Columnists

Kathleen MacMahon: We all need a personal copy editor to point out when we’re delusional

Everybody enjoys a pretty display of words, but if the words don’t tell the truth, they can corrupt the page

One thing you learn from a copy editor is the importance of paying attention to the literal meaning of language

There’s nothing like a copy edit to make you feel like a complete idiot. I’ve spent the last few weeks cleaning up my new novel with the help of an editor hired by my publishers to save me from myself. This person of infinite patience worked her way through my book line by line, inserting missing commas and removing superfluous ones, pointing out where the past perfect should be used instead of the past simple ...