• Passive Voice: It’s So Passé

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      Passive voice has a time and place in writing, as it serves to be a stylistic additive in many books and papers. In some cases, people prefer passive voice in creative pieces, such as poetry and prose; however, writing in passive voice too often in your fiction and non-fiction pieces can cloud your writing. The “passive voice” can best be described as writing that quietly emphasizes the subject in the sentence, rather than the verb. It also indirectly guides the reader to a course of action or situation without a direct voice, which can leave readers scratching their heads. It…

  • How to Show Emphasis Without Typing in All-Capitals

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    As an editor here at Xulon Press, I have read hundreds of manuscripts. Maybe even thousands. However, the top three things that I’ve seen on a consistent basis is: overuse of the exclamation point, misuse of the semicolon, and capitalizing words and phrases in order to convey emphasis to the reader. While we’ve covered the first two, we haven’t covered what it means to capitalize entire words and phrases, so allow me to explain. It’s pretty well-known that if someone says something to you through text, email, instant message, or any other written/typed communication in all capitals, it means they’re…

  • Exclamation Points

    The Weight of the Exclamation Point

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    Since I started here as an editor at Xulon Press, nearly eight weeks ago, I have read at least one hundred manuscripts. Almost every manuscript I have edited and reviewed has been nonfiction. They have all been unique in their focus, voice, and message, but almost all of them have contained at least one “common writing error” that I usually have to suggest needs to be changed. The top three “common writing errors” I personally have picked up on are as follows (in no particular order): overusing the exclamation point, writing words/phrases in all capital letters, and misplacing of the…

  • Bible verses

    Ask the Editor: Verses Versus Verses

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    Books need to be a lot of things if anyone is going to buy and read them: engaging, informative and cohesive, amongst others. Choosing a Bible version is crucial to your book—just not in the way you think. Most authors choose a version based on whether it is in the public domain or because they want to build a message around the exact words in that version. However, those are not the right reasons. The King James translation is not the only one that can be used without written permission. The ESV may be quoted up to 1,000 verses without express written permission…