Today we check in with Kona, #StetPet editorial assistant of Salt Lake City editor @redpenrabbit.bsky.social. "Kona took a break from her editorial assistant duties to get a springtime pawdicure."

One of my most-anticipated #ACES2026 sessions is starting! "Boosting Your Editing Efficiency (Without Using Generative AI)" by the wonderful Crystal Yang @redpenrabbit.bsky.social! #amediting #freelanceeditor #editorsky #editing #copyediting #copyeditor #copyedit #productivity #ACESBoostingEditing

Want to speed up your #copyediting (without #AI)? Use macros! Pick a few macros that sound useful and set Function key shortcuts for them. @redpenrabbit.bsky.social's blog post helped me pick out those first few macros to try! www.rabbitwitharedpen.com/blog/using-w... #amediting #freelanceediting

My Kona is featured as today's #StetPet. 🐾 I'll miss her when I'm at the Red Pencil conference in November, but I'm so excited to be speaking and attending for the first time! Registration is still open, and I hope to see some of you there.

I'll be speaking on a panel called "Finding Work as a Freelancer" at the 2025 Red Pencil Conference hosted by the Northwest Editors Guild on Nov. 8! This will be my first Red Pencil, and I'm excited to experience it. Will you be there? Registration info: www.edsguild.org/red-pencil-2...

I'm working on a book that was published years ago but is being republished in a new format, and I feel like a fairy god-editor, fixing the typos that managed to make it to print the first time around. #AmEditing

Random language tip: A limb that's favored refers to the limb that needs protecting, often because of injury. If I'm favoring my right arm, it doesn't mean I'm using it more. It means I'm treating my right arm carefully and likely using my left arm more. #AmEditing

New blog post! This one is all about freelancing for publishers as a copyeditor, proofreader, and authenticity/sensitivity reader. I talk about how to get work, what the workflow looks like from start to finish, rates, and more. www.rabbitwitharedpen.com/blog/working...

Editing catch of the day: pixilated ➡️ pixelated "Pixelated" relates to pixels in a digital image, while "pixilated" derives from "pixie" and is used to describe things as whimsical or dazed. #AmEditing

Right after "Don't use semicolons," "Don't use adverbs," "Don't use speech tags beyond 'said' and 'says,'" and "Always delete the word 'that,'" my favorite piece of writing advice is "Don't listen to people giving writing advice who are incessantly telling you not to do things."

There's something so satisfying about running Word's spellcheck and seeing the number of issues drastically disappear every time I hit "ignore all" on a made-up name in a fantasy novel. #AmEditing

I got to have an "I worked on that book!" moment recently when a family member recommended that I read a book I had proofread. 🥰

The grammar checker in MS Word wants me to change "What was there seemed to be stationary" to "What was there seemed to be stationery" because "a noun works better than an adjective here." Except "immobile" and "materials for writing" are two very different things, so there's also that. #AmEditing

I recently celebrated a fun professional achievement: I have now worked with every Big 5 publisher! If you had told me when I started my editing career that this would be in the cards, I never would've believed it. This is definitely going in the win jar! ✨

Proofreading catch of the day: quaffed hair ➡️ coiffed hair "Quaff" means to drink heartily, or it can refer to a drink that's quaffed. "Coiffed" refers to hair that's arranged by brushing or curling.

Today someone asked me, "Oxford comma or no Oxford comma?" My response has changed over the years, but now it boils down to: 1. I use it in my writing. 2. It should be used if it makes things clearer. 3. Don't be a jerk about it.

"Strive for excellence, not perfection." My biggest takeaway from #ACES2025 came from DeAnna Burghart's session on being human. Many editors think perfection is the only acceptable outcome, but we can reframe the goal as striving for excellence, which we get to define in each context.

Hey, #ACES2025 folks! If you heard me talk about botheration studies at the experts roundtable yesterday, here are links to a few: scholarsarchive.byu.edu/cgi/viewcont... publicationsncte.org/content/jour... teaching.berkeley.edu/sites/defaul... journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/...

Obligatory #ACES2025 selfie! I'm so excited to see all my edibuddies and meet new ones. The conference hasn't even technically started, but I've been having too much fun already. 💕

Since today is Trans Day of Visibility, here are two resources for writing about trans people with accuracy and respect (on all days): Trans Journalists Assoc. style guide: styleguide.transjournalists.org Radical Copyeditor style guide: radicalcopyeditor.com/2017/08/31/t...

