Career choice
Two advantages the plumber has over the editor:
1. The customer understands that the plumbing doesn’t work.
2. The customer doesn’t think that he knows better than the plumber how to fix it.
« Inquest on a sentence | Main | Heavy-handed plodder »
About John McIntyre
John McIntyre, mild-mannered editor for a great metropolitan newspaper, has fussed over writers’ work, to sporadic expressions of gratitude, for thirty years. He is The Sun’s night content production manager and former head of its copy desk. He also teaches editing at Loyola University Maryland. A former president of the American Copy Editors Society, a native of Kentucky, a graduate of Michigan State and Syracuse, and a moderate prescriptivist, he writes about language, journalism, and arbitrarily chosen topics. If you are inspired by a spirit of contradiction, comment on the posts or write to him at john.mcintyre@baltsun.com.
-- ADVERTISEMENT --
Recent posts
Most Recent Comments
-
Oh, the impact (17)
Chuck B. wrote: What constitutes a word will always... [more]
-
Last and past (20)
John McIntyre wrote: Any that copy editors are wasting v... [more]
-
The holiday cautions (28)
wrote: I find this article, and its messag... [more]
-
Commas and the limits of discretion (7)
Dan Howard wrote: I have a question pertaining to com... [more]
-
That elongated yellow fruit (8)
Vicky Haskell wrote: Hello.... That was my great gr... [more]
Sign up for FREE local news alerts
Get free Sun alerts sent to your mobile phone.*
 |
Sign up for local news text alerts
Returning user? Update preferences.
Sign up for more Sun text alerts |
*Standard message and data rates apply. Click here for Frequently Asked Questions.
Blogroll
- The Subversive Copy Editor Blog
- Common Sense Journalism
- Headsup: The Blog
- The Editor's Desk
- The Grammarphobia Blog
- Wordnik
- Johnson | The Economist
- Sentence first
- Throw grammar from the train
- Testy Copy Editors discussion board
- Fritinancy
- Regret the Error
- That's the Press, Baby
- You Don't Say (2009-2010)
- Mike's Web Log
- Talk Wordy to Me
- Language Log
- The Penultimate Word
Powered by MT Blogroll
- February 2012
- January 2012
- December 2011
- November 2011
- October 2011
- September 2011
- August 2011
- July 2011
- June 2011
- May 2011
- April 2011
- March 2011
- February 2011
- January 2011
- December 2010
- November 2010
- October 2010
- September 2010
- August 2010
- July 2010
- June 2010
- May 2010
- May 2009
- April 2009
- March 2009
- February 2009
- January 2009
- December 2008
- November 2008
- October 2008
- September 2008
- August 2008
- July 2008
- June 2008
- May 2008
- April 2008
- March 2008
- February 2008
- January 2008
- December 2007
- November 2007
- October 2007
- September 2007
- August 2007
- July 2007
- June 2007
- May 2007
- April 2007
- March 2007
- February 2007
- January 2007
- December 2006
- November 2006
- October 2006
- September 2006
- August 2006
- July 2006
- June 2006
- May 2006
- April 2006
- March 2006
- February 2006
- January 2006
- December 2005
Stay connected
Powered by Movable Type 3.36
Comments
Then of course there's the money. You may have heard the story of the plumber who did some work for a lawyer and gave him a bill, including $200/hour for labor. The lawyer says, "$200/hour? I'm a lawyer and I don't charge $200/hour." The plumber replies, "Neither did I when I practiced law."
Posted by: Ray Ward | July 27, 2007 11:31 AM
It's worth keeping in mind, though, that for all the excrement the editors must deal with, at least it's all metaphorical.
Posted by: M. G. | July 29, 2007 3:38 AM
Who do you consider your customer in your metaphor? The reader, or the corporate heads?
JEM: In this parallel, the customer, the person with whom the editor deals diectly, is the writer.
Posted by: steegness | July 30, 2007 4:44 PM