Author Archive

Back in the old days of graphics offices, typesetters had a tough job. Well, they still do, but the equipment was much clunkier back then. Factor in the stress of deadlines and other pressures, and it was no wonder that sometimes they got a little punchy. Sometimes, for a first pass on a job (the [...]

…but funny. And hey, regardless of whether or not it’s amusing, I get credit for spelling “sacrilegious” properly. This story dates back to around 1987, when I was working for a typesetting company as a full-time proofreader. Back in the Dark Ages before everyone had a computer, before desktop layout and publishing, companies used typesetters [...]

I have added two new blog sections: 1. Erica’s Editorializing — my thoughts on proofreading and the English language, the occasional rant, etc. 2. Funny Typos and Work Stories — some of my favorite gaffes, plus some amusing work tales I’ve collected during my career. Comments welcome!

A snippet of an article from the Associated Press, 4/17: SYDNEY – An Australian publisher is reprinting 7,000 cookbooks over a recipe for pasta with “salt and freshly ground black people.” Penguin Group Australia’s head of publishing, Bob Sessions, acknowledged the proofreader for the Pasta Bible should have picked up the error, but called it [...]

Yes, I’m a dinosaur. I realize this is the age of texting and tweeting, of cramming as much communication into as few characters as possible, but I detest it. Text speak is the bane of a proofreader’s existence (well, one of them, anyway). Why? Because new generations (and some of the existing ones) use that [...]

Say: “Why do we need proofreaders anymore? We have SpellCheck!” Arrrrggggggghhhhhh. Seriously? Granted, SpellCheck is a wonderful tool. Those obtrusive red squiggles will alert you to a lot of errors. But no, SpellCheck does not replace a pair of human eyes and a human brain processing what those eyes are reading. SpellCheck will tell you [...]

I recently transferred my site to WordPress and am now learning how to navigate and tweak things. Please take a look and tell me what you think. I’ve added a new page, WWWTS? (What’s Wrong With This Sentence?) with tips on grammar, spelling, whatever I feel like mentioning that day. Thoughts? Critiques? Any web site [...]