Christine Ma—Copyeditor & Proofreader

27/05/2024

Guess what tomorrow is! Launch day for Karen Yin's much-anticipated book, "The Conscious Style Guide: A Flexible Approach to Language That Includes, Respects, and Empowers."

I’ve known and respected Karen for many years now, and I know this book is going to be a valuable resource for editors, writers, and anyone else who wants to make sure that we are using language to communicate with compassion and equity in mind.

If you preorder in the US from Tertulia TODAY (May 27), you can still use the code STYLE to get 20% off: https://bit.ly/orderTCSG.

I can’t wait until my copy arrives so I can dive in. Book club, anyone?

The Conscious Style Guide provides a roadmap for communicating with sensitivity and awareness—no matter how the world around us progresses.

14/03/2024

Summer office soft launch! ☀️

31/12/2023

2023 was an exciting year for my editing business. As always, I’m grateful for all the people who’ve hired me for their projects or recommended me to other clients. The books I copyedited or proofread this year were outstanding, and not all of them are included here. As I was collecting cover images for this video, I noticed that so many of them were for books by Asian American authors and about Asian American characters, and I feel like I’m finally being surrounded by the books I never had as a child.

In addition to these, I worked on dozens of short graphic novels and other books for a digital media platform for kids, and I proofread some incredible science fiction and fantasy short stories for Sunday Morning Transport.

Unfortunately, some budget cuts late in the year mean I might be starting 2024 with less consistent work from some main clients, but I hope to fill those gaps quickly with new ones. As always, I want to work on more middle grade, more fantasy, and even more books by Asian American authors. But my main goal is to take some time off just for myself. May 2024 finally be the year I do that. Happy New Year, friends! 🥂

25/02/2023

Very lucky that I had the chance to copyedit the last four winners of the Drue Heinz Literature Prize. These are amazing collections of stories from University of Pittsburgh Press. This weekend will be focused on finishing work on the next manuscript!

30/12/2022

2022 was a pretty good year, work-wise, and I am super grateful for all the people who’ve sent projects my way. I had some fantastic ones, only some of which are in this video. (Some books don’t have covers yet, haven’t been announced, or are just time-consuming to get images of.) I have a few clients who keep me pretty busy, so I was extremely picky about the longer projects I took. But I did get to work on lots of great books, including a huge bunch of picture books.

In addition, one book I copyedited in 2021 was a National Book Award finalist, and I feel good things will come for another book I copyedited last year that came out this fall.

In 2023, my goal is to scale back on projects that don’t pay as well as others do. I also want to work on more middle grade, more fantasy, and more graphic novels. And take some time off just for myself. Here’s to 2023! 🥂

30/11/2022

I got to work on these terrific books. They are part of a whole series of books that each provide an in-depth look at topics including dinosaurs, oceans, space, Earth, and animals. They're aimed at ages five and up, but my four-year-old loves them, too.

"These books are enticing to my toddler and keep him engaged. He loves the aesthetic feel to these books whereas my older reader enjoys all that AND the factual content in every book." — OhTheBooksWeLove on Instagram

TWIRL's Do You Know? series introduces young readers of all ages to a variety of topics, ranging from career professions to rail transportation.

Check out the rest of the series, which includes a deep dive into space, the ocean, animals, and more, at ChronicleBooks.com 🚆

📸: OhTheBooksWeLove on Instagram

09/04/2022

Choo-choo! By the time I'm done with this children's nonfiction book about trains this weekend, I will know all the things about rail transport. 🚂

02/04/2022

I am blasting off to space again this weekend, reviewing the next pass of this book. Call me, NASA. I'm ready to go. 🚀

05/03/2022

Yesterday was National Grammar Day, and I had the honor of being one of the judges for the ACES Annual Grammar Day Poetry Contest. It was fun!

Few things suggest “word geek” more than imagining a conversation between two fairly obscure punctuation marks. Doing so in the form of a limerick was more than enough to convince the judges to crown Claire Valgardson the winner of the 2022 ACES National Grammar Day Tweeted Poetry Contest.

26/02/2022

Decided to use this pretty notebook for my daily to-do lists (instead of a boring old notepad), because life is too short to leave these nice notebooks blank.

19/02/2022

My friend found my name in the acknowledgments of a long novel I proofread this summer. It always feels nice to be appreciated! Puts an extra skip in my step as I tackle my long to-do list this weekend.

05/02/2022

I'm working on another nonfiction children's book about space. I have never known more about the universe than I do now.

31/12/2021

2021 has been a tough year for many reasons, but I feel lucky that I have a career I love that allows me great flexibility and consistent work.

