When I’m not writing, I’m editing. I’m a contract editor for
a publisher. I also edit for friends and friends of friends in between
assignments, and in between those assignments and requests, I edit myself. One
thing editing has taught me is to be hyperaware of not making the same mistakes
as the writers that I’m editing. While my job is primarily about spotting
continuity errors, applying duct tape to plot holes and fact checking, I also
try to clean up the grammar and punctuation as much as I can.
I’ve had many writers tell me that they do not remember how
to properly use commas and other punctuation marks. I’ve had some tell me that
expecting them to use them between independent clauses isn’t required anymore—well
it is. I’ve had others blink at me like a deer in the headlights when I tell
them that a semicolon should be used instead when there is no conjunction.
I read books on grammar. It’s part of my job. It’s me making
sure that I am not sending my editors a nightmare. You cannot trust Word to put
a green line under all your grammatical errors, because when it comes to
commas, Word is frequently wrong.
This little 99 cent book is wonderful. Grammar Girl breaks
punctuation down in plain English, and she gets the message across about how it
should be done with simple examples. Any one who writes or edits should buy
this book. It will never leave my Kindle.
It has replaced English Simplified as my favorite book for
punctuation and grammar, and not just because English Simplified is overpriced because
it’s a textbook. You don’t feel like you’re in English 101 with some grad
student browbeating you for leaving out a comma with Grammar Girl’s Punctuation
911. If you write, you can’t afford not to buy and read this book.
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