The Rule of Three in a Series

Bet you didn’t know this little rule of thumb, that will make your sentences trimmer and more professional whenever you have a series of something. And the rule is (drum roll): only list three in a series! Not four, not five, not as many items as you would like to list in the sentence, but three. Three period. If you have four, ... Read More

When to Capitalize Job Titles and Positions

One of the most common misuses of capital letters I come across as a professional editor is titles of jobs and positions. I think that’s because people remember sometimes seeing them capitalized, so they conclude that they always get capitalized. In fact, the opposite is usually the case. It’s okay to capitalize the name of a job or position only ... Read More

Do You Need a Comma Before ‘And’?

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 …

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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