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Sunday, December 29, 2013

A US Copy Editor's Perspective: Frequently Misspelled Words


As an author, blogger and copy editor, I have a close and continuing interaction with Merriam-Webster's Collegiate Dictionary, Eleventh Edition (Web11), as my US spelling guide and The Chicago Manual of Style, Sixteenth Edition (16CMS), as my US grammar reference.

Should 16CMS and Web11 ever contradict, 16CMS rulesparticularly 16CMS 7.85 which overrides some Web11 spellings. Also Microsoft Word (MSWord) does not strictly follow Web11 (except for maybe its 2013 update, which I understand allows you to select Web11 as your default dictionary). Just because MSWord's spell-check program accepts a word as valid doesn't make it necessarily so.

Note that the first Web11 entry is the preferred spelling.

Our English language is full of exceptions and surprises, even when comparing the UK standard to our usage in the States. Here are just a few of the words I find most often misspelled:

toward [Web11's preferred spelling is without a terminal S]
backward
forward
downward
upward
backyard (n/adj)
seat belt (n)
rib cage (n)
mind-set (n)
hardworking (adj)
knelt [preferred over “kneeled”]
lit [preferred over “lighted”]
by-product (n)
side-by-side (adj)
side by side (adv)
naive [the unaccented version is preferred by Web11]
formfitting (adj)
halfhearted (adj)
heavyset (adj)
facade [the unaccented version is preferred by Web11]
oversize (adj) [note the absence of a terminal D]
heads-up (n)
T-shirt (n/adj) [note the initial cap T]
teenage (adj) [note the absence of a terminal D]



"If your vocation isn’t a vacation, then quit, leap, change careers."

Denise Barker, Author, Blogger, Copy Editor
Books that Build Character(s)


What lies behind you and what lies in front of you pales in comparison to what lies inside of you. Ralph Waldo Emerson
When you give someone a book, you don’t give him just paper, ink, and glue.  You give him the possibility of a whole new life. Christopher Morley
The best inheritance you can leave your kids is an example of how to live a full and meaningful life. Dan Zadra

Wednesday, December 25, 2013

A US Copy Editor's Perspective: Paragraph Lengths


In General

As already discussed in an earlier post, vary your paragraph lengths. Variety is one of the six basic human needs. So mix it up. Long sentences are more appropriate for languid musings. Same for paragraphs. Whereas short, snappy dialogue makes for a faster-moving scene.

For dialogue, keep each speaker's words in their own paragraph. So if Bob and Sue are having an argument, keep Bob's slings segregated in one before you switch to Sue's retorts.

This works with silent dialogue, such as a nod or a thumbs-up, but also for action responses. You have Bob calling Sue some not-so-nice names. Then the paragraph switches to Sue, throwing whatever at Bob. She hasn't said a word, but her retaliation deserves its own paragraph. Again, switching back to Bob, we hit the Enter key so we have him cursing, dodging projectiles, within his own paragraph. Repeat as necessary.

When typing narrative text, keep one subject matter from another by paragraph breaks. There's a natural rhythm to these structures. And proper transitions help with the shift from one to the next. If you don't have the innate gift, go pull down a book by one of your favorite authors and study it.

Physical Books

I've read from several sources that readers like to see white space, supposedly lots of it, on a page of a printed book. That white space makes them read on, keeping those pages turning. Yet, on the flip side, I picked up two random books, one by Nora Roberts, one by her alias, J. D. Robb, and both didn't have much white space. Maybe these two were anomalies. Just saying...

Regardless this white space occurs when you paragraph. If you have a bunch of one-line dialogue sequences going on, then there will be lots of white space.

Think about when reading at night. As I get sleepy, I thumb ahead to see how many more pages I need to read before coming to the next chapter break, a logical stopping point (ignoring any hooks at the end). Ten pages of dense wording takes longer to read than ten pages with abundant white space. I take that into consideration. However, if I am too tired and there are too many pages to go, like fifteen, I stop right where I am in the book.

