Literary Agents and Getting Published
Literary agents – who needs 'em? A word about literary agents and getting published. If you want to be a traditionally published author you have my very best wishes and [...]
COPY-EDITOR’S PREJUDICE
Secret Vice Revealed I have proofread and edited hundreds of books: novels, biographies, histories, technical, legal and some which defeat categorisation. I have ghost-written a few and penned a couple [...]
BOOKER SHORTLIST 2015
This year's Man Booker Prize shortlist has just been announced, and there are perhaps some surprising omissions. Here are the six shortlisted titles: Marlon James, A Brief History of Seven [...]
PROOFREADING PRELIMS
Who Proofreads Prelims? The pages of a book which precede the first chapter (if it has chapters) are called the prelims. Maybe you have not given them too much thought, [...]
COPY-EDITING STOPS
Punctuation and Style A writer's style is a brand. A voice. A unique signature. The copy-editor and proofreader when they are learning their craft are shown that the author's style is [...]
WRITING AND GRAMMAR TIPS
Short Sentences Writers, editors and proofreaders should not be afraid of short sentences. They can be effective. They convey meaning directly. They carry no fat. Fear of the short sentence [...]