I received my first edits from Cerridwen Press yesterday and got to work. That big "whew" you heard around the world was me. When I first saw the numbered list, my heart sank...then I saw what most of the changes were. 95% (and yes, I did the math) were delete comma or hyphen issues. It's the other 5% that's going to take some work.
So why did I, an editor myself, have so many grammar issues? Two reasons. First, I simply can NOT edit my own stuff. Yes, I can get it done better than a lot of writers, but I do miss a lot. I see (or hear) what I *think* is there and not what is actually on the paper. Secondly, I'm from the old school in grammar. If there was a pause in reading, you put in a comma. If there was a prepositional phrase, you put in commas. If there was a conjunction like 'but', you put in a comma. But it seems that's not done anymore. That's okay. It's easy to take them out. It just looks strange to me. But I'll adapt. :)
Today's teaser: Write a short "How to" piece on something you know how to do well. Do you know how to pick out wine? Build a better mousetrap? Once you've written it, do some research and find a magazine or e-zine where you can market it.
Today's Thought: "Getting published is about sheer perserverance, as well as about talent and hard work." - Martha Johnson
2 comments:
How to: write a really short comment on a blog.
Step 1: Write a really short comment. Try to keep it witty or insightful. Avoid obvious trolling topics.
Step 2: Publish it.
...That's it. Nothing more to see. Move it along.
I'm not allowed to use semicolons with either of my publishers *sniff*.
Post a Comment