unless you're correcting your own mistakes. Is a contract a necessity?   For a small job, or one where you're well acquainted with the client, partial payment in advance may be sufficient. When you do use a contract, be careful of setting a fee before you and the client fully understand everything the project entails. You don't want to be underpaid if the work turns out to be longer or more complicated than expected; in such a case your contract may work against you. If the wording is vague, a client may claim that you promised more than you intended. What are the most common mistakes authors make? Sending the editor the first draft is one. Don't waste an editor's time on minor things you could easily have corrected yourself. Arguing with the editor is another. Asking for details on the changes is one thing; having a fit because the editor doesn't just rubber-stamp your work is entirely different. How can someone break into the freelance editing field? Know the realities of self-employment, study your field and your market, make all the contacts you can, and don't get discouraged when success takes a while! Most freelancers have second jobs, at least in the beginning, so organizing your time and taking care of your health are essential. Where can we find you on the Web? My Web site is http://www.spreadthewordcommercialwriting.com www.spreadthewordcommercialwriting.com. I also have two e-mail addresses: info@spreadthewordcommercialwriting.com and kswarts@ix.netcom.com. To read the complete interview, go to The Christian PEN Web site and click on the Featured Editor link. Back to Menu Humorous Anecdotes 1 CORINTHIANS 13 FOR CHRISTIAN EDITORS Adapted by Katherine Swartz If I can turn poor prose into eloquent writing that speaks to all hearts and seems to come straight from heaven, but have not love, I am no better than an illiterate, or a peddler of cheap pulp fiction. If I have the insight of a prophet and can fathom all mysteries and all knowledge and turn them into words everyone can understand, and if I have a faith that propels my clients to the top of the bestseller mountain, but have not love, all my work is for nothing. If I give all my energy to encourage struggling writers, and all my income to the needy, and die of poverty in a one-room apartment, but have not love, nothing is of any spiritual value. Love is patient when it seems a writer will never get the manuscript into a workable state. Love is kind enough not to accuse writers of producing fourth-rate work, of being intolerably oversensitive, or of knowing nothing. Love is neither jealous when it helps a writer make the bestseller list and rise above its own income level, nor boastful about the help it gave them. Love is not arrogant, claiming it knows everything about good writing and its clients know nothing; nor is love rude, demanding authors adjust their schedules to its whims and convenience. Love does not insist on its own way when the author expresses doubt over a suggestion; love is not irritable when a writer asks for explanations, nor resentful when it learns someone it interviewed has chosen another editor. Love does not rejoice at impious writing, but rejoices when good and wholesome works are published. Love bears all its writers' fears of never being published, believes God's message will get to the people who need it, hopes always for the spread of the gospel throughout the world, and endures all low paychecks along the way. Love never fails in its determination to help spread the Good News. Where there are televangelists, their heyday will pass; where there are preachers, death will still their tongues; where there are geniuses, even their knowledge will pass away. For now we know only part of God's truth, and we work with the little insight we have, but when the perfection of heaven comes, all that is imperfect will disappear. When I was a child, I talked like a child, I wrote like a child, and I edited like a child; but when I grew up, I put childish ways aside and began using mature and insightful words. Even now, my work is like a faint photocopy of God's truth; but some day we will see God face to face and live in His light. Now I know only in part; then I will know God as well as He knows me. In the meantime, may my work be guided by these three things: faith, hope, and love, but especially the greatest