Awwww. Adorable Gifts from Miriam-Webster for Valentine Gifts for Authors

I just couldn't resist suggesting this in case you know an author who needs a bit of cheering up this Valentine's Day! Scroll to the bottom for my own suggestions!  I think my cry in these times of Covid is to #SupportPublishingIndustry with love this year. (-:  

Will you be ours this Valentine’s Day? This Valentine’s Day, we’re sharing our favorite quotes about love and a comical collection of love poems, written especially for word nerds.   If you’re looking for something for that special someone, or looking to treat yourself, look no further! Check out our Valentine’s Day gifts. Something red Perfect for budding poets Unique gifts for word lovers

Carolyn Howard-Johnson writes fiction, poetry; and the #HowToDoItFrugally Series of books for writers including the award-winning third edition of, The Frugal Book Promoter: How to get nearly free publicity on your own or by partnering with your publisher; The multi award-winning second edition of The Frugal Editor; . and the second edition of The Great First Impression Book Proposal. The newest in the series is the second edition of her Great Little Last Minute Editing Tips for Writers. Her blog  TheNewBookReview.blogspot.com, lets authors recycle their favorite reviews absolutely free. Find submission guidelines in a tab at the top of the home page.

MORE ABOUT THE BLOGGER 

 Carolyn Howard-Johnson is the author of fiction, creative nonfiction, and poetry. She is also a marketing consultant, editor, and author of the multi award-winning HowToDoItFrugally Series of books for writers including the award-winning second editions of The Frugal Book Promoter and The Frugal Editor. Her latest is in the series is How to Get Great Book Reviews Frugally and Ethically. Learn more on her Amazon profile page, http://bit.ly/CarolynsAmznProfile. Great Little Last Minute Editing Tips for Writers is one of her booklets--perfect for inexpensive gift giving--and The Great First Impression Book Proposal, another booklet, helps writers who want to be traditionally published. She has three FRUGAL books for retailers including one she encourages authors to read because it will help them convince retailers to host their workshops, presentations, and signings. It is A Retailer’s Guide to Frugal In-Store Promotions: How To Increase Profits and Spit in the Eyes of Economic Downturns with Thrifty Events and Sales Techniques. She helps writers extend the exposure of their favorite reviews at TheNewBookReview.blogspot.com. She also blogs at all things editing--grammar, formatting and more--at The Frugal, Smart,and Tuned-In Editor (http://TheFrugalEditor.blogspot.com). 

Her SharingwithWriters.blogspot.com blog focuses on the writing life and book marketing and promotion. It is a Writers' Digest 101 Best blogs pick.

Rarely Discussed Wordtrippers

CONFOUNDING WORDTRIPPERS

This is just a quick copy-and-paste from my #SharingwithWriters newsletter so subscribers to this blog won't think I've forgotten them! (-:  It's one of those wordtrippers that doesn't get much attention. and one I can almost guarantee you didn't get any help with in school.

"Predominate” is not just a verb. It is also an adjective just like “predominant.” In fact, according to dictionaries “predominate” means “predominant.” Still, great editors know which are first choices when one or the other faces them in the copy they are editing.

 Mirriam-Webster, the go-to dictionary for those who write books, says “predominatey” is the variant form of “predominantly”—meaning “predominantly” is more standard.  In fact, it's so preferred that my Word program keeps auto changing predominately for me. It has no clue that I am trying explain the difference there and that's a good lesson in keeping a sharp eye out for its bad habit of thinking it's always right! 

Regardless of which one you choose to use when you are writing books, you don’t want to use one version on one page and another on another page.  

By the way, consider finding more editing tips by subscribing to SharingwithWriters at http://howtodoitfrugally.com. The subscription form is on almost every page of that Web site in the upper right corner.  There's a freebie for doing so, too!

-----
 Carolyn Howard-Johnson edits, consults, and speaks on issues of writing and publishing. Find her at http://howtodoitfrugally.com. Find the second edition of her multi award-winning The Frugal Editor: Do-it-yourself editing secrets for authors: From your query letter to final manuscript to the marketing of your bestseller. (HowToDoItFrugally Series of Books for Writers). Learn more about her other authors' aids at www.howtodoitfrugally.com/writers_books.htm , where writers find lists and other helps including , Great Little Last-Minute Editing Tips on the Resources for Writers page. She blogs on all things publishing (not just editing!) at her SharingingwithWriters blog. She tweets writers' resources at www.twitter.com/frugalbookpromo . Please tweet this post to your followers. We all need a little help with editing. (-:

Use Your Writing References with Confidence

I almost always run an editing tip in my SharingwithWriters newsletter. Thought I'd share one from last month with those of you who follow this blog:

Grammar Guru June Casagrande says , “Mirriam Webster’s Collegiate Dictionary is the default reference for the Chicago Manual of Style.” For those in the publishing industry that would include most SharingwithWriters subscribers and subscribers to this Frugal, Smart, and Tuned-In Editor blog. 

In other words, when you’re getting conflicting information (or when you want to be confident about your choices) use these two references. 

But what if?

