Copyediting is a ridiculously painful process. Do you know how many rules for comma use there are? Too many. Then there's the whole deal with formal grammar and vocabulary usage versus commonly accepted usage. Plus the debate over the serial comma (it's a conspiracy!)
It's all very insanity inducing. But here's thing: I actually really like copyediting. I'm not sure I can really explain why; I suppose it appeals to my manic sense of organization. The Finnish have a very inappropriate term for people like me that I laughed really loud at when I first noticed it today. (It implies that I love commas more than any normal human should).
In any case, I should really get back to it. But here is a peek at my copyediting setup:
Pictured are my gigantic thesaurus, Strunk and White, The Chicago Manual of Style, a mug for tea or hot chocolate, a neglected cat, a spray bottle for keeping neglected cats off the keyboard, various birdwatching paraphernalia that is always on the table, and a bunch of my roommate's stuff (including her juicer).
And no, those aren't pills for copyediting-induced anxiety. Those are antibiotics for my roommate's dog. Copyediting hasn't made me that crazy yet.
Oh man I love that you love copy editing, that you have a spray bottle next to the computer, and that Girl cat is ignoring that bottle in favor of your warm keyboard. Copy on, Wayne!
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