E-Books

But when we get into e-books, the parameters change. You have no idea what device your reader will be viewing your novel on. It could be as big as a computer screen or as little as a cell phone screen.

Keeping all that in mind, you should avoid long paragraphs.



"If your vocation isn’t a vacation, then quit, leap, change careers."

Denise Barker, Author, Blogger, Copy Editor
Books that Build Character(s)



What lies behind you and what lies in front of you pales in comparison to what lies inside of you. Ralph Waldo Emerson
When you give someone a book, you don’t give him just paper, ink, and glue.  You give him the possibility of a whole new life. Christopher Morley
The best inheritance you can leave your kids is an example of how to live a full and meaningful life. Dan Zadra

Tuesday, December 24, 2013

Free Homes in Detroit for Approved Authors


I am so in love with this idea. Detroit is fixing up houses and then authors are selected to live in them, via the Write a House program. For more info, check out this link
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/12/19/write-a-house-detroit_n_4474976.html.


"If your vocation isn’t a vacation, then quit, leap, change careers."

Denise Barker, Author, Blogger, Copy Editor
Books that Build Character(s)



What lies behind you and what lies in front of you pales in comparison to what lies inside of you. Ralph Waldo Emerson
When you give someone a book, you don’t give him just paper, ink, and glue.  You give him the possibility of a whole new life. Christopher Morley
The best inheritance you can leave your kids is an example of how to live a full and meaningful life. Dan Zadra

What I Am Grateful For


Even as a freelancer going through my leanest month of the year (typical in the book-publishing industry), I have much to be grateful for, such as:

  • my son, other family members, my writing buddies and friends, my animals;
  • my son and I are healthy;
  • we have a roof over our heads;
  • we have food on our table;
  • Reliant Energy (I'm saving tons of money over my previous electricity company);
  • my new HVAC (old one was installed back in 1983; yet this new one may be partly responsible for my electricity bill going down as well);
  • I do have paying work coming in. Hallelujah! Remember, December is slow in the book-publishing world;
  • had a real lightbulb moment a day or two ago. Here's the principle: complaining is denial; instead, get rid of the source for whatever isn't working. I know. Doesn't look as impressive when merely words on paper/screen as it is when put into practice. But denial is not an action; it's an inaction. And here I thought I was not really a procrastinator (apart from lack of time and/or lack of money limitations). Follow this premise and you'll save your sanity and find your happiness quotient soars. Your house may even get cleaner; mine is—ha!


Merry Christmas and Happy New Year, everyone!



"If your vocation isn’t a vacation, then quit, leap, change careers."

Denise Barker, Author, Blogger, Copy Editor
Books that Build Character(s)


What lies behind you and what lies in front of you pales in comparison to what lies inside of you. Ralph Waldo Emerson
When you give someone a book, you don’t give him just paper, ink, and glue.  You give him the possibility of a whole new life. Christopher Morley
The best inheritance you can leave your kids is an example of how to live a full and meaningful life. Dan Zadra

Monday, December 23, 2013

A US Copy Editor's Perspective: Repetitions


With 80 percent visual recall, I am wired to find repetitions in manuscripts.

Defined

A rep or reps, as I will call them now, can be any duplicated word (no matter what term, other than articles, like the and a; conjunctions, as in and or but; and assorted elemental items). Note that the dialogue tag said is not considered a rep in the usual sense, as I understand our minds gloss over italthough you don't need "he said" or "she said" for every single speaker, if conversation is properly written. But that discussion is for later.

Such reps can be found within one line, sentence, paragraph, scene or novel. Remember this quote?
It is a truth, universally acknowledged, that a single man in possession of a good fortune must be in want of a wife.
What a great line, appearing only at the beginning of Pride and Prejudice. Smart. Use it once, it's unique. Twice would be a rep, diluting its rarity, its surprise for the reader.

