Tag Archives: editing

How (Not) to Write a Novel

I always sing author Quanie Miller‘s praises because she’s such an outstanding writer. In fact, I did a fun and interesting interview with her in 2013 about her premier book It Ain’t Easy Being Jazzy. As the owner of Proof … Continue reading

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eBook Plague – Errors Aplenty

“Annoying.” “Very irritating.” These are just a couple of the most common descriptives readers are using when talking about their frustrations with the numerous errors in e-books. These readers are asking Amazon and other e-book distributors for refunds without finishing … Continue reading

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Hot Today, Cold Tamale…Another Menu Misspelling

Restaurant menus are fertile grounds for misspellings that are either funny or create double entendres. This one actually gave its customers the wrong impression, as the entire dish was hot: The funny thing is that “chili” was used in almost … Continue reading

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“Do You Pop Out At Parties?” And Other Odd Phrasings

Some of you will recognize the title quote, “Do you pop out at parties?”,  from the classic TV show I Love Lucy. But to many others, it sounds like a terrible wardrobe malfunction. And that’s why it was a terrible advertising … Continue reading

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Tuxedoed Writing

Will Rogers, Jr. once advised a fellow actor, “Don’t ever take a dramatic lesson. They will try to put your voice in a dinner jacket, and people like their hominy and grits in everyday clothes.” The actor – Dale Robertson … Continue reading

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How Many Bananas?

  The saddest misprint is a huge misprint. I found this mistake on a huge banner at a picnic event, and the sentence above was, unfortunately, one of the selling points of the product. The “e” has been left off … Continue reading

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Falling In Love Can Be Dangerous

As writers, we love what we do. Let’s face it – if we weren’t passionate about it, would we pour our hearts and souls onto page after page, into book after book, not knowing if anyone else will share our … Continue reading

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Proofreading 101: The “Mined” Chicken Incident

Here’s a fun little typo from a restaurant menu – it insinuates that the chicken was actually mined, the way diamonds or gold would be. Funny, I always thought that chickens were farmed, not mined! 😉 That proofreading error – “mined” … Continue reading

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Be Careful How You Flash Those Descriptives…

I was reading a take-out restaurant menu when I came across this description – look at the orange word on the first line: “Homely” vegetarian food? In America, that would insinuate “plain, unattractive” food. I’m sure that’s not what they … Continue reading

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