Edit Nation Blog

I'm writing two books right now—Comma Common Sense and Happy Hyphens (a tentative title)—and am collecting examples of how not to use commas and hyphens. Where could I go to collect examples faster than to the referral organization to which I belong and look at its...

I've noticed an uptick in "up" words that are, well, they are stupid. We've already discussed the inanity of "up-skill." Who thought up that gem? Just now, however, on a deplorably messy site, I found another "uppity" nonstarter: up-level. Perhaps it's not as stupid...

You know, I'm beyond "over" smug people who are "authors." You watch someone swank around saying, "I'm a published author," or "I'm a bestselling author," and then you pick up his or her book and the book is littered with mistakes! Or you visit some "coaching" site, a...

Sure, taken individually, the #1 editing mistake is not knowing its from it's. That's a super-sloppy mistake, since spellcheck invariably places a gee-I'm-just-a-computer-so-you-should-probably-check-this blue line under the its/it's, and only the most arrogant of...

So there I was, sitting at the last luncheon of a 5-day conference, minding my own business, when suddenly a manuscript was thrust into my hands by a tablemate...right as the chicken was being served! Well, I put down my fork and, more to be polite than anything else,...

When you are a "professional" speaker and (supposedly) a rock star author/publisher and marketing "expert," you just don't make this bush league mistake on the—I guess you'd call it a "caption"—caption of your online profile. The bush league mistake I'm referring to...

...then you see this. Ugh! Ouch! Nooooo! We will be selecting the speaker who we feel will deliver what the session requires to upskill the audience. "Upskill"? What genius thought of that? Upskilling? Upskilled? She is a dynamic speaker who routinely upskills a...

Please don't tout your bona fides as a "thought leader" and "visionary" and then string together two sentences like these: Our team is comprised of thoughtful, hard-working individuals, but we know we're not perfect. Here's what we're working on everyday to deliver a...

I do a lot of public speaking. You know, like when "the public" can come in to your program. Not when you're speaking in a conference, when 1500 people have to choose between your workshop and two others. Not when you're speaking to a group like the PEO or DAR, when...

I was poking around tonight, looking at "web developers" (and I use that term loosely) and their sites. Now, I'm not trying to be a you-know-what, but I quickly put together eight pages in a new "More BAD Sentences" list, and these sentences will appear in quizzes...

Sometimes your press can be so good it's (almost) embarrassing. Cough, cough! Liz Coursen is coming! Yes, the rumors are true - Liz Coursen is coming back to our Library District! She will be at the Headquarters library Saturday, July 22 at 10:30 am to present on Cats...

If you run with a crowd of people who spout clichés, chances are good you'll think clichés are cool. Think again, my friend. Clichés aren't au courant; oh, no, clichés are passé. That's what makes 'em clichés! I thought I'd publish this list, which has been included...

As someone who is toting around a smidgen of unnecessary weight, I make sure my sentences are sleek and streamlined. So, let me ask you: What's the difference between "sleek" and "streamlined"? Answer: Not enough. (Actually, the two words are pretty much synonymous.)...

You may refine your search by selecting a specific "Event Type". In addition, he is a Certified Trainer and hold a Credential for Leadership Training. Alan is an international creative thinking consultant with 40 years hands-on experience around the globe. If your...

This is a biggie. Are you sitting down? Our group is comprised of professional speakers who are enthusiastic, dynamic and want to elevate our businesses to the next level. No, no, a thousand times no! Never, ever say "comprised of." It's "composed of" in this...

You know, I like Key lime pie. In fact, it's my favorite flavor of pie, but I only eat it if the graham cracker crust is homemade. No store-bought Key lime pie for me! So I was pretty excited about a Key lime pie recipe I found in a local magazine. Until I read the...

Hey, everyone! Are you confused about when to use "fewer" and when to use "less"? Here's the way I remember the difference: Fewer snowflakes, less snow. "Fewer" is used when you can count something, and "less" is used when you can't. Simple? Simple! So these two...

This is one disgusting group of sentences, and, frankly, I wish I'd never laid eyes on 'em. Makes me grumpy. He wrote:  “Diabetes And Your Diet” (#1 best seller and International Book Awards 2017, Winner), “How To Be A Healthy Vegetarian” (now in it’s 2nd edition,  a...

Ah, the old "hyphen-versus-dash" confusion reared its ugly head again, and again, and again at a conference I attended this weekend. And, friends, it was ugly indeed. There is a vast gulf between a dash and a hyphen, and so I am going to set the record straight, right...

He wrote:  "Diabetes And Your Diet" (#1 best seller and International Book Awards 2017, Winner), "How To Be A Healthy Vegetarian" (now in it's 2nd edition,  a best seller and two-time finalist of 2 Indie Book Awards, and awarded finalist in the International Book...

Original content: We also provide managed business services should you choose to partner with us. We believe that managed services allows us to more closely work with you and stay more involved in decision making and problem solving. Unlike traditional services that...

You want to always remember the difference between "fewer" and "less"? Here's the trick: Fewer snowflakes, less snow. This is not original, and I wish I could remember where I read this nifty quote so I could properly express my appreciation to its creator, but all I...

Yes, I continue to praise the serial comma! I firmly believe that each item in a list should be separated, and the demarcation between the starting of one item and its conclusion should be clearly shown to a reader. The easiest way to make sure your reader understands...

I don't know anything about chiropractic, thankfully, but I recently was hired to edit website content for a chiropractor. Part of the deal is to research various industry-specific terms, spellings, capitalizations, and so on, so I looked around the internet....

It's always surprising when someone brags and brags about his or her accomplishments as a writer ('international," "best-selling," "award-winning," etc.) and includes a basic punctuation mistake, like this one, which was made twice in paragraph: As an...

What's the matter with the content below? We also provide managed business services should you choose to partner with us. We believe that managed services allows us to more closely work with you and stay more involved in decision making and problem solving. Unlike...

Wow, you want to confuse a reader right out of the gate? Well, here's an easy, no-brainer way to do it: Use the same pronoun to refer to different things in a sentence. This is a great, nay, inspirational example from an "internationally famous, best-selling" author...

Relax and enjoy Florida at it's finest in this one-of-a kind amazing home. Ick. It’s its, not it’s; the last hyphen is missing in “one-of-a-kind”; and “amazing” and “one-of-a-kind” are coordinate nouns and so need a comma between them. 2. Its a combination of hardware...

I'm on a couple of "best-selling author" mailing lists, and, I'm telling you what...they send me incorrect copy at their peril. I especially don't like an "international best-selling author" who sends me copy that's TIME-SENSITIVE with a nasty typo, like this one: On...

Most of the time, you hyphenate a compound adjective when it precedes the noun it modifies, like so: I need a full-time assistant. You do not hyphenate a compound adjective when it follows the noun it modifies, like this: I need an assistant full time. So, my friends,...