Reps can be a word (like just appearing fifty times in as many pages) or an overused phrase (e.g., on the other hand, etc.).

So they can take many forms, from one word to a full sentence or more, and don't necessarily need to be located side by side.

In fact reps may appear from book to book. While you may think your readers won't notice that you've replicated your car chase scene or your love scene from your previous novel into your current one, I don't advise doing that. Someone will recognize this and might even feel shortchanged because a new one wasn't written to entertain us with.

Also sentence construction counts for a rep, in my opinion. If you continually start off your sentences with "She..." or an intro phrase, you need to mix things up. I have to watch my propensity for too many stand-alone phrases which begin with And or But, as that too qualifies as a rep.

Even if you strictly follow form as to the variety of rhetorical devices available to us authors, don't incorporate four different kinds in the same paragraph. You have again stripped the power from each. Choose one, integrating the main idea/theme that fits this particular scene of yours, and cut the rest. Also, when using rhetorical devices, your choice of repeating word is critical. Don't waste it. Choose a hard-hitting term with plenty of emotional resonance. Or it will just appear to be the run-of-the-mill rep that it is.

I would go so far as to say that having a well-known line from someone else's novel/movie set forth also in your book is both a rep and a bad idea. Unless you want your reader knocked out of your story, already popping in the Pride & Prejudice DVD, all because you added that line, "A thousand times, yes," in your own tale.

How to Fix

As a copy editor, I either delete the majority of reps or find a suitable replacement word where applicable. For example, instead of walked, there is strolled, sauntered, paced. That takes time.

Cutting is faster. However, the reader will have no idea how many I've already taken out. Even though greatly reduced, those reps left within a book may still seem like too many. It's all relative, isn't it? So beware.

I especially delete instances where the same body language is consistently used: He smiled. (Maybe shows up five times on the same page. Readers will notice and be focused on the wrong thing.) She laughed. (Not good to see this in every other paragraph of a dialogue exchange. Better to use the "she said" tag instead of a repetitious action line.) He ran his hand through his hair. (Need to find more than one mannerism to give to each character. Plus this one is clichéd, and a new one is called for.)

As an Indie author, I find my own reps in my first drafts, when copyediting my work. We all have a set peculiar to each of us. Keep a list of yours and search for them within your MSWord doc and weed them out. Maybe even add your own selection of alternatives to your cheat sheet.

Vary your sentence/paragraph lengths as well as your sentence patterns.

Compare what word starts off each of your chapters and paragraphs. Add variety. Take away the same ol', same ol'.

If you didn't read the Defined part of this post, at least review the last two paragraphs on rhetorical devices and adding in famous lines right before this How to Fix section. They already contain the suggested corrections therein.

We are authors, originators. While I think all people have some imagination, surely we, as creative types, have more. And we can command an even greater word base by consulting Web11 or a thesaurus to find another noun/verb/adjective that fits, without boring our reader with a limited vocabulary.



"If your vocation isn’t a vacation, then quit, leap, change careers."

Denise Barker, Author, Blogger, Copy Editor
Books that Build Character(s)



What lies behind you and what lies in front of you pales in comparison to what lies inside of you. Ralph Waldo Emerson
When you give someone a book, you don’t give him just paper, ink, and glue.  You give him the possibility of a whole new life. Christopher Morley
The best inheritance you can leave your kids is an example of how to live a full and meaningful life. Dan Zadra

A US Copy Editor's Perspective: Trademarks


Defined

For our purposes, a general definition for trademarks would be brand names, usually starting with a capital letter (exceptions are the eBay store and iPod products, for example).

Web11

Web11 gives these marks their own entry in the dictionary. Instead of listed as a part of speech (noun, verb, etc.), each is designated clearly as trademark. The only problem with this is that Web11 was issued in 2007 and a lot can happen since then. Remember trademarks can become generic, like a book whose copyright has expired then falls in the public domain.

