Bill Walsh Quotes

United States, Editor
December 20, 1961 – March, 15, 2017.

William F. "Bill" Walsh (December 20, 1961 – March 15, 2017) was a copy editor at The Washington Post. He spoke on copy editing and was a regular presenter at annual conferences of the American Copy Editors Society. His books include Lapsing into a Comma (2000); The Elephants of Style (2004); and Yes, I Could Care Less (2013). Walsh also worked on the Slot, a website for copy editors that he founded in August 1995.

Writers' bedtimes vary, but few have been spared the shock of a copy editor's early wake-up call.

Bill Walsh
- Up
If any sort of error is inexcusable, it's an incorrect phone number. One of the cardinal rules of copy editing is that every phone number published must be checked.

Bill Walsh

I caution against beginning or ending a quotation with ellipses.

Bill Walsh
- Beginning
Machines aren't replacing proofreaders at all. Copy editors, who proofread and much, much more, use spellcheck as a tool but read every word that appears in the paper.

Bill Walsh
Writing headlines is a specialty - there are outstanding writers who will tell you they couldn't write a headline to save their lives.

Bill Walsh
- Writing
A harsh reality of newspaper editing is that the deadlines don't allow for the polish that you expect in books or even magazines.

Bill Walsh
- Reality
Nothing is more effective than sincere, accurate praise, and nothing is more lame than a cookie-cutter compliment.

Bill Walsh