=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= EDline Vol. 2, no. 22 (1 June 1997) Editorial mailing list Published by the Electric Editors =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= Contents: [1] Editorial Q & A---Previous queries [2qq] Grumble of the week Q & A---New queries [2rr] Democratic Republic of Congo Business matters---Previous thread [4n] Per page/per word rates of pay Business matters---New query [4q] Associates [5] Bookmarks [6] Just for fun [7] Administration =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= ---[1] Editorial ----------------------------------------------------- Take a look at the new Grapevine page on the Electric Editors resources page: it isn't just for Grapevine subscribers! Follow the link from the Resources top page, on: < http://www.users.zetnet.co.uk/bywater/ee_res01.htm > Also, to mark the occasion, June's Site of the Month on the Resources top page is a computer-related one: the Nonags page, a great source of free software, including web browsers, text editors, utilities and much more. Check it out! Jane Kerr Moderator ---[2] Q & A --------------------------------------------------------- ** [2qq] Grumble of the week Date: Sun, 25 May 1997 From: Ian Kingston, ian@ikingston.demon.co.uk Mandy MacDonald wrote: > My two penn'orth this week would be a modest rant against > 'alright', 'thankyou', 'anymore' and their ilk. Are these > just misspellings that have entered the written language > through the back door (or backdoor) of usage, or are they > evidence of evolution, like the increasingly common use of > 'jail' in British English rather than the more difficult > 'gaol'? They're all creeping in steadily. I'm almost prepared to campaign on behalf of 'alright' - we have 'already', 'always' and 'altogether', so it seems pedantic to insist on 'all right'. There are circumstances when 'all right' is required (when 'all correct' is intended), but that's no argument for rejecting 'alright' - 'all together' has a different meaning from 'altogether', and the distinction is useful. Writers of pop songs seem to be unanimous about 'alright'. I can recall three hits called 'Alright' in the last couple of years (by Supergrass, Cast and Jamiroquai, in case you're not up with the UK music scene). (Of course, you might just argue that that's the standard of literacy you'd expect from pop singers...) In the same vein, my pet hate is 'underway' instead of 'under way'. Anyone care to make a case for the defence? ---------------------- Date: Sun, 1 June 1997 From: Jane Kerr, bywater@zetnet.co.uk Another "word" that I've seen relatively frequently recently, and not always in works by non-native English speakers, is "upto". I can't imagine why anyone would prefer this to "up to". On the other hand, I do feel that there is a case for "no-one", as opposed to the (correct) "no one". +-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+ ** [2rr] Democratic Republic of Congo Date: Fri, 30 May 1997 From: Richard Harris, 100131.3564@compuserve.com Whilst reading the newspaper today, I was struck by the sudden turn of events in Zaire and, particularly, Laurent Kabila's statement that the new name of the country would be the "Democratic Republic of Congo". The papers all seem to have switched to using this new name, but what I want to know is whom/what decides when a new name should and should not be used. If I were the UK prime minister, is the implication such that I could suddenly proclaim the change of name from UK to, say, the "Monarchy of England and Environs" (MEE, for short!)? [Ignoring the political furore of course!] Or would the UN / United States of Europe have words to say about my actions? There seems to have been a spate of name changing in recent years. I remember the name change of Bombay being mentioned in SFEP-ED-L last year---but does anyone actually use "Mumbai" instead of the more familiar Bombay? ---[4] Business matters ---------------------------------------------- ** [4n] Per page/per word rates of pay Date: Mon, 26 May 1997 From: Suzanne Gilbakian, Sita_Gilbakian@compuserve.com In EDline 2.19 Hilary Powers told us the rates of pay she charges in the US. The NUJ have two suggested rates for editing fees: Normal Rate (which includes a normal level of edits and a normal turn-around for the job) and a Premium Rate (for sub-editing, rewriting, copy- writing, handwritten copy, very short deadline or extra research). They suggest charging an additional per hour fee for on-screen edits. When pricing a job I take this into account and then times it by how many pages of a specific task I can do in an hour. For instance, it takes longer to edit references, notes or tables than straight text. The prices Hilary quotes are: > Light, easy, and relaxed jobs start at 3 US dollars/page; heavy > and hard jobs start at 6 US dollars 6 and can easily go to 8 or > 10 dollars per page. (She is assuming that a normal typed page is 250 words.) The current exchange rate is 1.6 US dollars to the pound. So assuming that Hilary can edit 7-8 pages of "light and easy" text an hour, the low end of her pay scale is £13.16-15.04 an hour. This would be less than the NUJ recommendation of £15.65 an hour (which includes the suggested additional £1.50/hour for on-screen work). The middle section of Hilary's scale is for text that is not straightforward, and would fit into the NUJ's Premium Rate category. If it is just that, and not also under an unreasonable deadline, then she is probably editing something like 5-7 pages an hour. Her per hour rate on this is therefore something like 18.75-26.25 UK pounds. This is more than the recommended NUJ Premium Rate, which (including on- screen supplement) is 16.90 UK pounds an hour. I am supposing that the next category of her scale is for messy text under a tight deadline. The speed would possibly be something like 5-7 pages an hour but charged higher. Then she is possibly making 25.00-35.00 UK pounds an hour. Assuming that the top end of Hilary's scale is for rewriting or editing references, endnotes or tables, and at a speed of anywhere from 1-4 pages an hour, then her rate is anywhere from 6.25-25.00 UK pounds an hour. Are these comparative calculations right? Would they be reasonable to apply to the UK market? Is the editing speed I am assuming more or less reasonable? +-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+ ** [4q] Associates Date: Thurs, 29 May 1997 From: Alice Rhodes, 101324.2762@compuserve.com Has anyone any experience in setting up a formal arrangement with fellow freelance editors/proofreaders (as associates, partners or a limited company!)