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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 ...

Do you run a business from your home office? Are you a freelancer? Consultant? Tutor? Music teacher? Craftsperson?  Translator? Baker? Artist?  Author?….   The list is almost endless. Given real estate prices in major cities and the costs and time involved in long commutes, more and more people – who have that option – are choosing to work from home, at least part of the time, while many work full time at a huge range of home-based businesses. Entrepreneurs, creative artists, and freelancers all have very different needs and may face different issues but some problems are common to all, whether you’re a best-selling author with a comfortable home office, a struggling musician working out of your parents’ basement, or pretty much anywhere in between.   ...

Find grammar nerds annoying? You’re not alone. Reasons for being ‘anti-grammar’ range from a strong dislike of being corrected through a dislike of people we consider ‘nit-picky’ to a feeling that obsessing over grammar stymies the creative flow. In all fairness, these are all reasonably valid reasons. Unfortunately, as an editor, it’s the errors in grammar or punctuation that leap out at me, even when reading an otherwise excellent piece of writing. I’m likely comparable to the woman (I feel this type is almost always a woman, though men may display similar characteristics in other circumstances) that walks into a seemingly immaculate house and immediately notices (and comments on) the one tiny area that has somehow escaped the cleaner’s eag ...