PEGboard

Meeting in CT: 24 September

2008-09-02T14:23:00.002+02:00

We do hope PEG members can join us for the next meeting on Wednesday, 24th September 2008 from 12h30 at the Book Lounge, Buitenkant Street (cnr Roeland Street).

The topic of our meeting is Plain Language/Plain English.

We are extremely fortunate to have David Langhan, a Director of the Maskew Miller Longman Foundation and an expert on plain language/plain English, as our speaker. And since this is becoming an ever-necessary requirement in most communications in South Africa nowadays, this should be a subject close to all our hearts.

Cost: R40 for members; R55 for non-members (includes light finger snack lunch)

And, of course, there will be those delightfully delicious cakes and coffee/tea available from the Book Lounge.

Due to the limited space available, we have to limit the meeting to 40 members only, so places are on a first come, first served basis. David's presentation will commence at 13h00 sharp, and the formal meeting should end roundabout 14h00, though if you wish to stay and chat/peruse the books, you're most welcome.

Please email Kristina at kristina@netactive.co.za before 19 September to RSVP. We look forward to seeing you on the 24th!

PEGboard: August 2008

2008-08-20T10:55:00.001+02:00

The next edition of PEGboard is currently being typeset and should be in the post soon. There are articles on hyperbole, the CT Book Fair, other PEG events, the diary of an editor, and how to use language corpora to improve your editing.

Accreditation news from Australia IPED

2008-07-22T14:15:00.005+02:00

The Institute of Professional Editors Ltd (based in Australia) has been kind enough to release a sample exam that can be used to prepare for the main accreditation exam. I like the advice they offer right at the start: "Find a quiet space in which you can work uninterrupted." That's what I try to do every morning.

You can download the sample exam here: sample exam PDF file

They suggest you set aside 3 hours and 15 minutes to complete the exam. Their website also has an answer sheet so you can check you work: answer sheet (PDF)
The exam fee is A$490 for members of Australian editor societies (A$650 for non-members) which is equivalent to R3618.05 (or R4799.45 for non-members) at the current exchange rate.

PEG event in CT: Gavin Maskell

2008-07-07T10:50:00.008+02:00

Top pic:
Guest presenter Gavin Maskell explaining the intricacies of freelancers’ relationship with the Taxman at the Book Lounge, Cape Town’s latest independent bookshop, on Saturday, 31 May 2008.
Bottom pic:
Left, seated on floor: Ilana Abratt
Left to right: Di Kilpert, [unsure], Glenda Hardy, Sharon Montgomery, Ken McGillivray, Denise Fourie, Denise Harris, Marlene Rose
Front (looking left): Kristina Davidson

"Superintend and correct the press"

2008-07-07T10:10:00.010+02:00

The US Declaration of Independence must rank as one of the boldest publishing jobs. As usual, the deadlines were tight and the editing and printing had to be rushed. John Dunlap, a 28-year-old, was chosen for the job and spent most of the night 'setting type, correcting it and running off broadsides'. Ted Widmer, (NYT 4 July) explains:

That same day, the Congress ordered that the document be distributed — for what is a declaration if no one can see it? Further, they ordered the same committee that had written it to “superintend and correct the press” — in other words, handle the printing job. The assignment was given to a 28-year-old Irish immigrant named John Dunlap, who presumably spent much of the night of July 4 setting type, correcting it and running off broadsides — perhaps 200 in all. There is evidence that it was done quickly, and in excitement — watermarks are reversed, some copies look as if they were folded before the ink could dry and bits of punctuation move around from one copy to another. “We were all in haste,” John Adams later wrote.

Terminological outrage: 'Bestseller'

2008-07-01T10:12:00.006+02:00

Max Davidson thinks publishers should be more careful about calling books 'bestsellers' and concludes that the French are more honest about the ambiguity of these book sales. Here's an excerpt:

Isn’t it time that we — the book-reading, book-buying classes — called a spade a spade? We are, after all, supposed to care about language. A lazily constructed word can have noxious consequences and, in the case of the word “bestseller”, most certainly has done. Book sales in the UK are monitored closely both by booksellers and publishers. When you read a list of bestselling titles in your Sunday paper, it will be based on real sales figures in real bookshops. But it is at this point that the cynical legerdemain begins.

For the full article in Standpoint click here.

Cape Town Book Fair

2008-06-30T12:13:00.007+02:00

Here's a picture of the combined stand where PEG and SATI members worked together. Many thanks to John Linnegar for the pictures. Top pic: Denise Capel and Sherry Samson (both PEG members) planning the shift ahead. Middle pic: The aisle in which our stand was situated; Demyan Rossouw and Madel Joubert staffing the stand. Bottom pic: L to R: John, Kristina (seated), Louise Mitchell (PEG member, Cape Town), Aurélie Torres Hastie (SATI member, Cape Town).

