We’re very excited with our decision to self-publish, but because we didn’t know we had other options when we started this process, we thought we had to try and find any agent and go the traditional publishing route. Because of this, some could say that we’ve wasted time and lost money by not publishing our first book sooner. By the time we’ve completed everything and published our book, it’ll be over two years since we started this endeavor. And while we endured a lot of heartache and struggles, we wouldn’t trade our experience for an earlier publication date, because we have learned so much during this process. So, this is for all you aspiring authors out there.  Learn from our mistakes, so you don’t have to waste time trying to find an agent or publishing house and you can move on to self-publishing your book right away. This is just our advice to you. In no way do we know everything.

Part I – Punctuation, Grammar, and SpellingThis may seem like a no-brainer when it comes to publishing a book, but if you’ve read any indie authors, you’ve probably come across a book you wanted to take a red pen to. This is also, single-handily, the biggest complaint when it comes to self-published writers, yet it’s continually abused, giving the good indie authors a bad name. Don’t be one of them.  This why you must edit, edit, edit, and why we choose to start with this topic.
It may not feel like it fits under our subject line today, but this is stuff we learned because we tried the traditional publishing route, and because we often feel that self-publishers skimp on it. Maybe because they don’t have agents reading their sample pages, or because they don’t have to write a query letter, or because they don’t get rejected. However, we feel, it’s often because they just didn’t know, and they publish their book before it’s ready. We made the same mistake, and this is where we hope to help you.

We’re not saying every author needs help, because I think some people just get it, like others just get math. You might be one of these people. But if you’re not, our advice to you is, one, do some research—we are constantly looking up punctuation. It’s easy and free. Two, buy the Chicago Manual of Style. Three, take some local English or writing classes if you feel like you really need help. But the fourth and easiest (even if not cheap) is to hire an editor.

Even if you do understand grammar and punctuation well, you have to remember, once you’ve read your book the first twenty times (if you haven’t read your book that many times, you’re not editing enough), it’s hard not to skim and it’s really hard for your brain to not auto-correct because you know what’s supposed to say—you did write it after all. This is why, no matter who you are, your best bet it hire an editor. However, it never hurts to do some research or take classes. Knowledge is power and the more you know, the better armed you are for all future books. Besides, you’re going be writing more than your book…even if it’s just Facebook and Twitter posts, there are people out there who are going to judge you.

If you’re unsure of you skills, take this fun test.

When you do research for an editor and you think you found someone, but you’ve never read any books they’ve worked on, go to Amazon or Barnes and Noble and download samples of books they’ve edited and get an idea of the work they do. This is an easy way to cut down your list of possible editors to hire.

Until you hire an editor, check out places like Grammar Girl or use Google.
Also, we have a few quick tips on things we’ve learned or relearned along the way for you that are easy to follow, but are often not:

1. Toward, backward, forward, afterward…any English words suffixed with the word -ward does not have an “s”, if you are using American English. (British English uses the “s.”) The theory is Americans are lazy and dropped the “s.” It’s also an easy way to remember.

2. When addressing someone, you put a comma before and after. Whether you are using their name, nickname, pet name, using a formal address such as sir or ma’am, etc. It doesn’t matter what you are addressing them as, you always use commas. This has to be one of our biggest complaints, because it’s so easy—there are no expectations or weird rules—yet people neglect doing it all the time.

  • Example #1: “We have to move Bob” versus “We have to move, Bob.” In A, the person is saying they have to move Bob. In B, the person is telling Bob they have to move. The comma makes a difference.
  • Example #2: “That just means it’s more beautiful than before.” “That just means it’s more, beautiful, than before.” These two sentences read two different ways. The second sentence you can replace the nickname “beautiful” with a person’s name. In the first sentence, you can’t; beautiful is part of the sentence.

 

3. Commas and periods always go inside quotes in America English.

4. Just because someone is referring to themselves with another person doesn’t mean it’s written as “you and I.”

  • Example: “This gift is for you and I.” If you took out “you and” you wouldn’t write “This gift is for I.” You’d say, “This gift is for me.” Therefore, it should be: “This gift is for you and me.”

 

5. Always watch your use of words that sound the same, but have different meanings. We know you know this, yet it is a common mistake because spell-check doesn’t pick it up.

 

 

 

One of the easiest and cheapest ways to help yourself learn grammar and punctuation is to watch TV with subtitles on. If you pay attention, you can pick up quite a bit. And it’s also enjoyable.

Remember, it takes skill to write, and while the more you write, the better you get, it still takes talent. It also takes imagination to come up with a story, weave characters together, and make a plot and premise interesting. These things are hard. But hiring an editor is easy. And it gives you more time to focus on your story. It lets (you) the writer, write, while you let the editor, edit.

*An important note: We don’t proclaim to be know-it-alls in this department. Not by a long shot. (In fact, you probably found errors in here.) However, we understand this is a weakness for us, and not only is it something we are constantly working and doing research on, it’s the reason we hired an editor. But it’s also an area where we can relate with others, so anytime you need a shoulder to cry on, we’re here for ya.