? I am interested in joining forces with a friend whose skills complement my own so that we can offer a complete service: from typescript or initial concept right up to final disk or film. Thanks for any help. ---------------------- Date: Sun, 1 June 1997 From: Iain Brown, i_brown@compuserve.com I would have thought that Company House produces information pamphlets and pre-printed specimen forms for just such a situation. Of course, your accountant would be able to assist you, as would a lawyer, but if you want a fairly uncomplicated and inexpensive life, then I'd try to get free help. Can anyone suggest some books on setting up in business? ---[5] Bookmarks ----------------------------------------------------- New Copyright Law in Canada (in English): < http://www.parl.gc.ca/bills/government/C-32/C-32_4/C-32TOCE.html > ---[6] Just for fun -------------------------------------------------- _Faux pas_ of the week Date: Fri, 30 May 1997 From: Colin Silk, csi@cadcentre.co.uk Here's one for the Maths editors. A quotation from some junk mail trying to sell me accidental injury insurance: 'Statistics show that you are far more likely to be seriously injured as a result of an accident than you are to die.' ---------------------- Date: Mon, 26 May 1997 From: David Penfold, penfold@eps-edge.demon.co.uk Christine Shuttleworth is correct about motorbikes not having a reverse gear. However, two-stroke motorcycles can go in reverse, although not by design. There was a famous situation (I think a state visit in France), where the police motorcyclists had to wait so long with their engines idling that, when eventually they did have to move, the engine cycles had managed to get out of phase and the bikes moved off backewards as the clutches were let in. Unfortunately, the machines were lined up along a quay with their backs to the water. Enough said! ---------------------- Date: Mon, 26 May 1997 From: Naomi Laredo, smallprt.demon.co.uk Christine Shuttleworth wrote: > In a work of fiction I was proofreading, the author had one of > the characters putting his motorcycle into reverse. I felt I > should point out to the publishers that motorbikes were not > normally equipped with a reverse gear. I'm sure you were right, and I don't mean to pick nits, but if the motorbike was a big swish Honda GL1500, the character could have put it into reverse ... so it always pays to phrase queries with caution. ---------------------- Date: Tue, 27 May 1997 From: Helen Mason, helen_mason@geonet.win.net > I felt I should point out to the publishers that motorbikes were > not normally equipped with a reverse gear. Unless, of course, the person was riding a Gold Wing! +-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+ "Worst analogies ever written in a high school essay", no. 4 The little boat gently drifted across the pond exactly the way a bowling ball wouldn't. [Source: we didn't make it up, honest!] ---[7] Administration ------------------------------------------------ EDline provides the opportunity for a weekly online discussion of matters editorial and editorial business. * POSTING MESSAGES TO THE LIST All messages to be posted to the list should be sent to Jane Kerr, at: bywater@zetnet.co.uk Include as the subject line, "EDline [topic]", where [topic] is the subject under discussion. Topics might include areas such as Grammar, Spelling, American English or Punctuation. Messages should be pertinent to the basic premise of the list; they may be withheld, or redirected if more pertinent to one of the other mailing lists. The spelling and grammar of messages will *not* be corrected, but some editing of length may be undertaken. Quoting from previous messages: quote as much as you need to make the context of your reply clear, but no more. * Administration All messages of a subscription or administrative nature should be directed to Iain Brown at: i_brown@compuserve.com with "EDline ADMIN" in the subject line. * To subscribe to Grapevine To subscribe to Grapevine, the discussion list concerned with matters computing, please e-mail Electric Editors at: ElectricEds@bigfoot.com with [Subscribe Grapevine] in the subject line. * To subscribe to LANGline To subscribe to LANGline, which discusses modern languages, translation and editing in non-English languages, please e-mail Electric Editors at: ElectricEds@bigfoot.com with [Subscribe LANGline] in the subject line. *Homepage and back issues: Visit the Electric Editors at: < http://www.ikingston.demon.co.uk/ee/home.htm > Back issues of all three mailing lists are available on the Mailing Lists archive page. --------- ** The views expressed in this mailing list are strictly those of the individual contributors, and do not necessarily reflect the views of the moderators or of the Electric Editors. ** Articles (c) 1997, by individual contributors Design (c) 1996, 1997 Iain Brown =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= END OF EDline 2.22 Next issue: 8 June 1997 =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=