grammar

The Singular They is Now Officially Correct

Find your favorite writer and give them this message: They no longer have to mire their writing down with awkward…

5 months ago

Publishing Advice – Practices & Principles

The following publishing advice is based on my own experiences and those of my clients. I hope you find it…

5 months ago

Self-Publishing Scams: Keep the “Self” in Self-Publishing

Here's an addendum to Publishing Scams and How they Work. I wonder why so many authors, after spending thousands of…

5 months ago

Tabs, Indents, and Margins: How to use the Tab Ruler

This article explains the tab ruler found on every word processor and typesetting application. Understanding the simple and elegant split…

5 months ago

English Pet Peeves

Discussions of English Language pet peeves provide an entertaining forum for the expression of ire. In fact, if a “pet”…

5 months ago

Commatose: the Oxford Comma, or Serial Comma

The Oxford comma, or serial comma is a subject of constant debate among writers. Do we need that comma before…

5 months ago

Encouragement for Those On The Path to Better Writing

So many writers get discouraged. This stinks. I quit. Others are overconfident. They've always had "a gift for words" so…

5 months ago

The Grammar of Book Design

Are images analogous to words? Is what makes a sentence sound "right" the same thing that makes an image "pop"…

5 months ago

Writing is Design: Avoid Bland Pronouns and Boring Verbs

As a graphic designer, I see numerous parallels between the values that create engaging imagery and the values that create…

5 months ago

Writing is Design: Eliminate THAT Fat From Your Writing

The word "that" is often abused. "That" is a perfectly useful pronoun but it's often the useless fat that slows…

5 months ago

Book Cover Design: Judging a Book by its Cover – Part 2

Part 1 of Book Cover Design: Judging a Book by its Cover critiqued "professional" covers taken from Amazon's Editor's choice…

5 months ago

What’s a Professional Editor Worth?

What do you think a professional editor's pay scale should be? Assume that a proofreader would be at the bottom…

5 months ago

Why You Need a Professional Editor

After completing the final draft of a manuscript for my fifth book, I wanted a reality check. I hired a…

5 months ago

Proposed Standards for Book Typography

The word processor has placed new burdens on writers to understand how to use italics, big and small capitals, dashes,…

5 months ago

Book Design Basics: Small Capitals – Avoiding Capital Offenses

Use of Small Capitals—uppercase characters designed at lowercase scale—is one aspect of writing and book design that isn’t taught in…

5 months ago

Speechwriting: Who and That

A common mistake is to confuse “who” and “that” —another common misuse of the word “that.” She’s the girl that…

10 months ago

Speechwriting: Cut THAT Fat

“That” is often useless fat that slows down an otherwise elegant sentence. Fortunately, misuse of “that” is one of the…

10 months ago

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