You can visit the United States Patent & Trademark Office at http://www.uspto.gov/trademarks/ to search and confirm a trademark name. However, as you'll find out once you get there, one brand can be within several different (unrelated) markets. So your search may end up with more hits than you care to sift through.

I prefer to search the Internet for the brand's actual website. It's cleaner, quicker. If there is no Legal link, then Terms of Use should give all the trademarks related to your searched-for term.

16CMS

Per 16CMS 8.152, the wording of this rule discourages using trademarks (unless you own them):
Should be capitalized if they must be used. A better choice is to substitute a generic term when available.
Applications

As a copy editor within the world of traditional publishing, I would suggest not inputting trademarks in your work for various reasons. Some trademark owners are very strict in the utilization of their brand, requiring it be an adjective, not a noun or a verb. Some trademark holders refuse its use by others in general, whereas some brand owners are more limited in this restricted approach. However, you do not want to find out about these conditions after you have already added the brand name(s) in your book(s). So I would suggest checking first with your local patent and trademark attorney, unless you have written authorization from the rightful trademark owner for your particular application of their brand name, before typing that mark in your manuscript.

From purely a copy editor's viewpoint, it takes time to fact-check trademarks. You would think it would be a quick job, but it's not. First, read the authorized website. Second, if the brand involves a number, you may find it both ways: numeric and written out, even within its authorized website. Third, oftentimes on the Net, many sites refer to these in all caps to avoid such fact-checking enterprises. So ignore those. Fourth, many brands are very creative in their spelling, and their use of hyphens and apostrophes. If you use a trademark, make sure it is correct.

Then as a reader and an Indie author, I prefer the less-trademarks-is-more approach. The only two exceptions that immediately come to my mind would be regarding makes of carswhere clarifying a souped-up racer over the family station wagon, either generally or specifically, is always the correct way to goand guns. Otherwise a barrage of trademarks to impress me as to the wealth of a book character tends to do two things: first, it turns me off as superficial and fake (along the lines of "doth protest too much"), which has just negated the author's efforts to convince me of this fictional character's rich status. Second, it completely draws me out of the story as my focus has been diverted by a commercial mass of initially capped words. I doubt that was its creator's intent either.

Therefore, use trademarks wisely.



"If your vocation isn’t a vacation, then quit, leap, change careers."

Denise Barker, Author, Blogger, Copy Editor
Books that Build Character(s)



What lies behind you and what lies in front of you pales in comparison to what lies inside of you. Ralph Waldo Emerson
When you give someone a book, you don’t give him just paper, ink, and glue.  You give him the possibility of a whole new life. Christopher Morley
The best inheritance you can leave your kids is an example of how to live a full and meaningful life. Dan Zadra

Thursday, December 19, 2013

A US Copy Editor's Perspective: Italics


Of course there are many rules and exceptions regarding the use of italics. Authors, whether trad-pubbed or Indie-pubbed, by learning these assorted 16CMS rules, add polish and a professionalism to their manuscripts, making them easier to copy edit (and less time spent by the copy editor handling all the other 16CMS rules means less you have to pay your copy editor, at least for Indie authors).

So here are a few italics rules. Pick the easiest one and begin using it.

  1. Published book titles are italicized (no quote marks). 16CMS 8.161.
  2. Not-yet-published books take quotation marks and roman type. 16CMS 8.184.
  3. Names of ships are italicized. 16CMS 8.115 (but not the USS in front of some, along with other exceptions).
  4. Italicize foreign words not found in Web11. 16CMS 7.49 and 7.52.
  5. However, if you continually use a foreign term throughout your work, like jefe (Spanish for "chief"), then italicize the first occurrence and roman set the rest. 16CMS 7.49.
I won't get into whether to italicize punctuation marks because 16CMS 6.2 and 6.4 contradict. As I've noted before, it depends on whether you have a publishing house's rules to consider or are an Indie using CreateSpace's guidelines. Regardless, follow the respective instructions. If you are uploading e-books only at the present time, read these two 16CMS rules and decide for yourself how to handle same. That's just one of the many great things about being an Indie: you are in charge.



