seanan_mcguire (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
seanan_mcguire) wrote2011-09-13 01:21 pm
seanan_mcguire) wrote2011-09-13 01:21 pm
Proofer spotlight: Lauren and Priscilla.
Wow, it's been a while since we've had one of these, hasn't it? The proofer spotlight is my way of publicly of thanking the tireless workers in the Machete Squad, who go through endless reams of bad prose and bizarre typos so that you won't have to. Seriously. I would have a lot more problems on the publisher end if I didn't travel with a trained squad of comma-killing, modifier-munching bad-asses. Hail to the Machete Squad!
It used to be a lot easier to get new proofreaders, because I didn't need to find people with the time, appropriate skill set, interest, and proven ability to keep their mouths shut until publication. I could literally just throw thirty people at a project, let them winnow themselves out, and keep whoever survived. Now I need to practice care and...gulp...discretion. But once in a while, someone new comes along.*
Enter Lauren and Priscilla.
Lauren has an amazing eye for time. She actually catches flow and logical progression in a way that none of the other currently active Machete Squad members tends to manage, which makes her invaluable to our cause. She also does line edits and presents herself with a dry, entertaining wit (I like funny in my critique). She's worked on Blackout, One Salt Sea, and Ashes of Honor, and she's amazing.
Priscilla is great with dialogue, flow, and detail work. She's one of my Manhattan-area subject matter experts, which is good; she's also a keen eye applied to general editorial matters, which is great. She's fun, she's funny, she's accessible, and she's enthusiastic, which is not something to be overlooked in measuring the value of a proofreader. She's worked on Discount Armageddon and Midnight Blue-Light Special.
And those are my newest proofers. Look upon their works, oh ye mighty, and rejoice!
(*Please do not comment here volunteering to read for me. I just wind up feeling awkward when I have to turn you down. I don't solicit readers in public, and I don't currently have any openings in need of filling. Thanks for understanding.)
It used to be a lot easier to get new proofreaders, because I didn't need to find people with the time, appropriate skill set, interest, and proven ability to keep their mouths shut until publication. I could literally just throw thirty people at a project, let them winnow themselves out, and keep whoever survived. Now I need to practice care and...gulp...discretion. But once in a while, someone new comes along.*
Enter Lauren and Priscilla.
Lauren has an amazing eye for time. She actually catches flow and logical progression in a way that none of the other currently active Machete Squad members tends to manage, which makes her invaluable to our cause. She also does line edits and presents herself with a dry, entertaining wit (I like funny in my critique). She's worked on Blackout, One Salt Sea, and Ashes of Honor, and she's amazing.
Priscilla is great with dialogue, flow, and detail work. She's one of my Manhattan-area subject matter experts, which is good; she's also a keen eye applied to general editorial matters, which is great. She's fun, she's funny, she's accessible, and she's enthusiastic, which is not something to be overlooked in measuring the value of a proofreader. She's worked on Discount Armageddon and Midnight Blue-Light Special.
And those are my newest proofers. Look upon their works, oh ye mighty, and rejoice!
(*Please do not comment here volunteering to read for me. I just wind up feeling awkward when I have to turn you down. I don't solicit readers in public, and I don't currently have any openings in need of filling. Thanks for understanding.)
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H-E-T-E... EEEEEEEEEEEEEE!!!
S-Q-U-A-D! o/~
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*lengthens blade*
Ah, that's better.
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And also you need to IM me more often because I miss you bunches. We need to talk about grad school. <333
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Yay for having a good support team. Do they get machetes as well ?
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Mostly in memory of Madeline Kahn.. Or it just shows how screwed up my brain is:)
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ETA: self, howsabout you spell exalted right.
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Your work is appreciated.
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Keep 'em close. Good proofers are really hard to find. Although I know I'm preaching to the choir on that one. But yeah, there's been times I was desperate for someone like Lauren, who is good with time, because I'm not, not so much.
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(sez the old high school yearbook copy editor. hehe)
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It would be wonderful if everyone had (and used) a Machete Squad like Seanan's. But there probably aren't enough people in the world as good as them. All Hail the Machete Squad!
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(And Priscilla, of course. But I'm biased here.)
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