Side Notes: Second Edition
Side Notes: Second Edition
Dear readers,
welcome to reading my Side Notes! In this newsletter, you will regularly hear about what’s new in my neck of the woods – the world of editing and translation.
Today, it‘s all about the right feedback at the right time. You can also read about using the Chicago style to correctly format your sources in academic papers. Last but not least, I put together my February reading list for you.
If you have any suggestions or feedback in regards to this newsletter, please do not hesitate to reach out to me – I will be happy to hear from you! By the way, you can read all newsletters on the website, too.
Warm regards,
Teresa Johnson
—
Teresa Johnson, Ph.D. 姜心悦
German (native), English, Chinese
Lektorat Johnson
Services: Editing, Proofreading, Translation
Specialization: Academic Writing, Nonfiction
Tips from your Editor
Global vs. Local Feedback
Not all feedback and comments on your text are helpful. If the timing of the feedback is not right, it could actually be a hindrance to the development of your text. That is why I distinguish between global and local feedback.
What does that mean? When you have just finished your first draft you need to know if the reading flow is right, if your arguments are convincing or if the character development is coherent throughout the story. The kind of feedback that is all about the big picture, the text as a whole, that is what is called global feedback. Because you keep rewriting your text in this phase, even delete some parts or write them new, it would not be helpful if I marked all the spelling mistakes or misplaced commas in your text. When you rewrite your text they might get deleted anyway!
Once you have finalized your draft, it is worth paying attention to the details. Now is the right time to point out anything noteworthy on the sentence level. The so-called local feedback can now help you to identify any problems with spelling, punctuation or grammar.
No matter if you are working on an academic paper for your classes, a novel for a publisher, an article for a journal, or an ad directed at your customers: The proper combination of global and local feedback elevates your text to make a trustworthy impression on your readers!
Asian Studies
Correct citations are an important part of academic writing. Commonly used in Asian Studies and Chinese Studies in particular is the citation format according to The Chicago Manual of Style, in short: Chicago. For this reason, I would like to show you various examples of how to cite common source types with this citation style.
Citations with the Chicago style: articles (in a journal or newspaper)
In the footnotes:
1. Wenting Ji, “Her Feet Hurt: Female Body and Pain in Chen Duansheng’s Zaisheng yuan (Destiny of Rebirth),” CHINOPERL: Journal of Chinese Oral and Performing Literature 42, no. 1 (2023), 30-31, https://doi.org/10.1353/cop.2023.a898380.
2. Chao-Lin Liu, Thomas J. Mazanec, and Jeffrey R. Tharsen, “Exploring Chinese Poetry with Digital Assistance: Examples from Linguistic, Literary, and Historical Viewpoints,” The Journal of Chinese Literature and Culture 5, no. 2 (2018), 280-281, https://doi.org/10.1215/23290048-7257002.
Shortened footnotes (for repeated citations):
3. Ji, “Her Feet Hurt,” 35.
4. Liu, Mazanec, and Tharsen, “Exploring Chinese Poetry with Digital Assistance,” 283.
In the bibliography (sorted alphabetically):
Ji, Wenting. “Her Feet Hurt: Female Body and Pain in Chen Duansheng’s Zaisheng yuan (Destiny of Rebirth).” CHINOPERL: Journal of Chinese Oral and Performing Literature 42, no. 1 (2023): 28-65. https://doi.org/10.1215/23290048-7257002.
Liu, Chao-Lin, Thomas J. Mazanec, and Jeffrey R. Tharsen. “Exploring Chinese Poetry with Digital Assistance: Examples from Linguistic, Literary, and Historical Viewpoints.” The Journal of Chinese Literature and Culture 5, no. 2 (2018): 276-321. https://doi.org/10.1215/23290048-7257002.
*In the bibliography of an academic paper each entry would be visually distinguished from the others by use of a hanging line.*
How not to write…
The following examples are taken from various media that I encounter in my every day life at work and at home, in German and in English. These examples illustrate that there are many texts (and spoken words) out there that could have benefited from professional editing before they were published. I am not trying to expose anyone. Therefore, I only name the general genre or medium, not the person or the exact source who published these examples.
(Unfortunate) real world examples:
- Daily paper: Die beiden lebten lange getrennt. (intended meaning: separation in geographic terms, not in terms of the relationship)
- LinkedIn post: Wenn du es am mich gibst, hilft du mir und ich dir.
- News program: Viele fragten sich, bin ich vielleicht Schuld dafür?
- Essay in an international daily paper: The origins of the samurai lie in the 10th Century, when they were first recruited as mercenaries for the imperial courts.
What I’m reading in February
Academic Works
- “‘Chinese-Style Science Fiction’ and Its Pursuit of Chineseness in a Global Context,” by Xiuqi HUANG, Journal of the European Association for Chinese Studies, Vol. 6.2 (2025)
- Oceanic Japan: The Archipelago in Pacific and Global History (2021), by Stefan Huebner, Nadin Heé, Ian Miller und William M. Tsutsui (eds.)
- “Knowing Exotica: Edible Bird’s Nest and the Cultures of Knowledge in Early Modern China,” by Meng ZHANG 张萌, Harvard Journal of Asiatic Studies, Vol. 85.1 (2025)
Recreational Reading
- Alle sieben Wellen (2009), by Daniel Glattauer (English title: Every Seventh Wave). What constitutes a relationship? I read this e-mail novel, like its prequel Gut gegen Nordwind, in just a few hours. Once you start reading you want to know how the story continues and ends.
- Sommerdiebe (2006), by Truman Capote (original title: Summer Crossing), translated into German by Heidi Zernig. Seemingly easy reading. One of Capote’s earliest works, which was found by accident about twenty years after his death. The protagonist, seventeen-year-old Grady, spends her summer in New York City for the first time. While her family is overseas on a cruise, she experiences her version of freedom and love.
- Blinde Geister (2025), by Lina Schwenk. Simultaneously touching and gloomy. A novel about family, crises, solidarity, ageing, and dying. Absolutely worth reading, but will likely put you in a contemplative mood.
∗This list of texts is not formatted according to the Chicago style.∗
Upcoming
February 2026
Stuttgarter Buchmesse, Saturday, 02/28/2026
The editor’s association Verband freier Lektorinnen und Lektoren (VFLL) has its own booth at the Stuttgarter Buchmesse. The VFLL will be represented by members of its regional branch Baden and Württemberg. I am excited and looking forward to a day filled with many visitors and of course my wonderful colleagues of the VFLL!
If you have questions or would like to share your feedback about the newsletter, please reach out to me at info@lektorat-johnson.de!
If you would like to stay in touch, feel free to connect with me via LinkedIn!
Interested in my editing services?
How about a trial edit?
If you would like to get to know my style of working as an editor, a trial edit is the way to go. I will edit your text for exactly one hour. Afterwards, I return the edited text to you and we discuss my feedback for you in a phone or video call.