"If your vocation isn’t a vacation, then quit, leap, change careers."

Denise Barker, Author, Blogger, Copy Editor
Books that Build Character(s)



What lies behind you and what lies in front of you pales in comparison to what lies inside of you. Ralph Waldo Emerson
When you give someone a book, you don’t give him just paper, ink, and glue.  You give him the possibility of a whole new life. Christopher Morley
The best inheritance you can leave your kids is an example of how to live a full and meaningful life. Dan Zadra

A US Copy Editor's Perspective: Trooper or Trouper?


The answer to the trooper or trouper question depends on the usage. A state trooper is a law enforcement official. A troop can relate to Girl Scouts or the army.

But if you mean, "he's been a real trouper to hang in there with all the changes going on," then trouper is the correct choice, per Web11. It even gives an example of this usage in this sense.



"If your vocation isn’t a vacation, then quit, leap, change careers."

Denise Barker, Author, Blogger, Copy Editor
Books that Build Character(s)



What lies behind you and what lies in front of you pales in comparison to what lies inside of you. Ralph Waldo Emerson
When you give someone a book, you don’t give him just paper, ink, and glue.  You give him the possibility of a whole new life. Christopher Morley
The best inheritance you can leave your kids is an example of how to live a full and meaningful life. Dan Zadra

Tuesday, December 17, 2013

What Is the Basic Word Count for Flash Fiction, Short Story, Novelette, Novella, Novel, Saga?


I've been working on my Short Story Collection #2 and, by some definitions, these three "short stories" are each long enough to warrant the novelette designation.

But it depends on which source you check. I went to my two mainstays, 16CMS and Web11, and neither provided me with word counts per category. And you'll find variations when searching the Internet or while checking submission instructions online.

If you are going the traditional publishing route, by all means go by prescribed guidelines for the line best suited for your work within that house. For instance, a quick search finds at least twenty-one imprints under the Simon & Schuster publishing umbrella.

However, if you are going the Indie route, then research the offerings out there and pick your own standard to go by. After reading several sites, I compiled what I thought was the best of the best with my gut as the official tiebreaker, when needed. Here's my working theory to date:

3–1,000 WC = Flash Fiction

~4 pp.
"He died alone" tells a story, brings forth emotions, has the reader asking questions; so must have ≥3WC to start a tale.
1,001–7,500 WC = Short Story
~4–30 pp.
7,501–20,000 WC = Novelette
~30–80 pp.
20,001–40,000 WC = Novella
~80–160 pp.
MG readers
40,001–60,000 WC = Novels, category
~160–240 pp.
Genres like romance, western, etc.
60,001–90,000 WC = Novels, singles
~240–360 pp.
YA, paranormal, fantasy/sci-fi, etc.
90,001–150,000 WC = Novels, mainstream
~360–600 pp.
Thriller/horror, mystery, crime fiction
150,001+ WC = Sagas
~600+ pp.
Michener's Hawaii, Rand's Atlas Shrugged, Mitchell's Gone with the Wind


As I mentioned above, this is my current working theory, subject to revisions as I refine it. But it works for me. And there are always exceptions, so we can agree upon that.

Oh, and I estimated page counts based on 250 words/page.

One thing to always remember when e-publishing anything other than a novel/saga, be sure to clearly mark same on your cover, in your online description, in your title even. Not all people check the page-length info given on amazon.com and other venues. So readers get understandably upset when purchasing what they think is a full-length novel and getting shortchanged with only fifty pages' worth. Better for them to purchase what they think is a midsize novel of three hundred pages and get one of five hundred pages instead.


