proofreading – Page 5

How 2022 was the year that changed everything. My editing journey.

It’s the end of the year and I’m going to be self-indulgent and reflect on the fact that this was the year that changed everything. Early in 2022, I had a financial story session with Mahmood Reza. We worked out that if I scaled up the editing work I’d been doing part-time, I would beContinue reading “How 2022 was the year that changed everything. My editing journey.”

Is it pole or poll?

Here’s a handy graphic to show the difference.

Is it who’s or whose?

For everyone who gets who’s and whose confused… If it’s not who is/who has, it’s whose.

Is it farmers’ market or farmers market? Assassins’ guild or assassins guild?

What does a farmers market have in common with an assassins guild? Well, I consulted this MW article about the former’s apostrophe (or lack thereof) and wondered whether I could apply the principle to the latter…https://www.merriam-webster.com/words-at-play/is-there-an-apostrophe-in-farmers-market-punctuation-possessive “Style guides try to make a distinction between possessive phrases and those that are merely descriptive. Since a farmersContinue reading “Is it farmers’ market or farmers market? Assassins’ guild or assassins guild?”

Is it shrunk or shrank? (Did Honey, I Shrunk The Kids get it wrong?)

Did you know some people consider there to be an error in this film title? The argument goes that it should be called: Honey, I SHRANK the kids. Shrank is the past tense of shrink.* Shrunk is the past participle. If he’d wanted to be all passive and wash his hands of responsibility, Rick MoranisContinue reading “Is it shrunk or shrank? (Did Honey, I Shrunk The Kids get it wrong?)”

Do your research before hiring an editor. Beware false economies.

𝗧𝗟;𝗗𝗥. 𝗗𝗼 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗿𝗲𝘀𝗲𝗮𝗿𝗰𝗵 𝗯𝗲𝗳𝗼𝗿𝗲 𝗵𝗶𝗿𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗮𝗻 𝗲𝗱𝗶𝘁𝗼𝗿. 𝗕𝗲𝘄𝗮𝗿𝗲 𝗳𝗮𝗹𝘀𝗲 𝗲𝗰𝗼𝗻𝗼𝗺𝗶𝗲𝘀. 🆕 I got a new fridge yesterday and it made me think. Not all edits are created equal… (Bear with me.) Because. Here’s the thing. My new fridge, from the outside, looks a lot like my old fridge. It has the same outward appearance.Continue reading “Do your research before hiring an editor. Beware false economies.”

Is it phase or faze?

It didn’t phase me. ❌It didn’t faze me. ✔️ F-A-Z-E is the spelling you want. Isn’t it interesting how we always use it in the negative. People always say they weren’t fazed. They rarely say they were. We seem to prefer discombobulated for this scenario. Maybe because it’s such a silly word. It takes theContinue reading “Is it phase or faze?”

What words and phrases do you find pleasing?

Some words and phrases are just pleasing. “Belt and braces.” This is the idiom my computer repair guy used last week when he came to fix my WiFi issues. I now have two ways of connecting and, if one’s slow, the other will kick in. “Cut and shut.” This phrase came to mind when myContinue reading “What words and phrases do you find pleasing?”

Is it it’s or its?

𝗜𝘁’𝘀 𝗶𝘀 𝗼𝗻𝗹𝘆 𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗿 𝘀𝗵𝗼𝗿𝘁 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝗶𝘁 𝗶𝘀. I don’t mind admitting it took me far longer than it should have to learn this rule. I don’t remember anyone ever saying it to me as bluntly as this. ‘It’ (apostrophe) ‘s’ is only ever short for ‘it is’. And it confused me because it seemsContinue reading “Is it it’s or its?”

Yesterday’s top 3 #proofreading spots from a gritty fantasy novel that were missed by Word’s spellcheck or by ProWritingAid.

The three errors below cropped up during the course of yesterday’s edit. All the errors were missed by either Word or ProWritingAid or both. 1️⃣ 💎 He toyed with his feather earing. ❌ He toyed with his feather earring. ✔ In the Oxford English Dictionary, ear has more than one meaning. There’s the obvious oneContinue reading “Yesterday’s top 3 #proofreading spots from a gritty fantasy novel that were missed by Word’s spellcheck or by ProWritingAid.”