Five things I learned at ACES
October 30, 2012 § Leave a comment
- Readers notice when web content isn’t written professionally, study shows. Guess that means we get to keep our jobs.
- When you put 50 editors in a room and ask them to agree on style, things don’t end well. I’ve never seen people more excited about commas (it was awesome).
- Copyeditors should care about SEO. And sometimes, word choice has ethical implications. During the 2008 Proposition 8 decision in California, the Los Angeles Times used the term “gay” marriage (rather than its more politically correct sibling, “same-sex”) to appear higher in Google search rankings.
- Editors don’t have to know everything. But they do have to know where problems hide (both grammatical and stylistic), and know where to look for solutions. I’m not sure whether to be relieved or intimidated by that.
- No swag bag is complete without a BET Networks pen/highlighter combo. Oh heck yes.
D.C., here I come!
October 24, 2012 § Leave a comment
I’m headed to Washington, D.C., this weekend for a conference of the American Copy Editors Society (ACES). Titled “Editing Boot Camp,” it’ll be a refresher course for editors old and new, and a chance to meet others in the field. And since it will be my first-ever professional conference, I’ve been counting down the days until it starts.
I’m excited to hear Dragonfly’s own Samantha Enslen as one of the featured presenters, and meet the other Dragonfly editors coming in to town. But I’m also a little nervous: what should I bring? What should I wear? Will I have time for some lightning-fast sightseeing in between conference obligations? (Can I fist-bump the President before the big election?)
I’ll find out soon enough. See you at ACES!
MARY GABLE 