PEG Profile: Tiffany Markman

2008-06-27T09:40:00.006+02:00

While doing some research on editing in South Africa, I came across Tiffany Markman’s website. The PEG website will be great some day but Ms Markman’s site is already a model for editors and copywriters who are keen to develop a serious web presence. Tiffany and I agreed to meet for lunch so that I could learn a bit more about her business and her approach to editing for this
PEGboard profile.

Tiffany suggested the creamy pesto and I agreed. I’m sure clients do the same: Tiffany suggests, clients agree. And then the clients go back for more. The secret, it seems, is to offer them enough to keep them interested. Your editing menu needs to offer more than grammar and proofreading, and the menu on Tiffany’s site is extensive. Tiffany already runs the sort of business that many up-and-coming editors aspire to. After listening to Tiffany explain her approach, I was even tempted to chuck in my job at the bank and have a go at being a freelancer. As it turns out, if the banking sector’s losses continue for much longer, I might have to do just that.

Tiffany studied politics and journalism and completed her honours degree in 2003. She moved into freelancing after a few years with a small school-book publisher. Tiffany has worked as a freelance editor/copywriter for nine years but this is her fourth year as a full-time entrepreneur.

Many editors are genial, self-deprecating types who seldom have a good word to say about themselves. This attitude can be endearing but it seldom survives outside academia and other protected, non-commercial environments. Self-esteem, Tiffany explains, is a vital requirement for editors who want to succeed commercially. The hurly-burly of the free market is no place for shrinking violets; editors need to speak up for themselves and not sell themselves short. Tiffany makes it clear to her clients that editing skills are a valuable commodity and does an admirable job on her website of making the case for polished, precise copy. Following Tiffany’s approach means you should avoid thinking of yourself as a ‘mere editor’; you must become a person with a will and an invoice book, and be ready to train, to write, to rewrite and, of course, to bill.

To read the full profile, contact PEG to become a member.

The Sleep of Reason

2008-06-26T16:58:00.006+02:00

I came across a wonderful etching by Francisco de Goya that brought to mind the importance of an editor in the publishing process. The print is called El sueno de la razon produce monstruos (The Sleep of Reason produces Monsters) and it imagines the ‘monsters’ that appear when we turn away from rational argument. An editor’s role is often to be vigilant and observant, and to remain reasonable at all times. You can view the original etching on most art websites. Just for fun, I asked a friend to amend the picture to make the sleeper look even more like a modern editor than in the original (see picture below). If you’re a freelance editor, those monsters in the background might remind you of the creditors coming to claim some of your hard-earned cash, or even the deadlines that creep up unnoticed.

Picture credit: Jason Wells

I enjoyed having lunch with Tiffany Markman and writing the PEG profile of her in this issue. Ms Markman is young and energetic and full of ideas, so it’s no surprise that her business is doing well. She’s an editor but her business plan includes all the other jobs that complement her editing work.

Kirsten Whitworth has now joined the PEGboard team and I trust PEGgers will find her advice on directory entries useful. I have also invited a few editors to send us short diary columns so that we can share in their editorial sorrows and triumphs.

English words have to work hard if they want to survive for long, and many words are discarded or adapted as we move from century to century. Most English speakers today would struggle to understand the original Beowulf, for example, because we have moved so far from the words and even the characters used at the time. But not all languages are in such a rush, it seems. I recently read The Kite Runner and was particularly interested in the epic book that Amir and Hassan read together: the Shahnameh. It is a poetic opus written by the Persian poet Ferdowsi around 1000 BC and is the epic of the Persian-speaking world. Apparently, despite being more than a thousand years old, it is still read in its original form (according to Wikipedia). I gather Persian has developed over the years but the words used in this particular epic seem to be real survivors; good for them.

2008-06-26T16:56:00.000+02:00

The latest issue is in the post

2008-06-26T16:34:00.003+02:00

The current issue (May 2008) has been posted to members and should be arriving soon. The current issue includes reports on the meeting addressed by Peter Stiff of Galago Publishing and the Bookjol held at the University of Pretoria. There is a profile of Tiffany Markman as well as a diary column by Marlette van der Merwe.

Full contents
Surrender to Science (André Snyders)
The Editor's Inkspot
PEGgers at Bookjol (Hester van der Walt)
PEG Profile: Tiffany Markman
Diary of an Editor (Marlette van der Merwe)
Meeting Reportback: Galago Publishing
Pioneers and Paragons (André Snyders)
Copy Editor's Corner: The Proper Use of Numbers
Your PEG Directory Entry (Kirsten Whitworth)
Editing Banned
New Members

PEGboard news is now online

2008-06-25T11:15:00.001+02:00

This blog is for readers of PEGboard and for members of the Professional Editors' Group. You can visit this site to find out about PEGboard and news about PEG in South Africa.

We welcome your comments and suggestions. Please use the contact details shown on page 2 of the PEGboard newsletter.

The full content of PEGboard is only available to members of PEG. To join PEG, visit www.editors.org.za