This year I tried to be more picky about the projects I took on. I copyedited or proofread 6 young adult novels, 12 middle grade novels, 2 middle grade nonfiction books, 1 adult novel, 1 adult short story collection, 1 graphic novel, and countless (I lost count!) picture books and novelty books.

I put together this short video of just some of the books I got to work on this year. (Many don't have covers yet, haven't been announced, or are tough to get images of.)

In 2022, I hope to continue to work on amazing projects like these, while also being mindful of carving time out for myself. Here’s to 2022! 🥂

13/11/2021

Nothing motivates me more than an author or editor (or both!) complimenting my work. It feels nice to be appreciated! 🥰

And this is extra helpful this weekend because my to-do list is long!

25/09/2021

So much to do, so little time!
First up, proofreading a catalog, something I do not enjoy doing very much, except the part where I get to make sure things are consistent and orderly.

18/09/2021

This past week, my family and I spent a few days down the shore. I was nervous about the rising number of COVID cases, but we managed to stay away from people. I was also a lot stressed about my long to-do list for work, so on the first day, I packed up my iPad and attempted to edit from my blanket on the sand. The sun, the gulls, the jellyfish that came in with the tide, and the schools of jumping fish swimming by, with a pod of hungry dolphins farther out, were not very good for my productivity.

On the second day, I decided to put aside my work and take a few hours off. I dipped my toes in the sand and water, looked for pretty seashells, built a sand castle, and simply enjoyed the sound of the waves crashing onto shore. It was just enough to clear my mind and reset a little. Taking time off is one of the hardest things for me to do, but I definitely feel more ready to tackle my projects this weekend.

04/09/2021

I lost a day and a half of precious work time this week after the storm that passed through the Northeast, so I am definitely working this holiday weekend. On my to-do list are:
- copyediting eleven picture book translations
- proofreading a long illustrated nonfiction book about Earth
- proofreading a shorter illustrated nonfiction book about horses
- starting a copyedit of the next book in a MG series (super excited about this one!)
- working on the next issue of the editors association’s newsletter
- random other little things that will be easy but I am putting off because they are time-consuming
What are you doing this weekend? I hope it involves ice cream….

21/08/2021

On my to-do list this weekend are copyediting a middle grade manuscript and proofreading an illustrated nonfiction book.

Also on my list is picking out the right floor and backsplash tiles for our kitchen renovation. I’m trying so hard to incorporate some color, but I can’t help but lean toward grays. Help!

02/08/2021

Back in April, I had the opportunity to speak on a panel for the Children’s Book Council about copyediting. It was moderated by Guy Cunningham, and the other panelists were Debbie DeFord-Minerva, Hannah Mahoney, and Anna Dobbin. The recording is available here for CBC members: https://www.cbcbooks.org/publishers/publisher-resources/videos/cbc-ed-talks-videos/

Thanks to Conscious Style Guide's newsletter last week, I saw that the post-panel Q&A I'd contributed to has been posted. Read it here: https://www.cbcbooks.org/2021/07/06/ed-talks-how-to-speak-copy-editor/

At the bottom, you’ll find a list of copyediting resources I keep handy. 😎

CBC Ed Talk is a series of monthly educational events for CBC member publisher staff, hosted on Zoom, that will expand the programming created by the Forum and other committees. The videos below are available exclusively to CBC members. If you are a member and have forgotten the login, please email....

24/04/2021

The ACES virtual conference was this past Thursday and Friday. It was a blast, though I miss seeing all my editor friends in person. And now I'm turning my attention to my long to-do list! This weekend I need to finish a secret project 🤫, look over a bunch of picture books, proofread a 96-page illustrated nonfiction book on vehicles and transportation, finish up the next newsletter for the editors association, and think about my taxes.

20/03/2021

I love my new office window.

20/03/2021

It's been a long week, but I've got a manageable to-do list this weekend, at least: copyediting supplemental materials for a handbook (it's more interesting than I am making it sound), copyediting two picture books, starting a proofread of a middle grade novel, starting the copyedit for the winner of my KAAAR auction item, and reviewing the latest version of the next newsletter for the editing association. I also should be reviewing a catalog and an index, but I hope to put those off until Monday.

More important: Happy equinox! ☀️

13/03/2021

I'm finally doing something today that I've put off for months now....I (with my mom's help) am going to paint my office! I'm looking forward to having both brighter colors and all my reference books on shelves. 🌸

Also on my to-do list are proofreading a sales catalog, proofreading a workbook, and copyediting a mini guidebook. 💖

06/03/2021

A project I was supposed to proofread this weekend has been delayed, so I get to take it a bit easier, which will hopefully mean some sleep! On deck are a couple of preschool workbooks, three short picture book manuscripts, and a cover to review. Plus I need to catch up on some invoicing (🤑) and get some tax stuff together for the accountant (🤮). Have a great weekend!