Learn how best-selling authors proofread their manuscripts to avoid typos, inconsistencies, inaccuracies, and errors in punctuation, usage, grammar, and spelling. Proofreading Secrets of Best-Selling Authors, by professional freelance author, editor, and proofreader Kathy Ide, is the essential go-to tool for aspiring and experienced writers and editors. This book includes all of the material from Ide's popular Polishing the PUGS book (now out of print), with added PUGS guidelines and helpful tips from multi-published authors on how to catch typos and other common mistakes. In Proofreading Secrets of Best-Selling Authors, Kathy Ide identifies the industry-standard references for books, magazines, and newspapers (which are different from the guidelines for other types of writing, such as college term papers). Using these official references, she highlights the most common mistakes writers make in the areas of punctuation, usage, grammar, and spelling (for which she uses the acronym PUGS). She also includes guidelines from The Christian Writer's Manual of Style for authors and editors who work in the inspirational market.

Successful writers spend a lot more time editing than they do writing. They know that first drafts need extensive revisions to ensure their stories or messages come across clearly and effectively. In this book you'll find a wealth of suggestions from best-selling authors who have studied editing techniques and implemented them in their books, which have touched the hearts and lives of readers around the world. If you're an aspiring, beginning, or intermediate writer, this book will help you polish your manuscript and get it ready for publication. If you're an established author, these tips can help you edit other writers' manuscripts, either in a critique group setting or as an editorial freelancer.

How many reference books do you have on your desk? A couple of dictionaries, several grammar books, two or three style guides? Wouldn't it be nice if you could have just one go-to book for all your editing needs? Well, now you can! Freelance editor Kathy Ide highlights the most common mistakes writers make in the areas of Punctuation, Usage, Grammar, and Spelling: PUGS. With punctuation rules from The Chicago Manual of Style (the industry-standard reference for books) and The Associated Press Stylebook (for newspaper articles), spelling and usage from the dictionaries recommended by both style guides, plus grammar tips from A Dictionary of Modern American Usage and The Wordwatcher's Guide to Good Grammar & Word Usage , this book has it all. There are even guidelines from The Christian Writer's Manual of Style for those who write for the inspirational market. This 2nd edition incorporates the changes made in The Chicago Manual of Style's 16th edition (© 2010). It's also been expanded to include issues that writers have mentioned they'd like to see addressed in the new Polishing the PUGS . If what you're looking for isn't in this book, and you have to look up a rule or a spelling, you can jot down what you find in the spaces provided throughout Polishing the PUGS. That way you'll have it at your fingertips the next time you need it. No matter what kind of writing you do, this book will help you polish your work in record time, leaving you more hours-and more desk space-to write.

This is a guide to freelance proofreading and copy-editing, with examples of proof correction marks and exercises with corrections supplied.

"Do I capitalize north or not? When should church be capitalized and when should it be lowercased? What about earth? Or master's degree?" If you often find yourself asking such questions while proofreading your manuscript or someone else's, you'll find the answers right here. Kathy Ide's Capitalization Dictionary is an alphabetical list of words that writers and editors often wonder about when it comes to capitalization rules. Different reference books sometimes have different guidelines, so the Capitalization Dictionary identifies whether a word is capitalized or lowercased according to these industry-standard reference books: - The Chicago Manual of Style - Merriam-Webster's Collegiate Dictionary - The Associated Press Stylebook - Webster's New World College Dictionary - The Christian Writer's Manual of Style

Turn your knack for language into a lucrative career Must-know techniques and resources for maximizing your accuracy and speed Interested in becoming a copyeditor or proofreader? Want to know more about what each job entails? This friendly guide helps you position yourself for success. Polish your skills, build a winning résumé and land the job you've always wanted. Books, magazines, Web sites, corporate documents - find out how to improve any type of publication and make yourself indispensable to writers, editors, and your boss. Balance between style and rules Master the art of the query Use proofreader symbols Edit and proof electronic documents Build a solid freelancing career

"Editing your own writing can feel like doing your own brain surgery.?"After you've completed your manuscript and you're standing at the foot of Revision Mountain, climbing to the summit can feel impossible. It's hard to look at your own writing with the objective eye needed to shape it into a tight, polished, publishable story-but just like writing, self-editing is a skill you can learn.Developmental editor Tiffany Yates Martin has spent her career in the publishing industry honing practical, actionable techniques to help authors evaluate how well their story is working, where it might not be, and how to fix it.With a clear, accessible, user-friendly approach, she leads writers through every step of deepening and elevating their own work, as well as how to approach the edit and develop their "editor brain," and how to solicit and process feedback. Intuitive Editing doesn't offer one-size-fits-all advice or rigid writing "rules"; instead it helps authors discover what works for their story and their style-to find the best version of their vision. Whether you're writing fiction, narrative nonfiction, or memoir; whether this your first story or your fiftieth, Intuitive Editing will give you the tools you need to edit and revise your own writing with inspiration, motivation, and confidence. Tiffany Yates Martin has spent nearly thirty years as an editor in the publishing industry, working with major publishers and bestselling authors as well as newer writers. She's led workshops and seminars for conferences and writers' groups across the country and is a frequent contributor to writers' sites and publications. Visit her at www.foxprinteditorial.com.

Not loaded with theory, Skip's invaluable book contains concise, easily understood and applied advice for both writing and marketing any kind of book, article, story, play, screen-play, report, proposal or anything else you can think of.How to Write What You Want and Sell What You Write is for every writer or wannabe who needs to sort out his or her desires, capabilities and strengths and, even more importantly, learn the particular formats for the kind of writing in which he or she is interested.

Becoming an author is a prestigious accomplishment. It has many advantages. It demonstrates your vast knowledge in a domain and establishes you as a thought leader. The New York Times quotes a research, which states that over 81% of people polled wanted to author a book. However, the reality is different. The majority of us never realize this dream. This book offers perfect solutions, tips and techniques to help you get your book out. It contains a comprehensive compendium of advice from authors who have won prestigious literary awards such as the Nobel Prize for Literature, Man Booker Prize and the Pulitzer Prize and have cumulatively sold multiple millions of copies. The goal of this book is to help you realize your long-term dream to write and publish a book.

An essential tool for writers, editors, proofreaders, designers, copywriters, production managers, and marketers too.The Christian Writer’s Manual of Style is an essential tool not only for writers of religious materials, but for their editors, proofreaders, designers, copywriters, production managers, and even marketers. Rather than simply repeating style information commonly available in standard references, this newly updated and expanded edition includes points of grammar, punctuation, usage, book production and design, and written style that are often overlooked in other manuals. It focuses on information relating to the unique needs and demands of religious publications, such as discussions on how to correctly quote the Bible, how to capitalize and use common religious terms, and how to abbreviate the books of the Bible and other religious words. Also included are rarely found items such as:• an author’s guide to obtaining permissions• guidelines for using American, British, and Mid-Atlantic styles• discussions of inclusive language, profanity, and ethnic sensitivities• discussions of Internet and computer-related language style• a list of problem words• style issues regarding words from major world religions• a discussion of handling brand names in text• a list of common interjections• issues of type design, paper, copy-fitThis edition has been completely updated since the 1988 edition and contains more than twice as much information as the previous edition. This is the most detailed and comprehensive guide of its kind.