Tag Archives: Writing

Copycat writers

From Beatrix Potter to E. L. James, the world of self-publishing is as old as publishing itself.

And to make your venture into self-publishing as successful as possible, here are a few hints and tips that I have learnt from my experience of working with both traditional publishers and self-publishing authors.

Well, aren’t you dashing!

Well, I’m sure you’ve put your best frock on for this blog post but I’m not here to compliment you!

Instead, we’re going to look at all the different dashes and lines on your page, what the differences are and when you might use them.

A fine line: between style and correctness

My job is frequently portrayed as being about pedantry. The correct use of the comma, the correct use of subject, verb agreement, the correct spellings.

But that’s not always the case.

Sensitivity readers: do you need one?

What is a “sensitivity reader” and how do you know if you need one? Do they provide a function outside of editing? What makes a sensitivity reader different from a beta reader?

Keeping it consistent

Many people believe that English is full of rules that must not be broken. They are slaves to finding the “correct” version.

Whilst many words do have “correct” versions, there are many examples of words that need choices to be made and then applied consistently. Take, for example, the word “banister”, a pretty ordinary noun and one that you wouldn’t think twice about. Right?

What’s the difference?

Editing is not just about finding and correcting typos. Your editor may be able to do all sorts of things for your manuscript and for your writing: from correcting spelling and punctuation errors to plot and character development.

Tools of the trade

I’ve just finished a proofread of a collection of short stories and am looking back at the range of tools and sources I used to complete this job. It’s amazing at the amount of reference material needed to accurately check a text and here is just a summary of the tools I use, some regularly, some less so.

The End of the Lockdown Blog

I look forward to returning to a complete normal but know that may be some way off. For now, I will say goodbye to a daily lockdown blog. Thank you for reading and for being part of this record of history.