BUILDING YOUR DIGITAL LIBRARYErin Brenner, Editor

Copyediting newsletter

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WHO’S ONLINE: GRAMMAR WEBSITES

Grammarphobia: Patricia T. O’Conner, author of Woe Is I, and Stewart Kellerman, an in-the-trenches journalist, answer questions daily on their blog, and they have amassed a wonderful collection of wisdom.

Grammar Girl: Mignon Fogarty has been doing her podcast for more than a while now, too, and has quite a database of information.

Guide to Grammar and Writing: The Capital Community College Foundation has a wonderful site of lessons and quizzes.

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WHO’S ONLINE: LINGUISTICS WEBSITES

Language Log: Several smart linguists kill zombie rules and ask serious questions about the language we use.

Language Hat: Stephen Dodson puts on his language hat and digs in.

Arrant Pedantry: Linguistics graduate student Jonathon Owen is a great resource for copyeditors.

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WHO’S ONLINE: RAW DATA COLLECTIONS

Google products:Google NewsGoogle BooksGoogle Ngram ViewerGoogle Scholar

Corpus of Contemporary American English

British National Corpus

Directory of Open Access Journals

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WHO’S ONLINE: NEW WORDS AND JARGON

New words: Oxford Dictionaries Online’s What’s New page. Merriam-Webster’s Word.com newsletter. Double-Tongued Dictionary. Word Spy.

Jargon: Jargon is tough because it’s so narrow. The jargon

you come across will depend on the industry you’re editing in. I’ve got a couple of examples for more general-interest jargon. But check industry organizations for jargon lists for your industry.

Double-Tongued Dictionary. City Dictionary.

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WHO’S ONLINE: SLANG

Slang:

Urban Dictionary (NSFW).

Double-Tongued Dictionary.

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START YOUR FACT-CHECKING

Use primary resources whenever possible: Company websites (esp. the sections

written by the legal department). Industry organizations. Government websites.

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GENERAL-INTEREST FACT-CHECKING RESOURCES

Some of my favorite helpers:

CIA’s World Factbook: What doesn’t the CIA know about geography?

Library of Congress’s Guide to Law Online: This site can help you find chapter and verse on a federal or state law.

United States Patent and Trademark Office.

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WHO’S ONLINE: SOCIAL MEDIA

Chicago Manual of Style: @ChicagoManual CUP copyeditor Carol Saller: @CFSaller AP: @APStylebook AMA: @AMAManual Merriam-Webster: @MerriamWebster Peter Sokolowski: @PeterSokolowski ODO: @OxfordWords Jesse Sheidlower: @jessesheidlower Katherine O’Moore-Klopf: @KOKEdit John McIntyre: @johnemcyntyre

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CONSULTING AUTHORITIES ONLINE

Trust your instincts.

When judging for yourself, look for: Resources created by those with academic

credentials. Writers who back up their theories with scientific

data. Resources that don’t have a vested interest in

pushing their terms. Opinions to represent what you find in the wild. Opinions that are held by more than one person.

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IS IT WORTH THE MONEY?

Things to consider: How often do I use this reference? Does it help me do my job faster? Does it help me make more accurate

decisions? Do I often need the reference when I’m

not near my books? Do I need my library to be more accessible?

Are there other benefits to using digital resources?

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IF YOU ANSWERED …

No: Borrow the book. Purchase the book.

Maybe: Sign up for a free trial. Sign up for a short-term subscription. Charge the client for the subscription. Purchase the e-book, if available. Deduct the costs from your tax bill.

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THANK YOU!

Questions? Contact me:editor@copyediting.com

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