• If you’re a journalist or freelance writer who writes for newspaper or magazines, your two go-tos are Webster’s New World College Dictionary and the Associated Press Style-book. 
• Of course,  the media you are writing for may have its own style guide. 
• If you are an academic, check your university’s style guide first and then fall back on the publishing industry’s faves if you need more guidance.

PS: June is the author of Grammar Snobs Are Great Big Meanies published by Penguin and syndicated columnist of "A Word Please."
-----
 Carolyn Howard-Johnson edits, consults, and speaks on issues of writing and publishing. Find her at http://howtodoitfrugally.com. Find the second edition of her multi award-winning The Frugal Editor: Do-it-yourself editing secrets for authors: From your query letter to final manuscript to the marketing of your bestseller. (HowToDoItFrugally Series of Books for Writers). Learn more about her other authors' aids at www.howtodoitfrugally.com/writers_books.htm , where writers find lists and other helps including , Great Little Last-Minute Editing Tips on the Resources for Writers page. She blogs on all things publishing (not just editing!) at her SharingingwithWriters blog. She tweets writers' resources at www.twitter.com/frugalbookpromo . Please tweet this post to your followers. We all need a little help with editing. (-:

Oh, Gawd! A Dictionary and the "W" Word?

You've seen me quote June Casagrande on this blog before. She is a fountain of knowledge and the best little grammar researcher I know. Here is one of her humor pieces I thought you'd a. enjoy and b. get lots from. Thank you for guesting, June!

Dictionaries Gone Wild
By June Casagrande

Webster's New World College Dictionary does not contain the word "McJob." American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language's fourth edition doesn't have it, either. Merriam-Webster does.

Webster's New World does not contain the term "air quotes." American Heritage doesn't have "air quotes." Merriam-Webster does.

Webster's New World does not list "dead presidents" as a synonym for money. American Heritage doesn't, either. Merriam-Webster does.

Webster's New World does not list "accidently" as an alternate spelling of "accidentally." American Heritage does, which surprises me. But Merriam-Webster's choice to report this spelling does not.

Webster's New World doesn't list "Frankenfood." Neither does American Heritage. Merriam-Webster does.

In the introduction to his 2005 Dictionary of Disagreeable English, "grumbling grammarian" Robert Hartwell Fiske examines Merriam-Webster's judgment, as reflected in its 11th collegiate edition, to make two points: 1. that dictionaries need to be more prescriptivist and less descriptivist, and 2. that Merriam-Webster are attention whores.

His first point is hogwash. But his second point is dead on.

Fiske and I would not hit it off at a cocktail party. Fiske hates language liberals, of which I'm one. But my liberalism has its limits. There's a difference between free love and prostitution. And Merriam-Webster's ability to make the NBC Nightly News website has "toot toot, hey, beep beep" written all over it.

I don't have in hand a copy of whatever press release Merriam might have used to score this segment on the home page of a nationally respected news program. But based on my experience receiving and sending press releases, I'd bet dollars to donuts that it touted some of Merriam's quirky, "fun," headline-grabbing new additions.

Fiske says of Merriam-Webster's approach: "It's a marketing strategy. It's not lexicography." I agree. A lot of people might ask, "What's wrong with that?" I have an answer.

Imagine you're the sweet, slightly mousy wallflower who has decided to try speed dating amid friends' assurances of, "Just be yourself. Guys will see how great you are." And imagine you get there and see that one of the other women is wearing a soaking-wet cropped T-shirt and starting every conversation by singing a few bars of "Do You Think I'm a Nasty Girl?"

You may not try speed dating again, but if you did, you'd definitely slap on some mascara first.

When dictionary-making takes its marketing strategy to Girls Gone Wild extremes, they lower the bar for all dictionaries.

Yes, dictionaries should be descriptivist. They should document how people use the language. But at the same time they must bear in mind the responsibility that comes with the job. Once they "document" a usage, they have, inadvertently or not, sanctioned it.

This is a responsibility that, before we reached the apex of our our cola-wars culture, they handled quite well. But with Merriam-Webster setting the terms of the competition, that may not be the case much longer.

Merriam-Webster seems to operate on a, "Hey, we're just reporting it, we're not saying it's right" philosophy. But they know perfectly well that, inadvertently, they are saying it's right. They should stop cheating and get back in the ring with the serious lexicographers who compete for our dollars by aspiring to quality through editorial and academic integrity.

-------
June Casagrande is author of Mortal Syntax: 101 Language Choices That Will Get You Clobbered by the Grammar Snobs -- Even If You're Right. She blogs at www.ConjugateVisits.blogspot.com.

Technorati Tags:
june casagrande, mortal syntax, grammar snobs are great big meanies, carolyn howard-johnson, the frugal editor, dictionaries, meriam-webster, American Heritage, 2005 Dictionary of Disagreeable English, robert hartwell fiske,
Add to: | Technorati | Digg | del.icio.us | Yahoo | BlinkList | Spurl | reddit | Furl |


-----
Carolyn Howard-Johnson edits, consults and speaks on issues of publishing. Find her The Frugal Editor: Put Your Best Book Forward to Avoid Humiliation and Ensure Success at http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0978515870. Learn more about her other authors' aids at www.howtodoitfrugally.com, where writes will find lists and other helps on the Resources for Writers page. She blogs on all things publishing (not just editing!) at her Sharing with Writers blog.