of the three, which is love. Back to Menu Conference Information Compiled by Nanette Thorsen-Snipes and Kathy Ide June 8-11: Write-to-Publish Conference, Chicago, IL (http://www.WritetoPublish.com) June 16-18: WRITE! CANADA, Guelph, Ontario, Canada (http://www.thewordguild.com) June 24-25: American Christian Writers Conference, Grand Rapids, MI (http://www.acwriters.com) July 8-Aug. 6: ACT ONE: Writing for Hollywood, Hollywood, CA (http://www.ActOneprogram.com) July 24-29: Montrose Christian Writers Conference, Montrose, PA (http://www.montrosebible.org) August 1-4: Oregon Christian Writers Conference, Canby, OR (http://www.oregonchristianwriters.org) August 6: Inspirational Writers Alive Conference, Houston, TX KATHY IDE WILL BE TEACHING THREE WORKSHOPS THERE. August 5-8: SCBWI Annual Summer Conference for writers and illustrators of children's literature, Los Angeles, CA (http://www.scbwi.org/events.htm) August 18-20: Greater Philadelphia Christian Writers Conference, Philadelphia, PA (http://www.writehisanswer.com) September 15-18: American Christian Fiction Writers Conference, Nashville, TN (http://www.americanchristianfictionwriters.com/conference) KATHY IDE WILL BE TEACHING "POLISHING THE PUGS" THERE. If you will be attending any of these conferences, or others in the upcoming months, please post to the e-mail loop so you can see who else from the network may be attending and you can plan a get-together at the conference. Back to Menu Notices of Contests Compiled by Nanette Thorsen-Snipes June 7, 2005: ByLine Short Short Story Contest, (http://www.bylinemag.com/contests.asp). General short story up to 2,000 words. FEE: $5. PRIZES: $70, $35, $20. June 15, 2005: ByLine Inspirational Article Contest, (http://www.bylinemag.com/contests.asp). An uplifting nonfiction piece aimed to motivate or inspire. Includes but is not limited to spiritual topics. Limit 1,800 words. FEE: $5. PRIZES: $40, $25, $15. June 20, 2005: ByLine Sense of Place Poem Contest, (http://www.bylinemag.com/contests.asp). Lyric or narrative poem, any style or subject, with details that evoke a strong sense of place. FEE: $3. PRIZES: $40, $25, $15. June 30, 2005: ByLine Juvenile Short Story Contest, (http://www.bylinemag.com/contests.asp). Fiction for ages 5 to 8, 9 to 12, or 13 to 16. State targeted age group on manuscript; length should be appropriate for intended audience. 3,000 words maximum. FEE: $4. PRIZES: $40, $30, $15. July 6, 2005: ByLine Short Story Contest, (http://www.bylinemag.com/contests.asp). Fiction on any topic, up to 5,000 words. FEE: $5. PRIZES: $70, $35, $20. July 20, 2005: ByLine Short Humor Contest, (http://www.bylinemag.com/contests.asp). Funny prose, anecdotes, anything goes. Maximum 800 words. FEE: $4. PRIZES: $40, $25, $15. July 30, 2005: ByLine Free Verse Contest, (http://www.bylinemag.com/contests.asp). Any topic or length, unrhymed and unmetered. FEE: $3. PRIZES: $50, $25, $15. August 5, 2005: ByLine First Chapter of Novel Contest, (http://www.bylinemag.com/contests.asp). Opening chapter of an unpublished novel. Mainstream or genre; adult or YA audience. Maximum 25 pages. FEE: $5. PRIZES: $70, $40, $5. Back to Menu Editing Exercise JUST-FOR-FUN PROOFREADING TEST by Kathy Ide © 2005 In our "teaser" issue, I had a Just-for-Fun Proofreading Test, a paragraph containing several common errors. Did you copy and paste the paragraph into your word processing program, print it out, and try to find the mistakes (typographical errors, problems with spelling, punctuation, usage, grammar, etc.) without using your computer's spell-check program? How many mistakes did you find in five minutes? In case you didn't do it last time, here's the paragraph again. For free-lance writers, its clear that the world is changing. In the 1980's few people had even seen a computer; much less owned one. Now they are on most childrens' christmas wish-lists. In the 90's satelite T.V. was a new and wonderous thing-- no less than 16 chanels! Now the world-wide web has changed our lives to such an extent that the question is no longer, 'To internet or not to intenet,' [to misquote Shakespear], but 'How do you connect to the web'? Can you imagine life 100 years ago, when there was neither television or radio. Most of us can't bare to think about it. Here are the thirty mistakes I put in. Keep in mind, these are the rules for a book manuscript. (Some rules are different for articles.) First Sentence 1. freelance should not have a hyphen 2. it's needs an apostrophe before the s Second Sentence 3. 