Kathy’s Blog

Are you a best-selling author? Or know someone who is? I’m working on a second edition of my Proofreading Secrets of Best-Selling Authors, and since the first one was published in 2014, a lot of the quotes I have are from best-selling authors who are no longer...

I recently attended a Christmas concert with my husband and father-in-law. When the musicians played the “Hallelujah Chorus” from Handel’s Messiah, the audience stood, as is customary. Intermission immediately followed. I figured my hubby and his dad didn’t understand...

As a general rule of thumb, but should be treated like any other conjunction. If what comes before but and what comes after but are both complete sentences, include the comma—unless both parts are short and there’s no chance of confusion or misreading. If what comes...

Commas aren’t the only thing that can change the meaning of a sentence. Wording counts too. Many writers have a problem with the appropriate use of that vs. which. There’s a detailed explanation in my Proofreading Secrets of Best-Selling Authors. Here’s just one...

If you’re unsure whether a two-word phrase should be a single word, separate words, or hyphenated, look it up on Merriam-Webster’s Online Dictionary (https://www.merriam-webster.com/). If M-W doesn’t have a listing for the phrase as either one word or hyphenated,...

In many instances, the use of commas can change the meaning of a sentence. Consider this example: One of Israel’s prophets named Malachi wrote this. One of Israel’s prophets, named Malachi, wrote this. In the first sentence, without the commas, you’re saying that...

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When the pandemic shut down travel and group events in 2020, I discovered something about myself: I’m more of an introvert than I thought. (If you know me from conferences I’ve attended or taught at, that probably comes as a surprise to you too!) I’d been serving on...