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We at Prompt Proofing would like to wish all of our customers, and potential customers, the best of this holiday season and a successful and prosperous New Year. For my last blog post of 2019, I want to update and clarify a few editing points and also look at some changes in style coming (maybe?) in 2020. Punctuation changes: Hyphens: We have written a fair amount on correct hyphen use in the past, only to find that the 2020 AP stylebook will recommend the demise of the hyphen in adjectival words such as well-documented; well-known, etc. As you know, we have always hyphenated these words when they precede the noun they qualify: a well-documented fact; a well-known politician, etc. The AP stylebook has now decreed – as of its 2020 edition -that hyphens should not be used with these wo ...

In September, we wrote about some of the problems faced by those who run a business from their home. We discussed such issues as: maintaining a work/life balance, avoiding distractions from family, and establishing a designated work space. However, assuming you now have all that covered (?), there remains another issue that is particularly pertinent to those working from home and arguably to all entrepreneurs, who by nature tend to be workaholics. Whether your home is your workplace, or whether you have an actual office/shop front where you conduct your business, your health and wellbeing – mental, as well as physical – are supremely important.   So, how can you assure that you stay physically and mentally on top of your game and that your health and fitness don’t ge ...

Most editors have a – short(?)- list of pet peeves. One of mine is the indiscriminate use of the ampersand. The wretched & that is too often used to replace the actual word – and.   Don’t get me wrong, there are legitimate uses for the ampersand. Use the ampersand when it is  part of the name of a business: e.g., Abercrombie & Fitch; Johnson & Johnson; or Bed Bath & Beyond. These companies have chosen to use an ampersand as part of their name and it is important to respect that. (Equally important, of course,  to respect those that have not chosen to use the ampersand, such as RW and Co.)   “But…. it saves time, and it’s such a pretty little sign…” True, it is kind of cute, but how much time is realistically saved by ...