Deanna Hoak

24 Responses to “Copyeditor joke”  

1. 1 markbourne Nov 30th, 2005 at 1:05 pm

   :{D

   Say, Deanna, at the next Worldcon would you like to join me in a cup of coffee?

2. 2 archangelbeth Nov 30th, 2005 at 1:05 pm

   May I express glee and adoration? (Since the mad cackling is probably inappropriate for polite society.)

3. 3 stevenagy Nov 30th, 2005 at 1:16 pm

   More importantly, was the light bulb screwed in clockwise or counter-clockwise in a previous instance? Consistency of direction being important for the flow. Puts the lefty loosey and righty tighty argument in a whole new light, doesn’t it? ;-)

4. 4 msevilwoman Nov 30th, 2005 at 1:54 pm

   LOL! I love that. I tried, just today, to explain that sort of confusion to a high school senior. (Different possible outcomes , though!) *grin*

5. 5 marksiegal Nov 30th, 2005 at 2:01 pm

   LOL, that’s awesome. :)

6. 6 hominysnark Nov 30th, 2005 at 2:18 pm

   Dammit, Deanna!

   *wipes coffee off monitor*

7. 7 jlundberg Nov 30th, 2005 at 2:42 pm

   LOL!

8. 8 elvesforeyes Nov 30th, 2005 at 3:01 pm

   you know what…I enjoyed that.

9. 9 jenosopher Nov 30th, 2005 at 4:31 pm

   Q: How many art directors does it take to screw in a lightbulb?

   Art Director: Does it have to be a lightbulb?

   Q: How many copyeditors does it take to screw in a lightbulb?

   Copyeditor: The last time this question was asked, it involved art directors. Is this deliberate? It seems inconsistent.

10. 10 fuzzyboo03 Nov 30th, 2005 at 8:35 pm

    Excuse me as I pick myself off the floor. That is excellent!

11. 11 deannahoak Nov 30th, 2005 at 9:27 pm

    LOL! ;-D

12. 12 deannahoak Nov 30th, 2005 at 9:28 pm

    Oh, I like that one, too! I remember at Harcourt an entire page of these went around with all the different publishing types in them. It was very amusing. :-)

13. 13 gastonmonescu Nov 30th, 2005 at 11:48 pm

    How many psychologists does it take to change a lightbulb?

    Just one, but the lightbulb has to want to change….

14. 14 anonymous Dec 1st, 2005 at 10:37 am

    A: So far, you’ve only introduced one copyeditor. Where did the other[s] come from? Please clarify.

15. 15 deannahoak Dec 1st, 2005 at 10:43 am

    :-D I haven’t seen that one! Very clever. :-)

16. 16 anonymous Dec 1st, 2005 at 12:34 pm

    How many engineering students does it take to screw in a lightbulb?

    Just one, but s/he gets three credit hours for it.

17. 17 deannahoak Dec 1st, 2005 at 12:37 pm

    *snort*

18. 18 deannahoak Dec 1st, 2005 at 12:38 pm

    I like that one, too. :-)

19. 19 marsgov Dec 1st, 2005 at 9:57 pm

    Speaking as an author, I wish I thought this was a joke.. ;-)

20. 20 deannahoak Dec 1st, 2005 at 10:55 pm

    Those copyeditors…

    ;-)

21. 21 marsgov Dec 1st, 2005 at 11:13 pm

    When I was reading my copyeditor’s changes, I invented a new game called “copyedit.” There’s only one rule: take a common phrase and copyedit it, following the rules that copyeditors use.

    Example: “We’ll eat like kings!” becomes “we’ll eat as kings do.”

22. 22 deannahoak Dec 1st, 2005 at 11:19 pm

    I can’t figure that one out as any rule that copyeditors, in general, use. :-) It sounds as though you had a bad experience. Condolences.

23. 23 marsgov Dec 2nd, 2005 at 12:21 am

    Actually, I thought my copyeditor did an excelent job. It’s just some of the quirks that drove me crazy, such as deciding to use the word “wheras” everywhere in my text. Then again, I wrote a business book, which has different rules.

    But I did find myself thinking of all the ringing phrases of our literary heritage and how they’d sound when they’d been edited for grammar, gender neutrality, and clarity…

24. 24 deannahoak Dec 2nd, 2005 at 12:30 am

    Yeah, nonfiction definitely does have different rules.

    And it is an interesting game. :-)

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