Susan, the vibe I get off the notes? Is a fresh out of college English major, trying to impress the professor he no longer has.

Um, no. Probably he is a middle-aged line-editor, doing work to which he is unsuited. Line editors are used to querying grammar; I've never met an English major who queries grammar except for fun. (It's not covered at all in most English majors, except as remedial stuff in a handbook.) The real question is, why is a line-editor doing layout, and what ego-problem is he suffering that he needs to replicate the already-completed work of the copyeditor*?

The other question is, why bother replying to the queries that are totally wrong-headed and useless? Unless this is somebody who can influence the primary editor, you can just write "Query on p. 12. Leave as is."

* I presume the ms. has, in fact, already been copyedited, by someone who consulted with the author before reading the manuscript to ascertain what kind of specialized language/grammar/style guide notes to expect. Copyeditors are, 99.99% of the time, the best people in the world, because they are the people who make sure you do not say "assfisting" when you mean "assisting."

I presume the ms. has, in fact, already been copyedited, by someone who consulted with the author before reading the manuscript to ascertain what kind of specialized language/grammar/style guide notes to expect.

Probably not -- I copyedit for St. Martin's and most of the time, even for a book in a series, I rarely get the previous style guides, much less copies of previous books for consistency. I'm assuming this is the copyeditor, but I could be wrong. As far I've seen there and elsewhere (for fiction, not scholarly texts) the editor makes any last notes on the final manuscript, and then it goes to the copyeditor, then back to the author, and then off to typesetting.

Unless Deb has the galleys, in which case the proofreader has gone stone-cold beserk, because changes like that shouldn't be made at the stage.

For "dumbass", substitute "anal-retentive pedantic twerp."

My sympathies, Deb. I know you liked your last copyeditor. What a shame. I wish I could have done it!

Unless this is somebody who can influence the primary editor, you can just write "Query on p. 12. Leave as is."

That saves me no work, Nutty. I still have to read every fucking one of the damned things, and respond.

* I presume the ms. has, in fact, already been copyedited, by someone who consulted with the author before reading the manuscript to ascertain what kind of specialized language/grammar/style guide notes to expect. Copyeditors are, 99.99% of the time, the best people in the world, because they are the people who make sure you do not say "assfisting" when you mean "assisting."

This is NOT a copyeditor, damn it. This is a typesetter. The pass-pages, complete, went back to SMP TWO WEEKS ago. This is a typeset style twerp who decided to play. This goes to final typeset Monday morning.

I love my copy editor. Ann is fantastic; she did the copy edits, they were approved both by Ruth Cavin and by me, end of story. I have NO clue who this moron is. And frankly, Nutty, the style of his questions are pure recent graduate. He does not post questions the way any adult I know poses questions. And I've been a copy editor. And also? Talking to my editor's assistant? She basically agreed.

This is just boneheaded bullshit.

A research question (don't shoot me, erika) for you Bostonians: what's the main hospital in Boston these days, and does it have a helipad on the roof? I need a Boston hospital name, with one of those.

And what's the hot hotel in Boston, these days? Where a top-flight rock band without destructive tendencies or any interest in throwing sharks out of windows might stay?

Massachusetts General Hospital is still the biggie. It has an all-weather helipad. [link] The hospital is usually referred to as Mass General (or less frequently, MGH). About 10 years ago, it joined forces with Brigham & Women's Hospital to form Partners HealthCare.

I'm going to let someone else answer the hotel question because I haven't stayed in any Boston but Hotel Meridien for my 30th birthday, and I don't have much 5 star hotel knowledge. I think they might be changing hands, to boot, because I can't find Boston on their website. But in case you don't get something, check out these and see if they're what you're looking for:

XV Beacon (It's new-ish) [link]

The Ritz-Carlton (the old standard) [link]

The Four Seasons (I hear its name frequently) [link]

eta...

Scott says U2 stays at the Four Seasons when they're in town.

Wow, Deb. I can't believe someone -- the proofreader, I guess? -- did that. His references to the "shorter OED" still make me cringe.

My 9-5 job involves, at different times, editing for content; line editing; and typesetting/layout.

And you know what? I know the difference between all those. It ain't hard. I just want to smack the goon who got ahold of Matty Groves. Jesus.

The chutzpah of that typesetter is amazing. He or she is probably sitting back right now thinking, "They're going to be so impressed with all these things that I caught, and how I went above and beyond the call of duty. I bet they're going to offer me a nice, big promotion!"

Little does this person know...

He does not post questions the way any adult I know poses questions.

The number of maladjusted people (of all ages) on an editorial staff should not be underestimated. Why, look at me.

The real person I pity is the supervisor who expected this person to complete 3 layout jobs while he was dicking around with unnecessary work on only 1.

Nice hotels in Boston seem to cluster in the Back Bay, and you can go with any of the snazzier names, if your band is civilized. In addition to the Four Seasons, there is the Westin, the Marriott Copley, the Ritz-Carlton, the Sheraton in the Pru complex (with suites on the 27th floor!), and the old-fashioned Lenox (which was renovated 2 years ago). Probably the Four Seasons is the most luxurious; although the Ritz-Carlton has whole luxury long-term apartment blocks, if that is better suited to your needs.

Am I remembering right that there's a new Ritz up the street from the old one?