Software: Niche Spelling Checkers

This week, I've come across recommendations from colleagues for several spelling checkers other than those sold under the big-name brands. I haven't used any of them and so can't rate them, but you might want to investigate them.

• Personal Best Spelling offers medical word lists that you can purchase and import into Microsoft Word to create custom dictionaries.


• OpenMedSpel is an open-source medical spelling checker.


• Inductel produces spelling checkers for medical, scientific and technical, and legal terminology.

If you have favorites that aren't listed here, please share details and links in the comments.

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How Does an Editor Switch Mental Gears Between Projects?

A colleague asked me today, "What techniques do you use to transition from one project to the next within the same day?" She asked because yesterday I had posted to my Facebook wall that I was switching mental gears to move from editing Japanese medical English to editing a historical novel.

I replied that these are the steps I take:

1. I move away from my desk for a few minutes and do some physical task or go outdoors for a while.


2. If I had been sitting when I finished the first project, I stand up to start working on the next one. And if I had been standing, I sit down.


3. When family members are home, I try to get them to give me total silence for a few minutes while I start the new project. With my husband and two sons having attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder, I don't always get that silence, so sometimes I use my cabinetmaker husband's hearing protection (which looks something like this) for a little while.

If you're an editorial professional, how to you switch mental gears? Please share your techniques in the comments. Maybe some of your tips will be helpful to a colleague.


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A Kind Word

What an unexpected pleasure to get a public shout-out from a fellow editor on Twitter!

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