Ever get confused about the past participle or past tense of the verb “learn”? The answer actually depends on where you live. “Learned” is used in the United States and Canada, while “learnt” is the British word.
Is It “Learned” or “Learnt”? Read More »
Wanna learn a new word today? How about “bivouac”? According to Merriam-Webster, a bivouac is a usually temporary encampment under little or no shelter. Bivouac can also be a verb, meaning to camp, to take shelter often temporarily, or to provide temporary quarters for.
Let’s Learn a New Word (12/20/21) Read More »
Do you know what the word “supernal” means? According to Merriam-Webster, supernal means being or coming from on high; heavenly; ethereal; superlatively good; located in or belonging to the sky.
Let’s Learn a New Word (12/10/21) Read More »
Here’s a quick but useful apostrophe rule that’s good to be familiar with. If two people possess something together, consider them a single unit and place the ‘s after the second person’s name. Here’s an example: Rick and Janet are married. Rick and Janet’s new couch was extremely comfortable; that’s why they purchased it. Alternatively,
Apostrophes and Collective Ownership Read More »
How many definitions of “mum” do you know? There may be more than you think. (There were certainly more than I knew.) As always, these come from Merriam-Webster. “Mum” is the chiefly British spelling of “mom.” It’s also a flower. But those are easy. Did you know that it’s also a strong ale or beer?
I recently had a client tell me that they use Grammarly on their manuscripts after I send them a completed copyedit. This inspired me to say something about trusting your editors. Grammarly is a great tool, but if a writer is so keen on using it, it really should be *before* a manuscript is sent
On Trusting Your Editors Read More »
A cousin asked me on Thanksgiving how I handle pushback from authors when I suggest edits they don’t like. I think this merits a brief discussion. Pushback happens all the time. Sometimes an author doesn’t like a Chicago Manual of Style (CMoS) rule, or they feel strongly about a way they have decided to do
On Author Pushback Read More »
Wanna learn a new word today? How about sea change? According to Merriam-Webster, the archaic definition of a sea change is a change brought about by the sea. More interestingly, this term nowadays refers to a marked change or transformation.
Let’s Learn a New Word (11/18/21) Read More »
I don’t plan to sign in to Upwork again. Why? Facebook does the same thing better without even trying. I created an Upwork account earlier this year when I was struggling to find proofreading work. I found lots of tips online about how to become a successful freelancer on the platform. But even after applying
Why I Don’t Plan to Sign In to Upwork Again Read More »
Wanna learn a new word today? How about inure? According to Merriam-Webster, as a transitive verb, “inure” means accustomed to accepting something undesirable. The example it gives is this: children inured to violence. As an intransitive verb, inure means to become of advantage. This example is as follows: policies that inure to the benefit of
Let’s Learn a New Word (11/16/21) Read More »