Should mum be capitalised? Should university be capitalised?

๐Ÿ”Ž Mum or mum? University or university? In the manuscript I returned this weekend, one issue was the misplacement of capital letters in nouns such as the ones above. My client often opted for the uppercase option but that wasn’t always the correct call. โ–ช๏ธKeeping mum Whether to use uppercase or lowercase depends on whetherContinue reading “Should mum be capitalised? Should university be capitalised?”

Want a phone conversation to chat about your editing needs? That’s fine. And it’s also fine if you’d rather not!

We profess that email and messaging is so much more convenient than a phone call. But is it? I speak as someone who almost always uses email. But I had a business phone conversation this week and it was so successful that it has made me reflect. There’s a lot of to-ing and fro-ing withContinue reading “Want a phone conversation to chat about your editing needs? That’s fine. And it’s also fine if you’d rather not!”

How can I proofread without missing errors?

When I’m proofreading… ๐Ÿ‘‡ ๐Ÿ‘‡๐Ÿ‘‡ ๐Ÿ‘‡  ๐Ÿ‘‡    ๐Ÿ‘‡ I read like a small child. ๐Ÿ—ฃ๏ธ I read the words aloud. ๐ŸขI read them slowly. ๐Ÿ‘†I follow along with my finger. I find this particularly helpful when reading sentences with a lot of two/three letter words in them. Our eyes can gloss over these allContinue reading “How can I proofread without missing errors?”

What even is a ‘proof’? An open invitation to ask me questions about editing jargon.

Jargon, field-specific language. Whatever you want to call it. Do you like it? Find it useful? Does it scare you? I find it fascinating how words can mean so many different things in different industries. Take the word โ€˜proofโ€™. In editing, a โ€˜proofโ€™ is the page which is checked for errors prior to publishing. InContinue reading “What even is a ‘proof’? An open invitation to ask me questions about editing jargon.”

What is a modal verb? And is it should ‘have’ or should ‘of’?

Modelling modals. ๐ŸŽถTo the tune of The Model by Kraftwerk.๐ŸŽถ ‘Could’ is a modal and it’s really good To express possibility so you’re understood. There’s ‘might’, ‘should’ and ‘will’, to use from time to time. It only takes a well-placed one to change a mind. ‘Should have’, ‘could have’, ‘would have’ are the past formsContinue reading “What is a modal verb? And is it should ‘have’ or should ‘of’?”