Where are we at with human cloning? I'd love it if I could take on all the cool editing projects that hit my inbox, please and thank you. #AmEditing

After long days of editing, I've been finding a lot of joy in doing non-word-related hobbies like cross-stitching, embroidery, jigsaw puzzles, and paint-by-numbers. I just finished my second-ever embroidery piece, this little dog paw, which will be a gift to our dog trainer. 🐾

AM I BEING THOROUGH, OR AM I OVERTHINKING THIS: Memoir of a Copyeditor

I decided I'm still going to #ACES2025, but I'm going to patronize as many trans-inclusive queer- and woman-owned businesses as possible while in SLC. I've started mapping bookstores, cafés, and restaurants in the area, so please join me in supporting them and let me know if you have any to add!

If I had a nickel for every time I found a perfect synonym so I could avoid repeating the same word, then saw that perfect synonym already used in the next sentence, I'd be swimming in my vault of riches like Scrooge McDuck. #AmEditing

Post a fictional Castle

Terms I've recently learned are capitalized: Ping-Pong (a trademarked name when referring to table tennis) Bundt cake (a trademarked cake pan) Gatling gun (named after its inventor) #AmEditing

I am one of eight panelists participating in the ACES 2025 Ask the Editing Experts Roundtable on April 2, 2025, at the Hilton Salt Lake City Center. I'll be sharing information and taking questions on mastermind groups for editors. Learn more and register here: aceseditors.org/conference/2....

Happy New Year! 🧧🐍

🍪 Girl Scout Cookie time! Support trans and nonbinary Scouts by buying cookies from them: www.erininthemorning.com/p/2025-trans...

Along w/ @tanyagold.bsky.social + Emily Stewart @shelfpotential.bsky.social, I'm cohosting #ACESChat here on Bluesky about When Niching Down Isn’t for You at 4 p.m. ET on Feb. 5! Put it on your calendar so you don't miss it ✍️✍️✍️ Also, there's an #ACESChat next week (Jan. 29)—don't miss that either!

I got to change "magma" to "lava" in a novel yesterday, and it's a bit silly how excited I get by edits sometimes. (In case you're wondering: magma = underground; lava = aboveground.) #AmEditing

Grammar tip: Whenever you question whether there's an apostrophe in a phrase like "five dollars' worth," replace the number with one in your head to check. The S in the plural unit makes it harder to tell, but it's much easier with "one dollar's worth" to see that there needs to be an apostrophe.

It's #GivingTuesday and I'll be asking for donations for the @acesediting.bsky.social Education Fund today. Each year we fund scholarships for aspiring editors, Holden Diversity Fellowships for working editors, and the Fuhrmann Mentoring Award. Help support the future of editing! bit.ly/49bghdG

How I know I'm a glass-half-empty type of person: When I return an edit and don't hear anything back, my first thought isn't "They must be busy" or "They probably haven't checked their email" or "They're just taking time to process the feedback." It's "Oh god, either they hate me or they're dead."

There's nothing like turning in a copyediting test and proofreading test to a publisher to bring up *all* the emotions. #AmEditing

I've mostly been on hiatus from Bluesky and active on Threads, but are you telling me I need to be here again too? 😆

Today we check in with Kona, #StetPet editorial assist of Utah editor @redpenrabbit.bsky.social. "Kona's Halloween costume this year is 'cute pup,' although that's her costume every day. She helps me edit by reminding me to take breaks and pay attention to her instead."

EEEK! This treat and laugh comes from @redpenrabbit.bsky.social via LinkedIn. (www.linkedin.com/feed/update/...) #AmEditing

If you have the energy, take a minute to check in on a quiet friend today. They might be busy. They might not know how to respond. But they'll appreciate it.

I'm currently eating popcorn with chopsticks so I don't get my keyboard greasy while I edit. That is all. 🍿🥢 #AmEditing

Me, editing something my husband wrote: What do you think? I don't want to change your voice. Him: You didn't. You took the essence of what I wrote and made it betterer. And isn't that what editing is? #AmEditing

Today is a regular workday, except that I'm listening to one song from The Tortured Poets Department during each Pomodoro break. Anyone else listening to it today #AmEditing

I'm losing my job. 😐 So if you know anyone who needs a cookbook indexed, hit me up!

Some of my friends at #ACES2024 got the scoop early, but … I wrote a book! Specifically, a book on editorial style, copyediting, and proofreading for comics, including graphic novels and webtoons. Cover and release date coming soon! More info at the link. #AmEditing #AmWriting

I think typos and other errors have been told to travel in pairs so it's more likely that one will sneak through while the other is attracting all the attention. Clever little things. #AmEditing

My album of photos from #ACES2024 in San Diego is up www.flickr.com/photos/sesqu...

It was an honor to be part of this amazing group to talk about a tough and vulnerable topic. ❤️

Proof that I was actually at #ACES2024! It was lovely to see #edibuddies old and new, and I'm so excited to welcome y'all to SLC next year. 🏔️❤️