Good Grammar

In July, I sent The Irreverent Guide to Real Estate off to my publisher.  Silly me, I thought that would be just about it.  But oh, no!  I've spent the last few weeks doing some minor revisions and chasing down typos (I am incapable of producing a document of any size without at least one).

Then in an email I got last Friday, the editors read me the riot act about commas, dashes and a few other little grammar nit picks.

Now, I was educated by nuns in Catholic schools.  They may not be so great at teaching young students to think and question what goes on around them, but those nuns really know their English grammar.  And they know how to teach it. 

But the publisher's "style sheet" is really different from anything I'd been taught and most of what I read in newspapers and magazines.  Then my eagle-eyed proof reader explained it to me.

There are several different styles that writers use.  There is the "AP" style used by most journalists and the "Chicago" style that my publisher fancies.  If you are preparing a document for a government agency, there is yet another style - probably called "Obfuscation".  Finally, there is the one I'm using called "Sisters of Charity".

As my proof reader explained, the new styles developed to adapt the rules to bad grammar that found its way into common usage.  I am resisting the new rules to the point that Sister Mary Clara would be proud.

Bottom line - it's my book.  The nuns' grammar will prevail.  And in about 10 days, you will be able to click onto a link on Amazon and buy my book.

But first, I have one more chance to go through the galleys - I know there is one typo left.  I saw it yesterday.  The phone rang, and then I lost the page.  So back to work!

Comments

[David]

You are in good company, Pat. An iUniverse editor added over 300 commas which they thought my manuscript needed. Problem was that ALL of them were incorrect and in some cases, changed the meaning of the context. You are the author ... YOU RULE!