LEGEND:
16CMS = The Chicago Manual of Style, Sixteenth Edition
Web11 = Merriam-Webster's Collegiate Dictionary, Eleventh Edition
WC = word count
MG = middle grade
YA = young adult



"If your vocation isn’t a vacation, then quit, leap, change careers."

Denise Barker, Author, Blogger, Copy Editor
Books that Build Character(s)



What lies behind you and what lies in front of you pales in comparison to what lies inside of you. Ralph Waldo Emerson
When you give someone a book, you don’t give him just paper, ink, and glue.  You give him the possibility of a whole new life. Christopher Morley
The best inheritance you can leave your kids is an example of how to live a full and meaningful life. Dan Zadra

A US Copy Editor's Perspective: Ellipses per 16CMS


In a previous post I explained why I use the ellipsis keystroke [Shift+Ctrl+(period key)] in my own creations. As an author, I was kinda/sorta following 16CMS 13.48 (except for the before and after spaces required). But as the copy editor of my fiction and nonfiction alike, I was not then fixing that author-allowed shortcut per Chicago's further instructions within that same rule. Which was my personal choice as relates to my books.

NOTE: As a freelance copy editor working for different publishing houses, I am bound by any house rules that override Chicago's rules and have to proceed accordingly. Therefore, I was allowed to use the ellipsis keystroke for one, but not another. However, with a third, there are no house rules.
In that particular environment, if certain text isn't following 16CMS, I can correct it or not—noting its deviation from Chicago. So if a particular novel is consistently presenting without the serial comma, in my overview I comment that this is the author's preference and remains unchanged, even though 16CMS 6.18 states otherwise.
That way the author is informed that this construction is not per accepted US copyediting standards (although I totally disagree on the general serial comma usage; see earlier post). Whether that author keeps to her preference or decides to change it to align with 16CMS is totally up to her. But I've shared the industry standard, which is my responsibility, and the author decides how to proceed, which is the author's responsibility for works with her name on it.

So with my copy editor's hat firmly in place, I am presenting here the general rule, strictly per 16CMS 13.48, ignoring any exceptions for now.

In General

First, one normal space (not like the hard spaces discussed below) precedes the ellipsis/suspension points.

Second, an ellipsis is formed by three periods separated by two nonbreaking spaces (aka hard spaces) that won't split up those elements to make for strange line breaks, followed by a third hard space. This explains those weird-looking degree symbols we sometimes see in text. So type the first period, then the first hard space [Shift+Ctrl+(space bar)], the second period, the second hard space, then the third period, the third hard space.

That completes the ellipsis character as per 16CMS 13.48. Then continue typing your text as planned.

One of Many Exceptions

Chicago discusses further how to use the ellipsis with other punctuation, but such spawns more exceptions. So for the author's purposes, only one of these is really necessary to know. Per 16CMS 13.51, periods precede (not follow) the use of an ellipsis.

That's right. When needed, end a complete sentence with a period. Then follow the ellipsis routine above with a normal space, the ellipsis period/hard space routine and continue with your text.

Hope this added information is not confusing and easy to implement.


"If your vocation isn’t a vacation, then quit, leap, change careers."

Denise Barker, Author, Blogger, Copy Editor
Books that Build Character(s)



What lies behind you and what lies in front of you pales in comparison to what lies inside of you. Ralph Waldo Emerson
When you give someone a book, you don’t give him just paper, ink, and glue.  You give him the possibility of a whole new life. Christopher Morley
The best inheritance you can leave your kids is an example of how to live a full and meaningful life. Dan Zadra

Monday, December 16, 2013

A US Copy Editor's Perspective: Tips Regarding e.g., i.e., etc.


Here are some quick tips on when and how to use e.g. or i.e.

First, e.g. means "for example" and i.e. means "that is." Second, a comma follows each. Third, both are normally used within a pair of parentheses, per 16CMS 6.43.

Here are examples of both:

There are many varieties of apples (e.g., Pink Lady, Red Delicious, to name two).
The patient was flatlining (i.e., registering no brain waves or heartbeat).

