As mentioned in a previous post, I have been doing a lot of editing this year. Most days, it feels like all I have been doing is editing. I fall asleep thinking about edits, I dream about edits, I wake up knowing what edits I need to make immediately before I forget.
Before I started this whole publishing process, I didn’t know that it was the little things when it came to editing that I would care more about than the big things. Now, had my editor told me my plot was horrible and that it all had to change, I would have struggled with that. A lot. But, my plot and characters were fairly solid, and the changes that my editor asked me to make to the story and characters made sense, and I knew they would make the story stronger.
Where I found I really cared was when it came down to little things. If you are thinking of starting the publishing or editing process, I would recommend thinking about the grammatical, punctuation, and layout things that for you are “deal-breakers,” so that when they come up in the editing process, you are not surprised by the things that you never knew you cared about.
Here are a few of the things that I didn’t necessarily know I had strong feelings about:
The Oxford comma: I have always known I am an Oxford comma-ist (totally not a word), and my use of the comma was never questioned in the editing process, but I feel I should list it because Oxford commas are a must.
All right vs. alright: I don’t mind alright in modern pieces, especially dialogue, but I found I prefer all right in period pieces. I didn’t realize I cared so much until my editor suggested we change all right to alright; I grudgingly agreed, but I found myself greatly relieved when it was suggested in proofreading we change it back. To me, this meant I just should have stood my ground in the first place.
Commas off-setting too: I was not aware, until very recently, that it was optional to use or not use commas when too is used; as in: He, too, was going to the store. Apparently, these commas are not necessary—who knew? Is this a new thing? Does it depend on the style guide you’re using? Anyway, in recent weeks/months after learning this, I have noticed that many books do not use them. This seems wrong to me, so when I was told they could be taken out of my novel, I exercised my personal preference and insisted they be added back in.
Page numbers: More and more often, page numbers are centered on the bottom of the page. I strongly dislike this because when I am holding a book, my fingers cover the page numbers. Also, flipping through a book trying to find a particular page is harder when the page numbers are centered. As you can probably guess, my page numbers will be in the corners.
Those are my top “deal-breakers.” I’d love to hear yours!
Oxford commas are right, good, and just!
I, too, was not aware that comma off-setting was optional. But in my case I am not sure I knew it was a thing; I know I either do it or not but I can’t remember ever thinking about it. What have you done to me now?
Here’s one for me–idiosyncratic because of some of the stuff I write: capitalizing pronouns for the divine. Some religious writing style guides do it, others not, but I mostly don’t. Had to go back and change a whole manuscript that editors “fixed” for me…might have had to do it twice for the same folks.
So glad I could make someone besides myself think about comma placement and the word too while reading! I have noticed less pronoun capitalization for the divine in things I have read recently, and I thought you always had to. Interesting that you don’t. Reason?
First, Oxford commas, absolutely! Second, I have always had definite opinions about the use of all right vs. Alright. I strongly believe each has its place and should be used accordingly! And lastly, I will always use commas to set off the word too. Of course, I’ve also been known to overuse commas!
Yes, Paula! I may also be overly fond of commas–and dashes.