Dear readers,

here, in my neck of the woods, summer has just begun. That means many people are slowing down to enjoy their summer, but I am picking up speed again for my Side Notes! While you probably spent the last few months waiting (perhaps even yearning?) for a new letter from me, I have been busy working on some changes to the newsletter. I am excited to tell you all about it here!

As per usual, you can read about the latest from my world of editing and translation. Going forward, you can expect to find the Side Notes in your inbox once a month.

What is new? In the upcoming editions of this newsletter I want to tell you more about my research topic. You’ll be gaining some insight into the world of Chinese strange tales, which range from entertaining to scary and from touching to astonishing.

Not everything has changed, though. So, what stays the same? I will continue to share my monthly reading list with you, just like I did in the first half of the year. I will also continue to present you with text passages and phrases which could have used some editing prior to being published.

I am always happy to receive your feedback and suggestions in regards to the Side Notes! By the way, you can find all past newsletter editions on the website, too.

Warm regards,

Teresa Johnson

—
Teresa Johnson, Ph.D. 姜心悦
German (native), English, Chinese

Lektorat Johnson
Services: Editing and Translation
Specialization: Academic and Nonfiction Writing

Tips from your Editor

What is the purpose of a trial edit?

Whether a book project or any other kind of text project will be successful always depends on a variety of factors. Among other things, the editing process helps to ensure that your text will reach the intended target audience.

It is part of my job as an editor to point out any (potentially) problematic areas in your text, e. g. a sentence or phrase that might be incomprehensible for your readers. This has nothing to do with judging a text as good or bad and it has everything to do with optimizing your text with your target audience in mind.

So how does the trial edit come into play here? Ideally, you’ll consider this option before you have even decided to work with me. Because it is important to me, that you are happy and comfortable with my way of working and my style of giving feedback.

Of course I always aim for my feedback to be factual. That’s why I explain my feedback in reference to the target readers. Giving feedback is not a matter of my personal linguistic or stylistic preferences, but I do draw on my professional experience with writing and reading.

When it is time to decide whether author and editor are a good match, the connection between the two on a human level plays a big role, too—and that is completely fine!

The trial edit concentrates on an excerpt, not the entirety, of the text. That makes it ideal for finding out if we are a good match—on the content level and on a human level. Why don’t you give it a try for your next text project?

Asian Studies

Chinese texts labeled as zhiguai 志怪 (literally: records of the strange) tell stories involving humans as well as a variety of other kinds of beings, including animals, gods, ghosts, monsters and many more. In this section of the newsletter, I am going to introduce you to these beings (and more) and will provide you with tips and examples as to where you can read more about the topic of the day.

Who or what are gui 鬼?

Today, we are starting things off with gui 鬼, which can be rendered in English as ghosts. Their appearance resembles that of humans, so it is quite possible to mistake them for humans. Contrary to living human beings, these ghosts belong to the netherworld. They often seek out humans in order to lament an injustice that happened upon them, to claim unpaid debts or even to try and switch bodies to return to the world of the living. In many stories humans face these ghosts with fear (or avoid them for the same reason). However, not all gui-ghosts actually pose a threat to the living. Sometimes, a ghost simply turns out to be a family ancestor asking for a favor—and sometimes, a ghost causes much uproar by haunting a place. Overall, gui-ghosts are neither unequivocally benign nor malicious.

Examples of gui 鬼 in zhiguai stories

Actually, there is a vast number of stories about or involving gui-ghosts. My favorite zhiguai collection called Zibuyu 子不語 (What the Master Would Not Discuss) also contains many relevant examples. Here are two interesting ones:

In „Hanjiang yuan yu 漢江冤獄“ (A Case of Injustice in Hanjiang), the magistrate of Hanjiang is brought into the netherworld because a gui-ghost blames him for mistakenly sentencing him when he was still alive. A netherworld court, however, proves the magistrate’s innocence. Thereupon, the gui-ghost seeks recompense for his injustice elsewhere.

In the story „Gui qing xiyan 鬼請吸煙“ (A Ghost Offers a Smoke), a man suffers from a fever dream. Someone dressed in dark clothes leads him into the netherworld, where he is interrogated due to a mix up. Upon his release, the man only recognizes that he was dealing with a ghost when the ghost offers him his pipe to smoke. Upon awakening from his dream, the man is drenched in sweat but recovers from his illness.

Curious? More stories like this to come in the next newsletter!

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:
  Seit 1986 gelingt es am CERM … produzierte Antimaterieteilchen so weit abzubremsen, dass sie gespeichert werden können. [spelling]
• COOKING SHOW (TV):
  Das Rezept ist ein bisschen in Vergangenheit geraten. [style: unidiomatic expression]
• SOCIAL MEDIA:
  Mir ist der Kaffee ausgeschüttet und das Buch lag im Weg. [style: wrong verb]
• MUSEUM WEBSITE:
  More Informations [grammar: pluralization]

What I’m reading in August:

Upcoming

August 2026

There’s plenty of new stuff to discover in this newsletter, but as far as events and happenings are concerned, I am also taking a little summer break. That said, I’m already looking forward to telling you what’s new in September!

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. If you book the icebreaker deal, 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.