Crystal | Fiction Editor

She is! If she had it her way, she'd run around all day every day.

My Kona is featured as today's #StetPet. 🐾 I'll miss her when I'm at the Red Pencil conference in November, but I'm so excited to be speaking and attending for the first time! Registration is still open, and I hope to see some of you there.

I'm speaking at the Red Pencil Conference. Crystal Shelley, panel discussion: Finding Work as a Freelancer." November 8, 2025 at the Lynnwood Event Center and online. Registration now open.

I'll be speaking on a panel called "Finding Work as a Freelancer" at the 2025 Red Pencil Conference hosted by the Northwest Editors Guild on Nov. 8! This will be my first Red Pencil, and I'm excited to experience it. Will you be there?

Registration info: www.edsguild.org/red-pencil-2...

I'm working on a book that was published years ago but is being republished in a new format, and I feel like a fairy god-editor, fixing the typos that managed to make it to print the first time around. #AmEditing

Random language tip: A limb that's favored refers to the limb that needs protecting, often because of injury.

If I'm favoring my right arm, it doesn't mean I'm using it more. It means I'm treating my right arm carefully and likely using my left arm more. #AmEditing

I love that! Best of luck.

LinkedIn profiles would be a place to start, or other social media platforms where people list their info in their profile. Sometimes smaller publishers will list all their staff on their websites, including editorial staff. Networking can also lead to connections. It's definitely not easy!

Working with Publishers as a Freelance Editor — Rabbit with a Red Pen Curious about what it's like to work with publishers as a freelance editor? I provide information about getting a foot in the door, what the working process looks like, getting paid, and more.

New blog post! This one is all about freelancing for publishers as a copyeditor, proofreader, and authenticity/sensitivity reader. I talk about how to get work, what the workflow looks like from start to finish, rates, and more.

www.rabbitwitharedpen.com/blog/working...

😂

Me either. I looked it up to see if it was an alternate spelling!

Editing catch of the day: pixilated ➡️ pixelated

"Pixelated" relates to pixels in a digital image, while "pixilated" derives from "pixie" and is used to describe things as whimsical or dazed. #AmEditing

Right after "Don't use semicolons," "Don't use adverbs," "Don't use speech tags beyond 'said' and 'says,'" and "Always delete the word 'that,'" my favorite piece of writing advice is "Don't listen to people giving writing advice who are incessantly telling you not to do things."

There's something so satisfying about running Word's spellcheck and seeing the number of issues drastically disappear every time I hit "ignore all" on a made-up name in a fantasy novel. #AmEditing

I got to have an "I worked on that book!" moment recently when a family member recommended that I read a book I had proofread. 🥰

The grammar checker in MS Word wants me to change "What was there seemed to be stationary" to "What was there seemed to be stationery" because "a noun works better than an adjective here."

Except "immobile" and "materials for writing" are two very different things, so there's also that. #AmEditing

❤️

Thanks, Molly!

I recently celebrated a fun professional achievement: I have now worked with every Big 5 publisher!

If you had told me when I started my editing career that this would be in the cards, I never would've believed it. This is definitely going in the win jar! ✨

Agreed! I love Nathan Fillion especially.

I was talking to my husband about this catch yesterday, and he said he doesn't like how the word sounds, so you're not alone in having a reaction to it. 😂

It seems like the noun can refer to any drink as long as it can be quaffed (Merriam-Webster lists an "enjoyable beverage"), though their verb definition does say, "a usually alcoholic beverage."

Proofreading catch of the day: quaffed hair ➡️ coiffed hair

"Quaff" means to drink heartily, or it can refer to a drink that's quaffed. "Coiffed" refers to hair that's arranged by brushing or curling.

🤣

Today someone asked me, "Oxford comma or no Oxford comma?"

My response has changed over the years, but now it boils down to:
1. I use it in my writing.
2. It should be used if it makes things clearer.
3. Don't be a jerk about it.

"Strive for excellence, not perfection."

My biggest takeaway from #ACES2025 came from DeAnna Burghart's session on being human.

Many editors think perfection is the only acceptable outcome, but we can reframe the goal as striving for excellence, which we get to define in each context.

Agreed!

Thanks, James!

At the coffee chat, I learned that one of my table mates went to my high school in the Houston suburbs! Lots of reminiscing afterward.

Amazing! I loved that book.

Hey, #ACES2025 folks! If you heard me talk about botheration studies at the experts roundtable yesterday, here are links to a few:

scholarsarchive.byu.edu/cgi/viewcont...

publicationsncte.org/content/jour...

teaching.berkeley.edu/sites/defaul...

journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/...