~Peggy Noonan on editing

The Learning Advantage - Developmental Edited & Indexed

The Learning Advantage explores how four leading organizations (Accenture, Microsoft, Caterpillar, and the U.S. Department of Labor) successfully linked technology-based learning to their company’s strategic initiatives to drive organizational growth. Informative case studies enable learning professionals to emulate the success of these enterprises, and influence executives to allocate ample resources to training to ensure that learning remains a key value of the entire organization. As a bonus, The Learning Advantage includes an interactive exploration of Microsoft’s X-Box 360 launch case study, with examples of technology-supported learning efforts, available online.

For this project, I worked with the author in the developmental editing stage of the manuscript to finalize the Microsoft case study and prepare it for the manuscript. When the book had been typeset, I then wrote an index for the book. Seeing the book from the very early stages to the ending stages is not something that many freelancers have the opportunity doing, and I enjoy each time I can perform multiple services on a project because then I get even more intimate with the words on each page.

To choose the correct sentence, first determine if none is singular or plural. Although none has long been considered singular, grammarians today argue that none can be plural, too. It depends on the meaning of the sentence. If none means not one, it is singular. If none means not any, it is plural.

This means that either sentence is correct. None of the papers is well-written is saying that not one of the papers is well-written. None of the papers are well-written is saying that not any of the papers are well-written.

Typically, subjects with none are singular in formal English and plural in informal writing:

• None of the books is here.
• None of the books are here. (informal)

Remember, none is singular when it means no one or not one.

Example: None of us is on time.

Use the plural when none refers to more than one thing or person.

Example: None of the pies were left when we came home.

Writers should think carefully about what meaning they want to convey with none and then determine if the verb should be singular or plural.

Try It!

Choose the correct verb in the sentences below where none means not one.

1. None of the students is/are doing their homework.

2. None of the neighbors is/are planting flowers this year.

Choose the correct form below if the meaning is not any.

3. None of my friends is/are coming to my party.

4. None of the dogs is/are scared by the storm.

Answers: 1. is; 2. is; 3. are; 4. are

-Kenneth Atchity, A Writer’s Time

Knowledge Management Basics - Indexed

Knowledge Management Basics defines the learning professional’s role in creating and executing a comprehensive approach to managing knowledge. Trainers can use the unique, five-step process to determine organizational needs, identify essential knowledge, recognize information sources, lead learning, and develop an efficient dissemination system.

I have worked on several of the books in the Basics series–copyediting and indexing. And though they have similarities in that they are meant for the new trainer and offer the same icons throughout, each one is on a very different training-related subject. Therefore, they have all been enjoyable, and I wish I could have worked on more in the series.

–Stuart Evers, writing in the Guardian about the closing of a legendary Charing Cross Road bookshop

Grandpa's Insights to Life - Copyedited

Grandpa’s Insights to Life is a collection of challenging insights with many plainspoken truths about the personal choices and experiences people have or will encounter. Intended as a philosophical encyclopedia, it encompasses a collection of true-to-life experiences and problem-solving choices of the author, who has been where others are destined to go. The author embraces the doctrine that an inspiring principle will endure forever, and if there is a lesson to be learned from these insights, it is in the knowledge that at the core of everything people ever hope to accomplish lies a valuable rule of conduct; it’s an indispensable code with the power to govern a person’s journey through life on a path of wisdom with no misgivings. Great accomplishments come down to one thing more than any other—making the right choice. May this timeless collection of inspiring thoughts serve as a valuable road map. After all, how can people expect to win in the race for a better life when they have yet to learn the guidelines for making their run?

While copyediting this manuscript, I engaged in several philosophical conversations with the author. They were enjoyable and inspiring—even if we didn’t always agree. In this book, the author discusses topics such as family values, love, leadership, marriage, education, parenting, and respect.