• This question of writing skillset comes up a lot: “Do I need to be good at writing to write a book?” The answer is “yes” and “no.” Mastering grammar as a ...

    5 Benefits of Mastering Grammar

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    This question of writing skillset comes up a lot: “Do I need to be good at writing to write a book?” The answer is “yes” and “no.” In order to write a book that others want to read, writers have to understand the basics of writing and be willing to read a lot of resource books, and teach themselves how to plot out their writing in a way that readers will follow. Grammar is an important part of writing because, without strong grammar and sentence structure, a book is hard to read and comprehend. “Well, I can just hire an editor…

  • Here’s a trusty list of grammar rules. Keep them at your writing workspace, so you can easily refer back to the list any time you get stuck: ... 1. Use...

    10 Grammar Rules for Every Writer

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    Seasoned writers will tell you it’s okay to break grammar rules as long as you know the right way to break them. Lazy writers often quote that same phrase to avoid learning correct grammar in the first place. I’m a firm believer that you must know the rules before you bend them. So, here’s a trusty list of my favorite grammar rules. Keep them at your writing workspace, so you can easily refer back to the list any time you get stuck: 1. Use “All right” not “Alright.” Alright isn’t actually a word even though it turns up in a…

  • Commonly Misused Words—and How to Avoid Them

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    We’ve all been there, whether we’re thumb-typing a text (curse you, autocorrect!), drafting a resume, or sending an email to our boss: after hitting “send” we realize we’ve misusing a word that has a doppelganger with a completely different meaning. Just as this happens regularly in everyday communication, commonly misused words regularly litter the pages of the manuscripts that hit our desks (or ping our inboxes). Examples of commonly misused words While editing manuscripts, I like to keep a running list of both cringeworthy and humorous misused words. In recent history, I’ve come across the following incidents: Passed rather than…

  • Grammatical Gray Areas: Subject-Complement Agreement

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    Celebrating National Grammar Day and National Proofreading Day March is a month that calls for grammar nerds—like us—to celebrate. After all, March 4 is National Grammar Day, and March 8 is National Proofreading Day. On days like these, authors, editors, and proofreaders finally get the respect we deserve! (Oddly enough, I’m still waiting for my Grammar and Proofreading Day gifts to come flooding in. . .) In all seriousness, we editors at Xulon Press have a passion for proper grammar usage. To celebrate grammar rules and style, we’d like to discuss a not-so-rare gray area that comes up frequently in…