The Persnickety Proofreader

I invite you to join me in the nine-month novena to Our Lady of Guadalupe for the salvation of souls.

We Need Our Lady’s Protection | Cardinal Burke’s Important Message Cardinal Burke is calling upon all Catholics to join him in a significant novena seeking Our Lady’s intercession. Our Lady has not forgotten her children: he...

I talked with my sister last night and she told me about a GoFundMe campaign for a set of three-months-premature twins. I don't recall the specifics (it's always kind of a crap shoot when talking with Ave, especially after dark), but apparently Dad is taking time away from work to stay home with the couple's one-year-old so Mom can be at the hospital with the newborns. Here's the site if you feel inclined to help out.

Gayle and Giovanni, organized by Makenzie Stafford So hey everyone, February 12th we were hit with an unexpected turn. Our twins, Gayle and Giovann… Makenzie Stafford needs your support for Gayle and Giovanni

I needed a good laugh, so I checked my sales stats on Amazon for Brothers By Betrayal. Here's how the Kindle version is doing thus far:

Today's the day! Brothers By Betrayal is now available for sale!

Brothers By Betrayal (Sheldon Family Saga) Brothers By Betrayal (Sheldon Family Saga)

Brothers By Betrayal goes on sale January 30.

Brothers By Betrayal (Sheldon Family Saga) Brothers By Betrayal (Sheldon Family Saga)

Merry, merry Christmas, one and all!

This should have a question mark, but since it's the holidays, I'll let it slide.

Save the dates... March 6 through 9, 2024. The Women In Publishing Summit 2024 takes place live, all over the world. I'll be there and it'd be great to see you there, too! Read all about the summit and get your tickets here:

2024 Women In Publishing Summit AFF | Women in Publishing Summit Join us for the 2024 Women in Publishing Summit, an event for women authors, publishers, and publishing industry professionals.

"Tastefully Tansi," the Lake Tansi Exchange Club cookbook, is back from the printer and is now available for purchase.

You get 200+ recipes and the satisfaction of knowing 100% of your purchase price goes toward preventing child abuse in Cumberland County. Cookbooks are $17.50 each. To reserve your copy, email [email protected]. "Tastefully Tansi" makes a great Christmas gift for the culinary enthusiast on your list.

Our speaking engagement last week went so much better than I expected.

Thanks for the Advice. Here’s How It Went I love you guys! So many of you commented on Facebook and messaged me privately about how to approach our guest-speaking engagement with my friend’s sixth-grade language arts students. I really app…

I’ve been invited to address a class of sixth graders about writing. Any helpful tips would be greatly appreciated.

My First Author Talk to a Class of Middle Schoolers A friend who teaches language arts in a local school recently invited my illustrator and me to speak to her sixth graders about the art, craft and process of writing and illustrating a children’s b…

On behalf of editors everywhere, we offer this advice…

On Behalf of Editors Everywhere… On behalf of editors everywhere, I’d like to offer a simple, helpful tip. Never attempt to do anything on behalf of yourself. Why? To speak or act on behalf of someone is to speak or act in place o…

Here's a helpful tip for authors about to engage an editor or proofreader.

Proofreading Tip: Ensure Consistency in Little Things When writing, it’s important to be consistent… especially when it comes to details – and particularly with regard to punctuation. One issue I encounter in working with authors concerns style consis…

Happy Easter from The Persnickety Proofreader! Enjoy this dive into the etymology of a common culinary term.

It’s a Soap Additive… No, It’s a Cooking Ingredient… No, It’s— Hmm, Maybe I Should Consider Shortening This Title While reading through my favorite Easter bread recipe (okay, you caught me; it’s my only Easter bread recipe!), I got to wondering about the etymology of the term “shortening.” Where did it come fr…

Just back from the Tennessee Mountain Writers conference in Oak Ridge, I'd like to share a writing prompt I particularly enjoyed. It was terrific fun... and a great cure for writer's block!

