Sarah Terry
@spellegance.bsky.social
📚 Freelance copy-editor & proofreader; comma chameleon. Brit. and US Eng. 350+ titles to date. ❤️ literary/experimental fiction. German speaker, Spanish & Swedish learner, indie fan, slow runner, wild(ish) swimmer, enthusiastic exerciser, horror lover
Gorgeous cover! Aerth is beautifully written (I had the pleasure of being copy editor) and it's lovely to see it IRL
A very special novella by @tomkinsdeb.bsky.social Beautiful, resonant and profound.
Magnus becomes an astronaut to travel between 2 uncannily familiar planets - Aerth and Urth.
With themes of belonging, migration and climate disaster, perfect for fans of Ursula LeGuin and Samantha Harvey
💙📚🖋️ 📚🪐
Magnus becomes an astronaut to travel between 2 uncannily familiar planets - Aerth and Urth.
With themes of belonging, migration and climate disaster, perfect for fans of Ursula LeGuin and Samantha Harvey
💙📚🖋️ 📚🪐
November 6, 2025 at 4:56 PM
Gorgeous cover! Aerth is beautifully written (I had the pleasure of being copy editor) and it's lovely to see it IRL
Watch your homophones when writing, people - I may have spotted the following in my current #copyediting job, but spellcheck wouldn't!
toed > towed
first aid kid > ... kit
prayed > preyed
principal > principle (and vice versa)
breaks > brakes
straight jacket > straitjacket
mange > manage
toed > towed
first aid kid > ... kit
prayed > preyed
principal > principle (and vice versa)
breaks > brakes
straight jacket > straitjacket
mange > manage
November 6, 2025 at 2:59 PM
Watch your homophones when writing, people - I may have spotted the following in my current #copyediting job, but spellcheck wouldn't!
toed > towed
first aid kid > ... kit
prayed > preyed
principal > principle (and vice versa)
breaks > brakes
straight jacket > straitjacket
mange > manage
toed > towed
first aid kid > ... kit
prayed > preyed
principal > principle (and vice versa)
breaks > brakes
straight jacket > straitjacket
mange > manage
Unfortunate typo on school message re their English teaching
October 16, 2025 at 5:04 PM
Unfortunate typo on school message re their English teaching
UK #editors and #proofreaders who do work for public authority clients in other European countries - have you been asked for an organisation number in order to be paid? And is there a way to circumvent this for sole traders, who don't have an organisation number?
October 15, 2025 at 6:51 AM
UK #editors and #proofreaders who do work for public authority clients in other European countries - have you been asked for an organisation number in order to be paid? And is there a way to circumvent this for sole traders, who don't have an organisation number?
In today's 'No shit, Sherlock' news... www.theguardian.com/society/2025...
Parenting advice on social media is often poor quality, says Phillipson
Education secretary warns against misleading claims online during launch of ‘Best Start in Life’ campaign
www.theguardian.com
October 14, 2025 at 11:50 AM
In today's 'No shit, Sherlock' news... www.theguardian.com/society/2025...
Just came across the loveliest phrase in the book I'm #proofreading: 'a time when I was as happy as a mouse nesting in a wheel of cheese'
October 13, 2025 at 3:52 PM
Just came across the loveliest phrase in the book I'm #proofreading: 'a time when I was as happy as a mouse nesting in a wheel of cheese'
at the tum of the twentieth century > at the turn of the twentieth century
The curse of OCR strikes again!
#AmProofreading
The curse of OCR strikes again!
#AmProofreading
October 13, 2025 at 1:51 PM
at the tum of the twentieth century > at the turn of the twentieth century
The curse of OCR strikes again!
#AmProofreading
The curse of OCR strikes again!
#AmProofreading
@uk.theconversation.com Is your site down at the moment? I can't get on it my end and am trying to check an article for a book I'm editing... Thanks!
October 7, 2025 at 1:11 PM
@uk.theconversation.com Is your site down at the moment? I can't get on it my end and am trying to check an article for a book I'm editing... Thanks!
Adventures in copy-editing this week:
- queried whether 'pussy licker' might look better closed up, as with 'cocksucker'
- discovered that Australians call a strimmer a 'whipper snipper'
If I achieve nothing else this week, I'll be happy 🙂
- queried whether 'pussy licker' might look better closed up, as with 'cocksucker'
- discovered that Australians call a strimmer a 'whipper snipper'
If I achieve nothing else this week, I'll be happy 🙂
September 26, 2025 at 5:47 PM
Adventures in copy-editing this week:
- queried whether 'pussy licker' might look better closed up, as with 'cocksucker'
- discovered that Australians call a strimmer a 'whipper snipper'
If I achieve nothing else this week, I'll be happy 🙂
- queried whether 'pussy licker' might look better closed up, as with 'cocksucker'
- discovered that Australians call a strimmer a 'whipper snipper'
If I achieve nothing else this week, I'll be happy 🙂
Spotted in the wild in my local indie bookshop, @nathanwaddell.bsky.social! Seeing something in print that I've been a part of still makes me very happy!
