Blog
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What Are Zombie Rules in Grammar?
Zombies are fueled by mindless hunger, and this mindlessness is part of what makes them scary. If you have a choice between reasoning with a zombie and bashing one in the head with a shovel, the latter approach is more likely to help you avoid becoming one of the undead yourself. Zombie rules in grammar […]
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Three Quick Tips for Grammar Quizzes
Online grammar quizzes pop up all over the place, and I often find them hard to resist. I’m a copyeditor, so why bother with quizzes I should breeze through? Isn’t it like shooting fish in a barrel? Yes, but it always feels good to ace something, and people working outside traditional office settings often need […]
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Writing Sprints for NaNoWriMo and Beyond
National Novel Writing Month (NaNoWriMo) is fast approaching, and many writers are biting their nails hoping they can find the time to pound out 50,000 words in November. “Not enough time” is a constant refrain among hopeful writers — and an understandable one. Day jobs, family, friends, chores, outside-of-work appointments, life(!) all come between writers […]
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Four on the Floor with Monica J. O’Rourke
Monica J. O’Rourke, whom celebrated horror author Brian Keene called “probably the best copyeditor currently in the business,” is both a horror author and copyeditor. Pretty damn cool. Enjoy the interview below and then go check out her work. And who knows? Her editorial fingerprints may already be all over some of your favorite novels. […]
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Five Tools That Help My Editing Business
No electronic tool can match the mind of an editor when it comes to making judgments informed by training, widespread reading, on-the-job experience, and lessons shared by peers and mentors. Searching the #spellcheckcantsaveyou hashtag on Twitter, for example, will give you tweet after (often-humorous) tweet of spellchecker fails. But that doesn’t mean spellcheckers aren’t useful […]
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Five Book Mentors for Editors
While there’s no substitute for a mentor of the flesh-and-blood variety, the five “book mentors” below provide indispensable advice on the processes, philosophy, and business of editing. (Note that these are not writing or style guides. Click here for my look at the major style guides.) The Business of Editing by Richard H. Adin A […]
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Four on the Floor with Rio Youers
I can’t say enough about Rio Youers or express what a thrill it is to feature him here. So read on—and order Halcyon already! Rio Youers is the British Fantasy Award–nominated author of Old Man Scratch and Point Hollow. His short fiction has been published in many notable anthologies, and his novel Westlake Soul was nominated for Canada’s prestigious Sunburst Award. […]
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I Like Your Style! A Quick Look at the Major Style Guides
Style guides promote consistency for clear and accurate communication. A consistent approach to style shows professionalism and builds trust with the reader. Consistency also helps readers understand what is being communicated without having to question whether inconsistencies were intentional or a case of sloppiness or inattention. If two instances of the same term are styled […]
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Four on the Floor with Stevie Kopas
In the previous Four on the Floor interview, we were treated to insights from one of horror’s leading new lights, Stephen Kozeniewski. For this interview, we get the perfect follow-up: Kozeniewski’s Slashvivor! coauthor Stevie Kopas. Bio: Stevie Kopas was born and raised in New Jersey. She is a gamer, a writer, and an apocalypse enthusiast. Stevie will […]
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Four on the Floor with Stephen Kozeniewski
Stephen Kozeniewski’s novel The Hematophages was named by horror legend Brian Keene as the number one book of 2017, so I was thrilled to have Stephen take part in one of our Four on the Floor interviews. Enjoy! Bio: Stephen Kozeniewski lives in Pennsylvania, the birthplace of the modern zombie. During his time as a […]