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Hands—and book announcement

Four-frame cartoon. Frame 1: Bespectacled editor sits at her desk and types on her computer. Frame 2: She raises her hands toward her face and stares at them. Frame 3: We see her point of view, showing her two spherical hands hovering over her keyboard. Frame 4: She says, "How the hell am I typing?"

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Time flies when you’re living in a slow-motion apocalypse! I can hardly believe it, but I posted my first cartoon about editing and publishing ten years ago.

To celebrate a decade of esoteric absurdity, I’ve compiled my archive into a print book.

Cover of the book "An Editorial Cartoon" by Iva Cheung. The image shows a black-and-white cartoon on a white background, featuring Bespectacled editor and Curly-haired editor sitting at a table with their laptops and chatting over coffee. Continue reading “Hands—and book announcement”

Plain language and health literacy series

WordRake invited me to contribute four articles about plain language and health literacy to their Guest Author Series, and the final article was posted today. Here are links to all four posts in case you’re interested:

I want to thank WordRake for the opportunity! In addition to their editing software, WordRake offers a wealth of resources about writing in plain language from experts with a variety of professional backgrounds.

Biding our time

Riff on the Drake Hotline Bling meme: In the top frame, Bespectacled editor turns her head away and puts up her hand disapprovingly. The text next to that image reads "#AcWriMo." In the bottom frame, her head is tilted back, and she is pointing approvingly. The text next to that image reads "AcEdMo."

I’m opting out of the pressure cooker this year but will cheer on from the sidelines. After you’ve finished your manuscripts, though, you know who to call…

Here’s a version that more of my editing colleagues will find relevant:
Riff on the Drake Hotline Bling meme: In the top frame, Bespectacled editor turns her head away and puts up her hand disapprovingly. The text next to that image reads "#NaNoWriMo." In the bottom frame, her head is tilted back, and she is pointing approvingly. The text next to that image reads "NaNoEdMo."

Feel as though you’re missing context? Here’s the Know Your Meme entry on the meme this image riffs on. And here’s a blank if you want to make your own.

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Angry Jelly Donut

Last fall I participated in the annual #Inktober challenge—drawing a picture in ink each day of October, based on a list of prompts. Although a lot of participants use the official Inktober prompt list, I opted to follow Janelle Shane’s AI-generated #Botober prompt list, and one of those prompts was for an “angry jelly doughnut.”

After I posted my attempt on Twitter, Steve Kleinedler (@SKleinedler)
replied, “This needs to be a children’s book, and the angry jelly donut needs to be pissed off all the way thru to the end. No transformation.” I said, “I smell a Kleinedler–Cheung collaboration,” and within days, I had a manuscript from Steve in my direct messages.

It took me a while to find the time to work on this hilariously absurd project, but I finally got it done, and you can download the accessible PDF of Angry Jelly Donut*, the children’s book, for free.

Cover of the book *Angry Jelly Donut*, story by Steve Kleinedler and illustrations by Iva Cheung. The image shows a golden-brown jelly donut with a spot of red jelly oozing out a hole in its side. The top is sprinkled with powdered sugar. The donut has an angry facial expression and is sitting on a green armchair in a room with blue walls and beige flooring.

If you’re interested in getting a hard copy, you can find an 8×8 hardcover or (adorable) 6.5×6.5 paperback wherever IngramSparks books are sold, including Bookshop.org (paperback; hardcover), Chapters-Indigo (paperback; hardcover), and Amazon (paperback; hardcover). If you’d rather get it from your local indie bookstore or library instead, be sure to let them know they can order the book via Ingram Content Group.

Want to show your allegiance to Team Angry Jelly Donut or Team Happy Vanilla Cupcake? Order a shirt from TeePublic!

Steve and I are donating $1 from each hard copy and shirt sold to charity, with half going to Indspire, which supports education of Indigenous children and youth, and half going to the Trevor Project, which offers suicide prevention and crisis intervention programs for LGBTQ youth.

I don’t really consider myself an artist, but I had an awful lot of fun creating the illustrations, and I hope they bring you a bit of delight, too.

Enjoy our ridiculous little book!

*Yes, I’ve retained Steve’s spelling of “donut.” He’s the lexicographer—take it up with him.

UPDATE, December 16, 2022: Steve and I made our 2022 donations to Indspire and the Trevor Project. We sold 122 books and 95 merch items in 2022, so each charity got the equivalent of US$108.50. Thank you to everyone who supported this silly project! We will continue to donate as we make sales, so if you know anyone who’d enjoy an Angry Jelly Donut book or shirt or mug or tote bag, be sure to visit your favourite online book retailer or the Angry Jelly Donut TeePublic store!