October 7th 2020. Top proofreading spots.

πŸ”Ž Top #proofreading spots today. ❌ I had ran πŸƒβ€β™€οΈ ➑ I had run βœ” ❌ glistening from copious amount of oil πŸ’§ ➑ a copious amount / copious amounts βœ” So, we have a past participle issue and an agreement issue. Glad to be of assitance cleaning up the manuscript before it’s published.

Is it loath or loathe? Top proofreading spot.

πŸ”Ž Top #proofreading spot from today. Loathe vs Loath. You loathe something if you hate it. 🀒 For example, I loathe scampi. It’s the texture. Yuck. And in this example, loathe is a verb. Notice the ‘e’ on the end of the word. 🦐 Whereas, I am loath to eat prawns. For the same reason.Continue reading “Is it loath or loathe? Top proofreading spot.”

How do you put a PDF on your Kindle? Making the most of those free lead magnet resources.

πŸ™‹β€β™€οΈHands up if you’ve ever signed up for a free PDF resource and didn’t get around to reading it. I definitely have. Thinking ‘Yep, I’d like that’ and then realising, six months later, it’s still there clogging up my inbox. Or, sometimes, I’d forget about the existence of the resource completely. Such a shame asContinue reading “How do you put a PDF on your Kindle? Making the most of those free lead magnet resources.”

The perils of Find and Replace.

The perils of Find and Replace. 😬 A writer told me about a time recently when he used Find and Replace on Word to change all references of ‘he’ and ‘she’ to ‘they’, and ‘his’ and ‘hers’ to ‘theirs’. Unfortunately, he did a ‘replace all’ and did not have ‘whole words only’ selected so itContinue reading “The perils of Find and Replace.”

Editing workflow. Romance novel.

I’m starting a romance novella edit today. πŸ’– I love a will-they-won’t-they tale. 😊 My work is certainly varied. It will be a departure from the world of dragons πŸ‰ I’ve been inhabiting for the last couple of months. Variety is the spice of life. However, whether I’m dealing in fantasy, romance, or something else,Continue reading “Editing workflow. Romance novel.”

Top proofreading spots: vocabulary. Stalagmites or stalactites? Servility or civility?

πŸ”Ž ‘Stalagmites hung from the ceiling, shimmering with alchemical light.’ ❌ One of my favourite types of #proofreading spot is when I’ve caught a wrong word choice. ‘Stalactites hung from the ceiling, shimmering with alchemical light.’ βœ… Tites hang down! NOTE also the change from a G to a C: stalaCtites. Another one I flaggedContinue reading “Top proofreading spots: vocabulary. Stalagmites or stalactites? Servility or civility?”

How can I teach myself to spell? (You’ve just got to get on with it!)

Flannal ❌ Deodorent ❌ Lables ❌ πŸ’¬ Family member: You’ll going to have to improve your spelling if you’re to become an English teacher. 19-year-old me: 😬 True story. These were misspellings on my holiday packing list. πŸ›„ At that time I was doing an English degree. And I had high hopes of being atContinue reading “How can I teach myself to spell? (You’ve just got to get on with it!)”

Is it theater or theatre? Airplane or aeroplane? And other questions about American vs British spelling.

AmEn vs BrEn πŸ”Ž I consider this when proofreading and it’s dependent on where the book will be released, where the audience is based, the writer’s and readers’ preferences. Other Ens available! You know the difference. 🎭 theater vs theatre or ✈️ airplane vs aeroplane These ones are well known. πŸ”€ But for a recentContinue reading “Is it theater or theatre? Airplane or aeroplane? And other questions about American vs British spelling.”

Get rid of red squiggles before you take your screenshot.

πŸ“’ Recently, a mayor’s open letter was shared on social media. The letter was shared as an image, not a Word doc/PDF. It looks like a screenshot taken at the mayor’s computer. I reckon the mayor’s computer was set to US English but he wanted to write in British English. Word had done its usualContinue reading “Get rid of red squiggles before you take your screenshot.”

Is it stationary or stationery?

βœ… You’re a stationery addict… if you’re addicted to buying pens, notebooks, etc. ❌ If you were a stationary addict, you’d be addicted to standing still. πŸ—½πŸ˜† πŸ’‘ The way I remember it is E for envelopes. StationEry.