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From Karen Saunders

Your Branding, Marketing & Self-Publishing Coach



Archive for the ‘grammar’ Category

July 28th, 2016 | By: Karen Saunders

Why Use Active Verbs Instead of Passive?

Why Use Active Verbs Instead of Passive? This is part 3 of a 3-part series by my team editor Barbara McNichol on communicating clearly and writing like a pro. During the summer months of June, July and August, I’ll post a 3-part series on helpful writing tips by Barbara.  You’ve probably been urged to use active verbs when you write but do you know why? Because sentences written with active verbs: Clearly spell out the action being performed and who is doing it. Convey the ideas more quickly and directly than passive sentences. Frequently require fewer words than passive sentences when space is limited. Two clues help you identify “passive” use…

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June 26th, 2016 | By: Karen Saunders

Communicating Clearly: Choose Words with Intention Every Time

Communicating Clearly. This is part 2 of a 3-part series by my team editor Barbara McNichol on communicating clearly and writing like a pro. During the summer months of June, July and August, I’ll post a 3-part series on helpful writing tips by Barbara.  Do you find that at times the spoken language slides into your writing, but often the words selected aren’t the exact fit for what you mean? Do you have trouble communicating clearly in your prose? Consider these sentences: How many executives do what they feel will win approval? The public feels certain people shouldn’t be in the workforce. Given the context, is “feel” the correct word to express the…

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May 28th, 2016 | By: Karen Saunders

Better Writing: When to Use “Like” vs. “Such As”

Better writing skills: My team editor Barbara McNichol is passionate about teaching self-publishers how to write like a pro. During the summer months of June, July and August, I’ll post a 3-part series on helpful writing tips by Barbara.    Have you ever wondered about the distinction between “like” or “such as” in your writing? Here are two phrases to consider: . . . the answers that so-called geniuses like / such as Newton seem to embody. . . . centuries of innovations like / such as the airplane and the space shuttle have resulted. In these examples, “such as” is preferred over “like” because the word…

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June 28th, 2015 | By: Karen Saunders

When to Use Contractions in a Book Manuscript

I recently received a query from a subscriber who asked me to weigh in on a contraction conundrum. This author wanted to know if it was acceptable to use contractions in a book manuscript. I asked my teammate and award-winning book editor Barbara McNichol for her take on this issue. Here’s the definition of a contraction: Two words that have been contracted (pulled together) into one word. E.g., let’s (let us), he’d (he had), we’re (we are), etc. This author wrote: My latest (4th) book is coming out in September. I just got the edits back from my publisher. I…

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February 27th, 2011 | By: Karen Saunders

3 Steps to Take the Heat Off Grammar Mistakes

This article on avoiding grammar mistakes is written by Barbara McNichol, a member of my creative team. Barbara is an expert editor and author of Word Trippers available in Kindle format at Amazon.com. She has edited numerous award-winning and best-selling books. Here’s her article: Did you know grammatical errors are a hot topic? Yes! I learned that when a blog post about writing connected with Ezine Articles took a subject close to my heart and made it relevant to everyone. Within 24 hours of posting an article about 6 grammatical errors that make authors look unprofessional, this blog post received 776…

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January 30th, 2008 | By: Karen Saunders

Self-Published Authors: Essential Tips from an Award-Winning Editor

My guest writer today is award-winning writer and editor, Barbara McNichol. As writers, we can get caught up in an idea or feel particularly attached to a word or phrase. Our writing can suffer as a result. When editing your own manuscript, dare to be brutally honest with yourself. To help you, here’s a list of tips and techniques for steering clear of common pitfalls and strengthening your manuscript along the way. An editor will ask these questions: Is every word, phrase, sentence, paragraph, section, and chapter necessary? Is the message clearly understood? Can your ideas be expressed more simply? Miracles do…

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