Edit Nation Blog

Let’s start talking about COMMAS. I am going to dip my toe into the river that is Comma, and take a look at some really obvious, glaring mistakes I see people making with comma use. The first mistake we’re going to look at is the bad habit of putting commas around...

I have presented four editing workshops in the past month. "Before You Even Open Your Mouth," which I presented three times, is specifically for professional speakers. "Write Right, Right Now!" is specifically for authors, and I presented that once. Each workshop...

Rule #1: Don't speak for free. When you do, the organization thinks you're crap. Rule #2: Don't speak in your hometown. One county over, you're like the Second Coming. In your hometown, you ain't chopped liver. I learned those lessons years ago. Learned them, but...

1. 12 REASON WHY YOU SHOULD ATTEND THIS PROGRAM “Reason” should be plural. 2. He is in the development phase of launching a book publishing company which will published and distribute his leadership and business management books, audio and video products. Too awful to...

My newest book, Before You Even Open Your Mouth: The Writing Guide for Professional Speakers, illustrates the need for professional speakers to really pay attention to what they say—in writing. Event planners, potential hosts, potential audience members...people are...

Gosh I get bored reading the same words on everyone's website and in everyone's blogs. Can't we be a little bit more, um, you know, creative? 43 Words and Phrases Whose Time has Come...and GONE. One of the things about being a thought leader is avoiding clichés. Here...

1. Commas are a writer’s best friend – except when she needs a semi-colon. No hyphen in semicolon. 2. An editor is a writer’s indispensible ally. And in my case, they’re part of the same lucky package. Yeah, an editor who can SPELL is a godsend, but one who can’t is...

Just got this little gem in an email: We’re excited to kickoff the summer season with a gathering of the world’s top C-level executives under one roof. Whew! As it happens, I pulled out my trusty copy of Self-Editing for Content Writers, and, lo and behold! I read...

I am thrilled, thrilled, thrilled to announce the publication of my ninth book (Joy!), Before You Even Open Your Mouth: The Writing Guide for Professional Speakers. It has long since been a source of absolute amazement to me to read content from so-called...

It's pretty horrifying to see how many people are marketing themselves as "professional" writers, authors, and editors, and yet can't spell or write a basic American English sentence. Nothing strange or unusual below; tear ’em up! Answers coming soon. 1. Commas are a...

These first 10 sentences are from ONE website! As you edit, don't forget my...enthusiasm...for sentences with more than one mistake in them. 1) We have design immersive environments for clients such as Getty Images, ADOBE, Microsoft, BMI, Ford to name a few. (That was...

Nice group of sentences this time around, with material from content marketers, self-proclaimed professional writers and editors, and a couple of people who don’t know any better (but should). 1) A couple of years ago Christina participated in an online discussion...

Last week I was poking around the website of someone who claims to be an “entrepreneur advisor.” I’m always especially interested in what “advisors” have to say, since, let’s face it, they’ve staked out “best and brightest” territory. You know, people PAY for their...

More error-ridden material from "professional" writers. And don't just stop at one mistake per sentence, either: more than one sentence has more than one mistake! 1) Simply put, It's worth more than your credit card! Improper capitalization: lower case that “I.” 2)...

These first 10 sentences are from ONE website! As you edit, don't forget my...enthusiasm...for sentences with more than one mistake in them. 1) We have design immersive environments for clients such as Getty Images, ADOBE, Microsoft, BMI, Ford to name a few. (That was...

This is easy. “Insure” should only be used in the context of “insurance,” like car insurance, liability insurance, etc. “Ensure” means to make certain. Sadly, I’ve had more than my share of dealing with attorneys this past decade (don’t ask!), and I’ll never forget...

More error-ridden material from "professional" writers. And don't just stop at one mistake per sentence, either: more than one sentence has more than one mistake! 1) Simply put, It's worth more than your credit card! 2) I'll give you a scientifically-proven technique...

1) He worked for Mayflower Bank, a publicly-traded, SEC regulated company with 500 shareholders, for 35 years, serving as President and CEO for the last 20 years. Rule: Never hyphenate an —ly adverb. I would have, however, stuck a hyphen between “SEC” and “regulated.”...

Words that are spelled differently but pronounced the same are called homonyms. My recently published Self-Editing titles (for the Successful Student, the Modern Author, and Content Writers) contain a comprehensive list of hundreds of homonyms. Some homonyms, like...

When you write an article, you are asserting that you have a great deal of experience, authority, and credibility about the subject matter. I think that's a pretty unassailable statement. When you write an article about writing an article and your article has a number...

1) He worked for Mayflower Bank, a publicly-traded, SEC regulated company with 500 shareholders, for 35 years, serving as President and CEO for the last 20 years. 2) At an office job, you will be paid for certain Federal holidays, such as Christmas, New Year’s Day,...

I saw three different websites use the phrase "comprised of" this week, so it's time for a refresher.  Oops, make that four: This council is comprised of executive level security professionals from business, government, education and law enforcement. Oh, let's make...

1) Televerde will be a Titanium Sponsor at this years summit. It’s this year’s, not years. 2) Our customized onsite business writing course is based on this simple principle: give staff the tools they need to write user-friendly and readable documents more efficiently...

EditNATION.com Punctuation and Grammar Quiz #9 Kind of a grab bag this week, with content from all over the map, from eBay to HuffPo to "professional" writers. Most of my material, however, came from one cluster of sites that were written by a "content marketer." I'll...

1) Our team of globally-renowned writers are hand-picked for each project because of their focus and experience on that particular vertical. Rule: “Team” is a collective noun, which means it is always treated as a singular noun, which means it takes a singular verb,...

A couple of weeks ago I joined a LinkedIn group of marketers, thinking I was going to read some brilliant prose. Oh, boy, shock of my life! These people get on and post some of the most poorly punctuated material I've ever read. Even though they don't seem to be...

Another week, another "professional" website to take a look at. These sentences are from a publisher. Yikes! 1) We often receive Manuscripts that require formatting corrections before we can start the editorial and layout processes. What's "manuscripts" doing as a...

  As I think I have mentioned, all these "target" sentences come from websites where a) there is a "best-selling" author in residence, or b) there are professional writers plying their trade. So spiff it up, people! 1) He relies on more than 16 years of public...

Posting biographical information on your website is extremely important, establishing as it does your bona fides and answering the question on everyone's mind: why should I listen to you? If you are found wanting, then your audience will, at best, be skeptical of your...