Editing 101: The Musicality of Words
I truly love how words sound. I love the word serendipity, which makes me think of sudden joy. And the word ephemeral makes me...
Proofreading 101: When Your Text Gets Graphic(s)
I know I've mentioned many times that Spellcheck should be considered a "frenemy" because it doesn't always catch obvious errors....
Editing 101: Sometimes Brief Is Too Brief
So often, people send me things saying "I'd like this to be shorter, if possible." For the most part, I have no problems with that. Many...
Editing 101: Drawing an Editorial Map
As an editor, I spend a lot of time trying to coach authors down the paths I think they should take. I also try to nudge them away from...
Editing 101: The Case of the Traveling Case
Sometimes a misplaced modifier (those words or phrases that are supposed to talk about one thing, but seem to talk about another) are...
Writing 101: Thanks (?), I Think
When you're starting out doing freelance work, you tend to take jobs from pretty much anywhere. So, while my preference is for working...
Editing 101: Should I Quote You on That?
We've talked about this kind of thing before: the facetiously placed quotation marks that cause us to question what we're reading. With...
Freelance Wordsmith: Who am I? Who do you want me to be?
I've had two occasions, lately, to try to figure out exactly what I do - and what I'm willing to do - in my freelancing. (Don't let...
Proofreading 101: Minding Your Possessives and Plurals
I've been thinking about this topic for the past few days, trying to think of solid, witty, interesting ways to make my point. But which...
Editing: A Love Letter to Your Manuscript
For the past month or so (there was a short break in the middle), I've been editing a memoir. (It's part of what inspired me to discuss...
