AM Lees | Editorial services

20/05/2026

Today's top tip is a reminder that Microsoft Word isn't perfect.
For example, if there are a lot of MathType equations, sometimes Word can't complete an autosave properly, at which point all the equations become uneditable pictures. The only cure I know for this problem is to disable the autosave feature, and hit control S (or save any other way) at, say, the end of every paragraph (in other words, frequently, but make it a habit, so you do it automatically). And keep a back-up copy as soon as you have something to be a back-up copy.

08/05/2026

The current copy-edit has led to the creation of a particularly large in-use reference stack. I might need a step ladder if it gets any bigger.

07/05/2026

Kristen Stieffel on the internet has some more sound advice related to today's top tip:

When you're using quotations in your book, it's important to verify the sources and provide them to the reader. This will enhance your own credibility.

07/05/2026

https://professorhedgehogsjournal.uk/2015/10/10/copy-editing/

This title immediately raises issues. If the first part of a two-word hyphenated phrase requires a capital, should the second part also be capitalised? I think it should, because ‘Copy-editing’ loo…

07/05/2026

Today's top tip cannot be repeated often enough.

Just because a lot of people say it on the internet, doesn't make it true. For example, here is a list of things that Einstein almost certainly didn't say.

https://www.famousscientists.org/einstein-did-not-say-that/

Remember! Never repeat a quotation unless you yourself have identified and confirmed the original source.

The twentieth century's greatest rock star scientist said a lot of memorable things; he's so venerated that when people want to make a point, they call on Einstein for backup. If they can't find an apt quote they make one up; or they use someone else's words and claim Einstein said it. So here are

04/05/2026

02/05/2026

Today's top tip comes from an anonymous person on the internet, and is about searching for things in Word. Have you ever wanted to search for straight quotation marks/apostrophes, without finding their curly equivalents? It is actually possible. Turns out, if you select the option to 'use wildcards', even though you are only searching ' and not using any wildcards, Word actually searches for the character you type, without finding 'almost the same character' as well.

Is there any way to search for straight quotes and disregard curly quotes? I'm editing a document which includes sections from multiple contributors, and I want to make sure that there are no remaining straight quotes in the document. I don't want to…

29/04/2026

Getting ready for the next job...

18/04/2026

It is possible for text to extend past the text box that contains it, leading to unintentional cropping.

14/04/2026

Joke of the day
(nicked shamelessly from 'A Random Walk in Science', compiled RL Weber, edited E Mendoza, Institute of Physics, London, 1973):

Once in Russia, in a physics exam, the professor wrote the equation

E = hν

and asked a student :

'What is v?'
'Planck's constant.'
'And h?'

'The length of the plank.'

[Astonishingly, this is translated directly from the Russian.]

From 'Physicists Continue to Laugh', MIR Publishing House, Moscow, 1968. Translated from the Russian by Mrs Lorraine T Kapitanoff.