September 22, 2025 at 6:53 PM
Spotted in the wild in my local indie bookshop, @nathanwaddell.bsky.social! Seeing something in print that I've been a part of still makes me very happy!
Cool thread! Strange Horticulture, this game's predecessor, is one of the best games I've ever played, and if Strange Antiquities is even half as good it'll be brilliant!
🛎️1 week to launch 🛎️
Our game, Strange Antiquities, releases next week. We thought we’d share some artefact porn with you - Here's a list of 10 of our favourite strange antiquities from the real world!🧵
#indiegame #indiedev #indie #cozygames #artefactporn #occult
Our game, Strange Antiquities, releases next week. We thought we’d share some artefact porn with you - Here's a list of 10 of our favourite strange antiquities from the real world!🧵
#indiegame #indiedev #indie #cozygames #artefactporn #occult
September 10, 2025 at 4:49 PM
Cool thread! Strange Horticulture, this game's predecessor, is one of the best games I've ever played, and if Strange Antiquities is even half as good it'll be brilliant!
August 13, 2025 at 8:14 AM
I've been asked to check over some new endmatter for a book I've proofread, and the Acks hadn't been added previously. Now they give a thanks 'to proofreader extraordinaire Sarah Terry' :-) I think I should get a badge made reading 'Proofreader Extraordinaire'. What do you reckon?
July 21, 2025 at 9:01 PM
I've been asked to check over some new endmatter for a book I've proofread, and the Acks hadn't been added previously. Now they give a thanks 'to proofreader extraordinaire Sarah Terry' :-) I think I should get a badge made reading 'Proofreader Extraordinaire'. What do you reckon?
"She is long"
Like a snake?
Like a snake?
July 14, 2025 at 6:02 PM
"She is long"
Like a snake?
Like a snake?
Have I been brushing the wrong part of me all these years?
July 10, 2025 at 10:36 AM
Have I been brushing the wrong part of me all these years?
July 9, 2025 at 2:51 PM
Reposted by Sarah Terry
#Authors, why is a proofread/final review post-copyedit important?
Today I'm reviewing a client's revisions following my copyedit, and while I'm mostly just accepting her tracked revisions, I have found one spot where an edit removed the space between words and one where an edit left an extra "e".
Today I'm reviewing a client's revisions following my copyedit, and while I'm mostly just accepting her tracked revisions, I have found one spot where an edit removed the space between words and one where an edit left an extra "e".
July 9, 2025 at 1:17 PM
#Authors, why is a proofread/final review post-copyedit important?
Today I'm reviewing a client's revisions following my copyedit, and while I'm mostly just accepting her tracked revisions, I have found one spot where an edit removed the space between words and one where an edit left an extra "e".
Today I'm reviewing a client's revisions following my copyedit, and while I'm mostly just accepting her tracked revisions, I have found one spot where an edit removed the space between words and one where an edit left an extra "e".
Reposted by Sarah Terry
Whole book “translated” for $100? You get what you pay for, and if you don’t understand what makes human translators valuable, maybe you don’t value the creative work that goes into the writing process either.
www.theguardian.com/books/2025/j...
www.theguardian.com/books/2025/j...
AI translation service launched for fiction writers and publishers prompts dismay among translators
UK-based GlobeScribe is charging $100 per book, per language for use of its services, but translators say that nuanced work can only be produced by humans
www.theguardian.com
July 9, 2025 at 5:56 AM
Whole book “translated” for $100? You get what you pay for, and if you don’t understand what makes human translators valuable, maybe you don’t value the creative work that goes into the writing process either.
www.theguardian.com/books/2025/j...
www.theguardian.com/books/2025/j...
Sometimes #editing is about spotting timeline inconsistencies and fixing grammar, and sometimes it's about explaining why a YA novel translated from another language can't contain the sentence 'J is fingering her ring' when it's talking about an actual ring. On a person's finger.
July 8, 2025 at 11:42 AM
Sometimes #editing is about spotting timeline inconsistencies and fixing grammar, and sometimes it's about explaining why a YA novel translated from another language can't contain the sentence 'J is fingering her ring' when it's talking about an actual ring. On a person's finger.
Accidental Pac-Man. Husband thinks I should call him Magnum, because he has a pea eye
July 2, 2025 at 12:49 PM
Accidental Pac-Man. Husband thinks I should call him Magnum, because he has a pea eye
AI translation tools can absolutely not cope with brand names:
'Only the Morality Unit and Kingdom Guardians drive around with a shiny King's Egg'
Can you guess the brand name?
#AmEditing
'Only the Morality Unit and Kingdom Guardians drive around with a shiny King's Egg'
Can you guess the brand name?
#AmEditing
June 30, 2025 at 9:01 AM
AI translation tools can absolutely not cope with brand names:
'Only the Morality Unit and Kingdom Guardians drive around with a shiny King's Egg'
Can you guess the brand name?
#AmEditing
'Only the Morality Unit and Kingdom Guardians drive around with a shiny King's Egg'
Can you guess the brand name?
#AmEditing