Posts in category: Style on the Go archive

July 26, 2007: Issue 198

Every issue of every magazine must include a postal ID statement. The postal ID runs on the last page of the magazine unless that page is an ad, in which case the postal ID runs on the first page of the table of contents.

Find boilerplate language for postal ID statements.

The magazine name that appears in the postal ID statement must exactly match the magazine’s registration with the U.S. Postal Service. For most titles, the official name does not include the Better Homes and Gardens label. There are four exceptions:
• Better Homes and Gardens® American Patchwork & Quilting®
• Better Homes and Gardens® Creative Home
• Better Homes and Gardens® Decorating™
• Better Homes and Gardens® Do It Yourself Ideas for Your Home and Garden®

The postal ID includes an international standard serial number issued by the Library of Congress. ISSNs do not change from issue to issue; they change only when a magazine title changes. Find a list of ISSNs. If your magazine is new or has changed its title, copy editors will request an ISSN from the Library of Congress.

TIME FOR A GOOD SHAMPOO: Last week we asked for the most ridiculous dangling modifiers you’ve ever encountered. Our favorite came from freelance copy editor Gretchen Kauffman, who declined to name the source but swears this gem crossed her desk just last week: “Crowned with Caramel-Coconut Topper, you’ll feel like you’re eating pumpkin pie for breakfast!” Stop by the CE department to claim your prize, Gretchen.

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August 2, 2007: Issue 199

Use opposite typeface to set off a photo directional, but not to identify people or objects within that photo:

The copy editing team, above, is planning a celebration to mark the 200th issue of its weekly e-newsletter. Copy chief Doug Kouma, upper left, promises the gathering will be “a [bleep]ing [bleep] [bleep] [bleeeeep] experience.”

Open this PDF for a special illustrated version of this issue.

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June 28, 2007: Issue 194

When you want to indicate the position of a ceiling, remember to say how high it is—not how tall.

High refers to a fixed position distant from the floor or ground. That means the object you’re describing does not touch the ground:
a 25-foot-high ceiling
a ceiling that slopes from 12 to 18 feet high

Tall refers to a measurement from the floor or ground up. The object or distance you’re measuring starts at the floor or ground:
a 25-foot-tall tree
a stone wall that slopes from 12 to 18 feet tall

In general, a single room has a single ceiling:
the living room ceiling
the kitchen ceiling

Use the plural form only when you refer to multiple spaces:
cove ceilings throughout the main level
popcorn ceilings popular in the 1970s

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July 12, 2007: Issue 196

A redirect is a short URL that lets users access a Web page buried deep in a site without typing a long string of characters.

For instance, if you want to steer magazine readers to a window trellis project at www.diyideas.com/outdoorideas/Accents/windowtrellis_1.html, you might want to create a
redirect to that site—perhaps www.diyideas.com/trellis.

To create a redirect, work with the site’s principal editor to submit a request to the Web producer. Make sure the Web team can activate the redirect before any reference to it hits the newsstand. Redirects can’t be duplicated, so it’s a good idea to keep a list of the ones you’ve used.

Just as with a home page URL, you can choose whether to treat a reference to your Web site in a redirect as a name (DIYideas.com/trellis) or as an address (www.diyideas.com/trellis). Either way, you must include the .com extension.

Remember that URLs are case-sensitive after a slash. Incorrect capitalization will result in an error message when a user tries to access the site.

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July 19, 2007: Issue 197

If you’ve ever heard a copy editor or English teacher on a grammatical rant, you know dangling modifiers are bad. But do you know exactly what a dangling modifier is?

A dangling modifier is usually a phrase at the beginning of a sentence that’s set up to modify the subject but doesn’t. The most obvious examples are laughable.
incorrect: Walking into the room, the chartreuse chair instantly grabbed Betsy’s attention.

The way this sentence is constructed, the chair is walking into the room. And while a walking chair certainly would grab someone’s attention, that’s not what we mean.

There are two easy fixes for a dangling modifier. One is to turn the introductory phrase into a clause with a subject of its own:
correct: As Betsy walked into the room, the chartreuse chair instantly grabbed her attention.

The other is to change the subject of the sentence:
correct: Walking into the room, Betsy immediately noticed the chartreuse chair.

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June 7, 2007: Issue 191

Our standard style for a series is to separate the items with commas, using a comma and a conjunction before the final item:
• She painted the bookcase purple, blue, and green.
• They eat fresh fruits and vegetables, they watch their fat intake, and they walk 10–12 miles a week.

It’s acceptable, though, to drop the final conjunction. Sometimes this construction is helpful to add emphasis or to vary your rhythm. It’s called asyndeton, meaning roughly “not bound together.” Asyndeton shows up in great speeches through history:
• Julius Caesar: “I came, I saw, I conquered.”
• Abraham Lincoln: “government of the people, by the people, for the people”
• John F. Kennedy: “pay any price, bear any burden, meet any hardship, support any friend, oppose any foe”

Like any strong literary device, asyndeton is most effective when it’s used sparingly. But it can find a place in our writing:
• The effect is subtle, quiet, soothing.
• Julie sanded, Brian painted, little Charlie napped.

Asyndeton has a cousin, polysyndeton, in which conjunctions separate all the items in a series:
• I asked and I begged and I shouted and I cried.
• After months of dust and disruption and disorder, our project was finished.

Polysendeton, too, is most effective in small doses.

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June 14, 2007: Issue 192

State and city names function just fine as modifiers without any alteration:
this New York house
true Texas style
a Chicago couple

Save the suffixes for nouns that denote residents of those states and cities:
this native New Yorker
style that suited the Texan
a couple of Chicagoans

The exception is Hawaii, which had a long history as its own kingdom before it became a U.S. state:
Hawaiian cuisine
Hawaiian prints

With countries, use suffixes to create modifiers:
French history
Japanese heritage
Moroccan flavor

When you run across a sentence that mixes state and country modifiers, consider restructuring to preserve parallelism.
awkward: The designer was inspired by California and French coastal styles.
preferred: The designer looked to the coasts of France and California for inspiration.

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May 10, 2007: Issue 188

The word green, like the word democratic, can take a broad philosophical definition or a very specific political one. Capitalization makes the difference clear.

Lowercase green when you describe environmentally friendly products, people, or practices:
Go green at the door with a welcome mat made from recycled tires.
Reflecting their green sensibilities, the homeowners chose passive solar heat.
The community is full of green families, so solar panels are a common sight.

Capitalize green when it refers to a specific political party:
The community is full of Green families, so the party has several seats on the city council.

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May 17, 2007: Issue 189

Time for another look at redundancies to avoid:
added bonus
center island
four-poster bed
free of charge
hot-water heater
newel post
panini sandwich
raised platform
venerable old
wall sconce

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May 31, 2007: Issue 190

A cobblestone is naturally rounded. It’s smaller than a boulder but larger than a pebble, and it’s often used in paving.

Stones that have been cut or artificially shaped are not cobblestones. Neither are stones with sharp edges. Try these alternatives: natural-stone pavers, flagstones, stone-look pavers.

Redundancies—again: Many of you must get cranky when you do your banking. We asked for common redundancies that irritate you, and the two most often mentioned—by a landslide—were “PIN number” and “ATM machine.” Avert your eyes when you claim baggage at the Des Moines airport, or you’re likely to catch sight of an offending sign above the ATM.

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