Jack and Jill Redux I’ve just returned from the Tennessee Mountain Writers annual conference in Oak Ridge. While it wasn’t the most scintillating literary event I’ve attended in my writing and editing career, this yea…

It’s time for another discourse about the downslide of the English language.

Does This Drive Anyone Else Crazy? Or Is It Just Me? Call it my inevitable downslide into curmudgeonhood, but increasing misuse of English drives me batty. I cringe when I listen to the news these days or just hear snippets of folks’ conversations. I…

When it comes to writing, don’t go it alone. Developing a sense of community is crucial for writers.

The Importance of Fostering Community for Writers Writing is a largely solitary endeavor. As such, it’s crucial for us writer types to develop a sense of community with our fellow writers. Years ago, when I wrote full time from home, with only my …

In some ways, editing is kind of like gardening. This week, we offer six tips for taming your manuscript.

Six Basic Steps to Taming Your Manuscript Many times, authors – especially first-timers – type “The End” on a first draft and naïvely declare themselves ready to publish. They sign up with a self-publishing outlet, upload a few files and –…

The Women in Publishing Summit is in the rearview mirror. So, what happens next?

The Women in Publishing Summit Is Over… Now What? Alexa Bigwarfe has done it again: another marvelously successful and highly informative Women in Publishing Summit. It wrapped up yesterday and if you weren’t there, you missed out on a remarkable …

Sometimes you’ve just got to manage your own promotion efforts. Here’s how I’ve been doing that. And it's been working... I've already sold three dozen copies of a children's book that hasn't officially been published yet.

Shameless Self Promotion 101 In my life as an author, I’m constantly learning to promote myself and my work. With each book I release, I learn a new way to generate sales. As I do, I explore new marketing avenues and develop m…

Ever wonder why editors cringe when we see someone write "Please RSVP" on an invitation? This week, The Persnickety Proofreader takes a look at this – and other commonly used redundancies.

And Now This… From the Department of Redundancy Department I get ideas for these posts at the most unlikely times. This one coalesced in my sleepy cranium as I was drifting off several nights ago. I’d been pondering a recent invitation I’d gotten and thoug…

Today's the last day to use your savings code 50OFFWIP23 to save $100 off the WIP Summit. ($50 for early bird pricing, an extra $50 with the coupon code.)

Women in Publishing Summit 2023 | Women in Publishing Summit Join us at the next virtual conference!Day(s):Hour(s):Minute(s):Second(s)Join Us Virtually March 1-4, 2023The biggest virtual event for women in the publishing industry!Over 40 workshops for Nonfiction/General, Fiction, and Children's book authors!This event is for: authors, editors, publishers, mar...

Brain fog has set in and I had nothing to write about… until I remembered a language-related childhood limerick.

New Cats and Nonstandard English Confession time. As of 10:25 p.m. CST on Sunday, February 12, I had no idea what to write about. I’ve been pretty much unable to focus since we lost Tab last week. Not to mention we’ve adopted seve…

Have you ever heard of literary Easter eggs? Even if the name sounds unfamiliar, you’re probably acquainted with the concept.

Easter Eggs as a Literary Device A member of a writers group I belong to brought up an interesting topic yesterday: Easter eggs. Not the kind a giant rabbit distributes all willy-nilly on the first Sunday after the first full moon…

The sixth annual Women in Publishing Summit is fast approaching. Have you got your ticket yet?

Global Women in Publishing Summit Returns March 1-4 Mark your calendars: It’s registration time for the sixth annual Women in Publishing Summit! This year’s event promises to be one of the best yet, with 40-plus speakers over a four-day period, from…

The computers are taking over… well, sort of. Check out my first foray into the waters of AI-assisted blogging.

Ai-ai-ai! It’s AI! I subscribe to a weekly newsletter from a woman in Sweden whose work I first encountered through a children’s book-writing summit last year. Last week she mentioned the infiltration of artificial i…