First Word

I have been coaching a new writer whose book is titled Grains of Truth . It's enjoyable to work with a first-time writer, which is one of the specialties of 3L Publishing . We like to work with people from the beginning of the process to the end. I always tell writers it's better to use our consulting and coaching at the beginning of a project vs. the end. The reason is time. A new writer who is inexperienced can easily get off-track. When they bring a fiction or nonfiction book to us and it got off-track then they often feel discourage because all the work has to be revised. If you start at the beginning we can guide, coach and provide our expertise to help you write a winning first draft.   The number one benefit of using a book coach is accountability . When you start a new project and get distracted, you might find it easy to quit working. With a coach you will be encouraged and held accountable for your goals. Just having someone who is invested in your su...

Today's question from an author is a common mistake and misnomer. If you want the new rules of style in terms of word processing and digital printing, invest in the book The Mac is Not a Typewriter . Today's question: do you still put the double space after the period?  Old rules of business writing and even academic writing suggested we use the double space. Today the computer does it for us, and there is no need. Word processors put the right spacing in for the user. Older writers unfamiliar with the change in the rules still add the double space, which is unnecessary and removed during editing. The double space was used in typesetting methods where typesetters physically put the "plates" together with the words and used the spacing to distinguish between the end of the sentence and the start of the new one. Since the computer can now automatically do it, and the new digital printing methods don't require plates, it's gone away. Underlining titles now ...

Does anyone really agree on the use of the comma? Today on HARO (Help a Reporter Out) there was a link about comma usage. Just the other day my editorial intern discussed the Oxford comma usage. Do you have any idea how many different style guides exist? Just to name a few: Strunk and White, AP Style, Chicago Style, Masters of Language Arts ... and probably others. And yes, there is the Oxford too. I always chuckle when the infamous Grammar Police go nuts about certain complaints that are style-related. It is the comma though that has the most "proper" usage rules (and naturally the rules conflict). If you're running a publication, the rule is simple: be consistent . Some publications have their own style guides. You can make up certain rules that are your editorial guidelines and the preferred style. The key is to apply the rule the SAME way every time. In that case you can easily point to your own style rules if someone says something. Believe me, the Grammar Police ...

No one agrees on comma usage. Look it up. All of the grammar sites have differing opinions. The style books ( AP Style and Chicago ) don't agree. Struck and White has its own rules about commas. And then you have the "grammar police" (as I call them) who think they KNOW your comma usage is wrong -- it doesn't work with their rules. I have different authors who have differing uses. It's like this discussion that can't be won. I will say this: I cannot stand the grammar police who insist your usage is just plain wrong. If you followed AP Style and they use, say, Struck and White , yep! It's wrong. Yet it's not wrong. When it comes to commas, I allow the authors to use their preferred styles. The only rule I apply is consistency. Do it that way; always do it that way, period. Now some comma usage is, in fact, just plain wrong. You know like splitting the adjective from the noun or the noun from the verb -- that sort of thing. My favorite (and funny) ...