As for tips regarding etc., first, it is the abbreviated form of et cetera and means "and so forth." Second, it needs a pair of commas, unless it ends a sentence. Third, Chicago prefers that it be avoided in formal prose and that it be used also in parentheses, per 16CMS 6.20.

And here are two examples of its usage:

There are many varieties of apples (such as Red Delicious, Pink Lady, etc.).
Prepare your pie filling (slicing your apples, whether Red Delicious, Pink Lady, etc., or other fruits, such as pears or peaches).

Hope that helps.


"If your vocation isn’t a vacation, then quit, leap, change careers."

Denise Barker, Author, Blogger, Copy Editor
Books that Build Character(s)



What lies behind you and what lies in front of you pales in comparison to what lies inside of you. Ralph Waldo Emerson
When you give someone a book, you don’t give him just paper, ink, and glue.  You give him the possibility of a whole new life. Christopher Morley
The best inheritance you can leave your kids is an example of how to live a full and meaningful life. Dan Zadra

Saturday, December 14, 2013

A US Copy Editor's Perspective: When to Use Small Caps, When to Use All Caps


Small Caps

Per 16CMS 7.48, "Capitalizing an entire word or phrase for emphasis is rarely appropriate." Small caps are preferred here.

So when emphasizing words, as in yelling, small caps are the way to go. Say you want to apply small caps to the words "over my dead body." Select those words by positioning your cursor in front of the O in over and now highlight all four words by simultaneously holding down the Shift+Ctrl keys while moving toward the Y in body via the right arrow key. Release all keys and the highlighting should remain. Then, if using MSWord 2010, while in the Home menu mode, click on the arrow found in the lower right-hand corner of the Font portion. Midway under Effects, you'll find a selection of goodies, such as the "Small caps" offering. Click that box. Then click OK.

All Caps

Chicago prefers all caps for era designations (such as AD or BC, per 16CMS 9.35), for the two-letter postal codes regarding state designations (TX for Texas, as an example, per 16CMS 10.28), for acronyms and initials (per 16CMS 10.6), and other various usages.

Of course all caps can be done manually by toggling on the CapsLk key and typing your intended words. Or you can go through the instructions above for small caps and click instead the "All caps" option found just below the "Small caps" one.


"If your vocation isn’t a vacation, then quit, leap, change careers."

Denise Barker, Author, Blogger, Copy Editor
Books that Build Character(s)



What lies behind you and what lies in front of you pales in comparison to what lies inside of you. Ralph Waldo Emerson
When you give someone a book, you don’t give him just paper, ink, and glue.  You give him the possibility of a whole new life. Christopher Morley
The best inheritance you can leave your kids is an example of how to live a full and meaningful life. Dan Zadra

A US Copy Editor's Perspective: Ordinance or Ordnance?


The difference between ordinance and ordnance in spelling is one little I. As a copy editor, I am focused on single characters. So I watch for such, including missing periods, commas that should be semicolons and vice versa, etc.

The difference between ordinance and ordnance in definition is a bigger one than whether an I is there.

An ordinance is a regulation or law. See Web11 for the full definition.

However, ordnance means military goods, including weapons as well as vehicles. Again see Web11 for more details.

So if your novel concerns a US clothing manufacturer or some business corporation, you are more likely to need the first word of the two we are discussing here. Yet, should your story be like Rambo, then the second offering is probably the way to go.


"If your vocation isn't a vacation, then quit, leap, change careers."

Denise Barker, Author, Blogger, Copy Editor
Books that Build Character(s)


What lies behind you and what lies in front of you pales in comparison to what lies inside of you. Ralph Waldo Emerson
When you give someone a book, you don't give him just paper, ink, and glue.  You give him the possibility of a whole new life. Christopher Morley
The best inheritance you can leave your kids is an example of how to live a full and meaningful life. Dan Zadra