clairecherryedits

Set us free: write your book because we want to read it. We need authors right now.

I want to read your book. I want to get inside your head and go for a wander. I’ve had enough of my own thoughts: take me somewhere else! I don’t know where I’d be without books (and baths, and most especially books in the bath). I need time out of my day, the headspaceContinue reading “Set us free: write your book because we want to read it. We need authors right now.”

No smoke and mirrors. This is what happens if I edit your book.

There’s always that element of uncertainty when you hire a freelancer for the first time. ❔Will they do a good job? ❔Will they meet my deadline? ❔Will they offer value for money? ❔Will communication be smooth? The freelancer also has uncertainties when taking on a new client. ❔Will the work they’re offering fit in withContinue reading “No smoke and mirrors. This is what happens if I edit your book.”

Where should capital letters go in titles?

📝 So you’ve written a contents page. A leaflet. A blog post. An essay. And you’ve used a series of headings. ❓ The question is – should you capitalise the words in your headings? And, if so, how? 📢 The answer is that there is more than one way to approach this. There are individualContinue reading “Where should capital letters go in titles?”

What is a staycation? Musings on portmanteaus.

🤔 Is it just me, or has the meaning of ‘staycation’ broadened recently? Pretty sure it used to encapsulate the idea of taking time off work, staying at home and going for day trips. News items this week are using it to mean holidays taken in your home country. Is that how you’ve always usedContinue reading “What is a staycation? Musings on portmanteaus.”

Should food names be capitalised in menus? And other considerations when proofreading food writing.

😋 I proofread some menus today and they made me so hungry! They were Indian menus of dishes prepared for special occasions. If I hadn’t already sorted a shepherd’s pie for tea then I definitely would have ordered a takeaway tonight. Though it’s probably best I didn’t as it wouldn’t have lived up to theContinue reading “Should food names be capitalised in menus? And other considerations when proofreading food writing.”

A proud moment: when Jon released his book ‘Blind Gambit’ about living with a visual impairment.

Today I want to talk about a proud moment. The release of my husband’s book ‘Blind Gambit’ made me proud. Proofread by yours truly. 😊 It was actually two years ago and was not Jon’s first release, but it was a really important one which tells some truths about what it’s like to live withContinue reading “A proud moment: when Jon released his book ‘Blind Gambit’ about living with a visual impairment.”

Cherry Edits: free 1000-word sample edit. Try before you buy.

❓ If you’ve never tried something, how do you know if it’s missing from your life? In Grace Dent’s column this week, she ponders whether she’ll ever be able to go back to ‘eat[ing] toast served in what feels like a working creche by someone wearing a singlet and displaying armpit hair’ 🤣when she canContinue reading “Cherry Edits: free 1000-word sample edit. Try before you buy.”

May 12th 2020. Fantasy novel: top proofreading spots.

🔎 Today’s top #proofreading spots from a fantasy novel. ❌ The tower rose in the distance, its height all the more impressiveness from her vantage point ➡️ impressive ✅ ❌ The creature’s wings billowed and caught on an updraft ➡️ updraught ✅ 🇬🇧 ❌ Mystical plains ➡️ planes ✅ ❌ A minute or slater ➡️Continue reading “May 12th 2020. Fantasy novel: top proofreading spots.”

How do I get an en dash or an em dash on Word? Using alt codes.

❓ Do you know your alt codes? Alt+0150 – This is my favourite and I use this a lot: the en-dash, a dash the size of a letter N. It’s the one which Word often does automatically – when you hit the hyphen to move on to a different clause and, as if by magic,Continue reading “How do I get an en dash or an em dash on Word? Using alt codes.”

Is it immanent or imminent? Top proofreading spot.

🔎 Most satisfying #proofreading spot of the day: Immanent ➡️ imminent ⛔ Microsoft Word’s spellcheck did not recognise ‘immanent’ as being incorrect. Why not? 💡 Because ‘immanent’ is a word. It means “existing or operating within; inherent” (Google Dictionary definition). But the author of this #gamelit novel wanted ‘imminent’ as in “about to happen”. That’sContinue reading “Is it immanent or imminent? Top proofreading spot.”