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.

Want to add punch to your prose? Follow these 55 simple edits and improve your writing forever! Getting readers past page one, despite your ‘explosive, fast paced hitting-the-ground-running opening’, is what this guide is all about. Applying the 55 easy editing steps to your fiction will allow reviewers and readers to evaluate your novel purely on the strength of your story and not on clumsy and weak prose, overuse of adverbs, repetition, and flabbiness. And in the process, you will learn to become an experienced and competent editor. Use these 55 steps to: Find redundant adjectives and overused adverbs Banish boring words Learn dialogue writing Write characters more effectively Discover over thirty overused words and phrases such as that, it, up/down, was/were, had, even, got, etc. Reduce overuse of exclamations and the ellipsis Use italics, quotations, and capitalisation properly Target word pairs and homophones Improve your proofreading and editing skills Handle numbers and time effectively ...And discover more about flow, show not tell, writing tenses, dialogue handling and more. All About Copyediting will not tell you how to write a novel, nor how to write like Tolstoy, or any other author. It will certainly not explain how to write bestselling fiction, how to make money, or guarantee you marketing success. What it will guarantee, is to give your novel the best chance it can get in a tough, competitive, and new publishing world. BUY All About Editing and edit your way to success! REVIEW EXCERPTS "An indispensable guide for amateurs and professionals of any theme of word-based creation." "This is a very useful and easily understandeable guide for new writers trying to self publish" "A very useful tool to have on hand." "A must read for any writer to avoid sending a clanger of a draft to a reviewer or publisher! Great value." "The style is clear and accessible. This is a book that I have found invaluable as I rewrite and revise my fiction drafts. Highly recommended" "...gives you simple, clear rules and 55 easy steps to check your book for. It won't turn a poor writer into a great one, but it will help you avoid common mistakes and give you tools to turn telling into showing" "An extremely useful guide for editing manuscripts, written as a set of editing tips." "This is a great resource for authors. I have used it and it works. I highly recommend this book. Great!"

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

Proofreading and Editing: The Art of Proofreading & Editing Your Manuscript. This author's guidebook describes in simple terms the necessity of proofreading and editing your book's contents and the Importance of Perfection. The book discusses topics such as everyday editing, editors on editing; editing made easy, self editing for writers, proofreading vs. copyediting, and checking your manuscript. Written by bestselling author Dr. Treat Preston, his goal is to provide a simple and easy to follow guidebook that allows authors to master the art of self-editing while they build their careers towards employing professionals. Here is the TABLE OF CONTENTS... DISCLAIMER AND TERMS OF USE AGREEMENT: Introduction - Your Readers Expect The Best Chapter 1 - Perfection Is An Ongoing Process Chapter 2 - Editing Misconceptions Chapter 3 - The Difference Between Proofreading vs. Copyediting Chapter 4 - Text & Proofreading for Foreign Languages Chapter 5 - Proofreader's Marks Chapter 6 - Top Ten Things To Check In Your Manuscript Chapter 7 - The Meaning of Words Lie in the Feelings; Not in the Words! Chapter 8 - Nothing External Will Brand the Human Heart I Have a Special Gift for My Readers Meet the Authors Any person attempting to earn a living as an author of any genre needs to read this book. It is an enlightening read and a book that should be in every author's personal library.