1980s should not have an apostrophe 4. seen should not be in bold or underlined. Italics may be used for emphasis, but that's not really needed here 5. semicolon should be a comma Third Sentence 6. The pronoun they doesn't work here. The only plural antecedent for that pronoun is "people." So you'd need to change the pronoun to a noun, like "computers." 7. children's. Apostrophe should be before the s, not after 8. Christmas should be capitalized 9. wish lists should not be hyphenated Fourth Sentence 10. '90s. There should be an apostrophe before the 9, no apostrophe before the s 11. satellite should have two l's 12. TV should not have periods 13. wondrous should not have an e 14. There should be no space before or after a dash. (If your computer program allows, double hyphens should be converted. In this case, you'd use the longer em dash, not the shorter en dash.) 15. less should be "fewer" 16. sixteen should be spelled out 17. channels should have two n's Fifth Sentence 18. World Wide Web. All three w's should be capitalized, and there's no hyphen 19. No comma after longer 20. The single quotation marks should be double quotation marks 21. Internet should be capitalized, both times 22. There should be a question mark after the second "Internet," not a comma 23. The phrase "to misquote Shakespeare" should be in parentheses, not brackets 24. Shakespeare should have an e on the end 25. Web should be capitalized 26. The question mark should be inside the closing quotation mark, not outside Sixth Sentence 27. 100 should be "a hundred," spelled out (because it's not referring to precisely 100 years) 28. television or radio should be "television nor radio" 29. There should be a question mark at end of the sentence ending with "radio" Seventh Sentence 30. bare should be bear Did you find all thirty? Did you come close? Send me an e-mail and let me know how many of those thirty you caught and if you found any I missed! I'll print the results in next quarter's newsletter. (Don't worry--I won't print names!) Back to Menu Member News Nanette Thorsen-Snipes had eleven short stories accepted for publication in four Soul Matters books (Soul Matters for the Heart, Soul Matters for Teens, Soul Matters for Women, and Soul Matters for Men), published by J Countryman. The books are scheduled to come out in June. Nanette also had a feature article in Church Libraries magazine, Spring 2005 issue. Way to go, Nan! Member Birthdays June 15: Amber Ferguson August 8: Vennessa Ng Happy birthday to you! Back to Menu PUGS Pointers (Punctuation, Usage, Grammar, and Spelling) By Kathy Ide © 2005 In this column, I will share tips on punctuation, usage, grammar, and spelling. I'll also explain why it's important for editors to help clients polish their PUGS. (NOTE: "CMS-15" stands for the 15th edition of The Chicago Manual of Style. "CMS-14" represents the 14th edition. "CWMS" is The Christian Writer's Manual of Style.) WHY POLISH YOUR PUGS? PUGS errors can cause miscommunication. Take a look at this sentence: "The inheritance will be divided equally between Tom, Dick and Harry." OK, so Tom, Dick, and Harry each get a third of the inheritance, right? WRONG! The word between is used when dividing into two; among is used for more than two. For each of those people to get one third, it would have to read "divided equally among..." The absence of the comma between Dick and Harry indicates that Tom gets half while Dick and Harry split the other half. If you're Tom, that might sound pretty good. But if you're Dick or Harry, you probably won't be too happy. If you're the writer of the will, your money and possessions may be distributed in a different way than you intended. PUNCTUATION TIP Family Relationships, CMS-15, #8.39 (CMS-14, #7.31) and CWMS p. 111 "Kinship names" (father, brother, etc.) are lowercased when preceded by modifiers. (Examples: "my dad" or "the youngest mother in the group.") When used before a proper name, or alone in place of the name, kinship names are capitalized.         Examples:                "I know that Mother's middle name is Janice."                "Will Aunt Becky be singing?"                "Will her uncle Ed be at the birthday party?"                "Hey, Dad, are we going fishing today?" USAGE TIP a while/awhile a while (noun) means "a period of time."      "Marilynn spent a while editing her manuscript." awhile (adverb) means "for a period of time." (The for is part of the meaning)      "Mallory asked me to stay awhile." Rule of thumb: If you've got a preposition before awhile, split it into two words. GRAMMAR TIP as vs. like Use as when comparing phrases and clauses that contain a verb.      "Jeanie proofreads her work carefully as she should." Use like to compare nouns and pronouns.      "Tracey writes like a pro." SPELLING TIP back yard/backyard Webster's Collegiate Dictionary (the one used by American book publishers) spells this as one word, whether used as a noun or adjective. According to The Associated Press Stylebook (for articles), this is spelled as one word (backyard) when used as an adjective, two words (back yard) when used as a noun. Oddly, however, Webster's New World College Dictionary, which the AP style book recommends, has the exact opposite: one word (backyard) when used as a noun, two words (back yard) when used as an adjective. More PUGS Pointers are available in my book Polishing the PUGS: Punctuation, Usage, Grammar, and Spelling, available on my Web site http://www.KathyIde.com. (See the Published Works page.) Back to Menu Ask the Editor Amber asks: Is though just a shorter version of although? When and how should one use the two different words? Kathy's answer: Here's what I found in a book called Dictionary of Problem Words and Expressions by Harry Shaw. Although, though. These words both mean "even though," "regardless," "in spite of the fact that." They may be used interchangeably in most instances. However, although is more commonly used at the beginning of a sentence. ("Although I was nervous, I got to my feet.") Though is the more commonly used word in linking words and phrases ("sadder though wiser") and is preferred over although at the end of a statement ("He looked healthy to me, though."). Katherine's answer: Elements of Style lists the two as roughly equal (see http://www.bartleby.com/141/strunk5.html No. 13). They don't really go into the matter separately, though; they just mention the two as equally valid alternatives to the wordy "in spite of the fact that." At least one difference: though can also be used as a synonym for however (see previous sentence); although cannot. Back to Menu Editing Tips Redundant Acronyms and Initialisms from The Busy Freelancer (reprinted with permission) Author: Karen J. Gordon http://www.karenjgordon.com ABS system: antilock brake system system APR rate: annual percentage rate rate ATM machine: automated teller machine machine CAD design: computer-aided design design DOS operating system: disk operating system operating system DMZ zone: demilitarized zone zone HIV virus: human immunodeficiency virus virus ISBN number: International Standard Book Number number PC computer: personal computer computer PIN number: personal identification number number RAM memory: random-access memory memory SAT test: Scholastic Assessment Test test UPC code: Universal Product Code code VIN number: vehicle identification number number Back to Menu Online Courses Enrollment for the following courses is now being accepted: "Fundamentals of Copyediting and Proofreading" will be offered from July 4 through August 22. Deadline to sign up is June 17. "Establishing Your Freelance Business" is scheduled for October/November 2005. Deadline to sign up is September 15. Lessons will be posted each Monday. Though e-mail discussions between lessons is encouraged, active participation is not mandatory. Students may save the e-mail lessons, and discussions, to study at a later time. Specifics on what will be covered in each course (and costs) are available on the Web site, at the ONLINE COURSES page (http://www.thechristianpen.com/Courses.html). To sign up for either course, e-mail Kathy Ide Back to Menu Editing/Writing Quotes If you would not be forgotten As soon as you are dead and rotten, Either write things worth reading Or do things worth the writing. --Benjamin Franklin, Poor Richard's Almanac, 1738 "How sweet are your words to my taste, sweeter than honey to my mouth!" --Psalm 119:103, NIV Back to Menu

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