Tutorials
There’s a lot a writer can do to make the experience of working with an editor more valuable. Here, we’re starting a library of useful tips on things you can do yourself and things that might be helpful if you’re not a wizard with all the tools we use to create and revise our manuscripts.
Be sure to check back from time to time to see what’s new.
Hyphenation GuideSuitable for printing. In the Adobe Reader print dialog, choose “Print on both sides” and “Flip on short edge of paper” then fold in half for a quick-reference pamphlet. |
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Who’s Who?Don’t confuse your readers with ambiguous pronoun antecedents |
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Pet WordsDiscovering overused words in your manuscript — and ideas for dealing with them |
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Take Command of Your CommasThe basic rules of comma usage — and when you can break them |
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Don’t Ring an Agent’s Alarm BellsHow to avoid one of the things that puts agents and acquisition editors on edge |
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Don’t Leave Your Readers DanglingHow to avoid dangling phrases and clauses that don’t really say what you mean |
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What Software-based Editing Can — and Can’t — Do for YouSome things that authors should consider |
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Making Your Writing Life Easier with Microsoft Word Style TagsYou can request a sample document with some style tags defined to use as a base document for getting started |
View/download PDF View/download Tag Definitions PDF Download Tag Definition Spreadsheet Request a Sample Word Document |
Using “Track Changes” and Reviewer CommentsThe basics of how to process what you receive back from me |
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