If you find it confusing whether or not you need a comma before “and,” the answer is that usually you do. If “and” separates two short words or phrases, you can skip the comma. Usually, though, “and” separates matters of greater complexity …
Read MoreAuthors, Don’t Rush that Edit
Authors, here’s some advice based on my sixteen years’ experience as a book editor. Don’t make the mistake so many authors do, rushing the editing phase of the project as they try to bring their book to completion. Enthusiastic authors are naturally in a hurry to get their book to print, so they often set up a time schedule in ... Read More
Semi-Colons in a Series: Cool or Blooper?
As a book editor, I’m sensitive to trending grammar and punctuation mistakes. I say “trending,” because they seem to emerge as trends, creeping into people’s writing like shadows, until pretty soon, everyone is doing it. Have you noticed how lately you’re seeing a lot of semi-colons being used – instead of the humble comma – to separate items in a ... Read More
Italics, Bolding, or ALL CAPS—Which Is Best?
As you write your book, you probably sometimes wonder what’s the best way to emphasize important words. Your first instinct may be to place them in all capital letters (called “all caps” by book editors and publishers—IT LOOKS LIKE THIS). But that is rarely the best way to go. As you type your Word document, all caps look pretty good ... Read More
The Difference between You and John Grisham
A client recently sent me a business book to edit that was disorganized and full of repetition. It jumped back and forth between topics. It was in this shape because he had written it piecemeal over a period of years. If he had begun with an outline (or table of contents) and had written to that, the book would have ... Read More