The Most Common Grammar Gaffes Writers Make (And How To Avoid Them)


In 2011, the publisher of my book Enchantment could not fill an order for 500 ebook copies. Because of this experience, I self-published my next book, What the Plus!, and learned first-hand that self-publishing is a complex, confusing and idiosyncratic process. An obvious sign of self-publishing is the presence of gaffes — unintentional mistakes that cause embarrassment — in a book. It’s easy for authors to make these mistakes because editing, particularly copy editing, is a different skill from writing. Whether you’re self-publishing a novel, writing a blog, or typing a term paper, here are some of the gaffes I’ve come across most often and how to avoid them.

Image remixed from DVARG (Shutterstock)

Australian editor note: we’ve adjusted this list slightly from Guy’s original to reflect Australian grammar and style.

Improper hyphenation

Hyphenation and compounding word rules are constantly changing, but violating some rules marks you as a self-publisher. Here are the three main ones: hyphenate two or more words used as an adjective — “social-media sites”; hyphenate compound numbers — “forty-seven”; and hyphenate only between syllables as specified in the dictionary for end-of-line breaks — “enchant-ment.”

Using two spaces between sentences

In the old days of typewriters, characters were the same width, so two spaces were necessary to separate sentences for visual effect. With computers, characters are proportional, so they fit closer to each other, and one space is sufficient. Before you submit your manuscript, search for all double spaces and replace them with single spaces.

Passive voice

The passive voice is weak, vague, and wordy. “New York publishers are being attacked by self-publishers” is not as powerful as “Self-publishers are attacking New York publishers.” I search for every instance of “be” and “being” to eliminate as many instances of the passive voice as I can. Word’s grammar check can also help you spot passive sentences.

Dumb apostrophes and quotation marks

There’s a world of difference between dumb apostrophes and quotation marks and their “smart” versions. There are two ways to ensure the correct usage of smart quotes and apostrophes: turn on a preference in Word to add them automatically, or type them in.

Underlining

There’s bold text and there’s italic text, but there’s never underline, except as a hyperlink. If you format text with an underline that’s not a hyperlink, readers will think your book has a dead link.

Inconsistency

Ensure that the voice and design elements of your book are consistent. For example, bulleted lists should maintain a parallel structure. If one starts with a noun, they should all start with a noun. If one starts with a verb, they should all start with a verb. Consistency also applies to design. For example, when a new section starts, the section title is always on the next right-hand page, even if this creates a blank page to the left.

Excessive adjectives and adverbs

These forms of speech are often overrated, overused, and vague. How dark was the night? So dark that you couldn’t see your hand in front of your face? How slowly did he walk? Perhaps a toddler could move faster? How much did you really miss your mother? Maybe enough to make you cry at night? Find more concrete ways to describe things.

Lack of guideposts

Specifically for nonfiction authors — use subheads to help your readers navigate sections of a chapter. The name of the chapter is not enough in nonfiction books because so much material is in each chapter. Real authors use subheads.

Long passages of text

A bulleted list is a sign of an organised mind. Rather than making your reader dig through long passages of text, use bulleted lists to highlight what is most important. Lists also make great back cover copy for your printed versions.

Want more from Guy? Check out his latest book APE: Author, Publisher, Entrepreneur and our recent How I Work post on his productivity tips..

Guy Kawasaki is the author of APE, What the Plus!, Enchantment, and nine other books. He is also the co-founder of Alltop.com, an “online magazine rack” of popular topics on the web. Previously, he was the chief evangelist of Apple. Kawasaki has a BA from Stanford University and an MBA from UCLA as well as an honorary doctorate from Babson College.


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