Who should edit my book?

Choosing your editor, be it for your book, thesis or business blog, takes thought. Consider: qualificationsIt's been easy for someone to say 'I was good at English at school, I'll be a good editor'. Things have changed since then: common usage, readers' expectations and new ways of communicating over-ride so many of the 'old rules'.Ask … Continue reading Who should edit my book?

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Plain English – what are the business benefits?

Your nonfiction writing will shine when you include principles of Plain English.

Laura Ripper | Copy-editing and Proofreading

A picture of a piggybank

If you run a business, you probably know that customers appreciate clear communication. They want to be able to find important information quickly – for example, about products and services, how to find you or how to return an item they’ve bought. Direct, concise and jargon-free text saves them time, frustration and effort. It gives your customers a better experience of working with you.

But what are the benefits for you – and your company? How can writing in plain English help you achieve your business goals, such as making a profit or building your brand? Is communicating clearly anything more than ‘doing the right thing’?

Using plain English can help your business in three main ways:

  1. It saves money
  2. It saves time
  3. It builds your reputation

It saves money

– and it makes money, too.

If your marketing materials, letters and newsletters present information clearly, your customers are more…

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What’s wrong with the passive voice?

Ways to reduce stuffiness in business and nonfiction writing.
Perhaps it’s time to check your writing – and ask for help if you need help coming up with non-stuffiness.

Stroppy Editor

Michael Gove, the Education Secretary, has joined the Campaign Against the Passive Voice. He follows in the footsteps of Strunk and White (whose section on the passive voice, while more nuanced than many people recognise, is calamitously misleading) and of George Orwell (who complained about the passive while using it extensively himself, even in the same sentence as his complaint).

The campaign isn’t wholly wrong, but it goes too far and it doesn’t properly understand the problem. The passive voice is often better than the active, and its overuse is usually a symptom of something else.

What’s the difference?

Roughly: in the active voice, the agent performing the action is the grammatical subject of the sentence and the recipient of the action is the grammatical object. The passive voice switches this around, making the recipient of the action the grammatical subject and the agent the object. Passive verbs are formed…

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Is “Alright” Ever Alright? – Guest Post by Kathy Steinemann…

Useful insights primarily for fiction writers, although we nonfiction writers and editors will learn something too.
Enjoy … and share your comments.

Chris The Story Reading Ape's Blog

Image Source: Dictionary.com

According to EtymOnline.com, alright was attested in print by 1884.

Writers argue about its use. Some insist it’s appropriate, while others stand on the no-nada-nix-never soapbox.

Who is correct? This post will try to clear the confusion.

What do the experts say?

I searched several sources and found the following results.

No, alright is unacceptable.

Painless Grammar, by Rebecca Elliott, PhD

The Chicago Manual of Style

AP Stylebook

Lapsing into a Comma, by Bill Walsh

All right is the only form listed.

The Synonym Finder, by J. I. Rodale

Elements of Style, by William Strunk Jr.

Alright is informal or nonstandard and less acceptable than all right.

Dictionary.com

Merriam-Webster.com

Dictionary.Cambridge.org

OxfordDictionaries.com

MacMillanDictionary.com

YourDictionary.com

CollinsDictionary.com

TheFreeDictionary.com

My hunt through several Ray Bradbury e-books found no instances of alright.

After more research…

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