The ampersand (&) is sometimes used in place of the word and in informal writing, like in lists and brand or company names (Johnson & Johnson, AT&T, Barnes & Noble, etc.). Where you don’t generally see ampersands in the place of the word and is in formal writing, like books. So when is it appropriate to use an ampersand, and when should you spell out and?
Ooligan strives to handle every manuscript with care and to take into account every aspect, and angle, of the potential of each one that comes our way. It is an anxious time waiting for a publisher to get back to you about your story that has been worked on for years. That is not something that we take lightly.
One of the most important parts of the acquisitions process for a publisher is determining if a manuscript they are considering is likely to sell enough copies to make financial sense to publish. One of the ways publishers can determine audience interest is finding comparative titles, or comp titles. While a winning set of comp titles isn’t the secret to getting a book deal, understanding their function in publishing and having a few solid options will help any author seeking publication position their book effectively.
Tip #1 The importance of flow Flow is one of the most important parts of dialogue, creating character dynamics, and keeping your reader entertained. The exact tip that I have […]
I discovered that there is a vocal contingent of people out there who hate glossaries, who even think they are a sign of bad writing. This was surprising to me, to say the least. After all, as a longtime reader of fantasy and science fiction, I happen to love glossaries.
Luckily for freelance editors, there are a handful of editorial societies that are available to join to build a sense of community even when working remotely. Providing encouragement and learning resources, each of the organizations listed below are sure to provide some benefit to your range of skills whether you prefer something free to low cost or have the funds to invest in a high-end membership.
Assessing the structural integrity of a house is what developmental editing is to a manuscript. When doing a developmental edit, an editor will organize their thoughts and notes into a cohesive document called the developmental editing letter, or sometimes just the editorial letter, which will then be sent to you. What can you expect from the editorial letter?
Everyone has a favorite genre or story, but comfort isn’t always the key to selecting a desirable manuscript. A publisher should be aware of systemic issues and internal bias. There are fine lines between genre expectations, tropes, and stereotypes. A publisher should consider how these expectations function in the manuscript before rejecting a piece or prescribing edits.
Artificial spell-checking and editing software like Grammarly has been around for several years, but in recent years, more robust artificial intelligence programs have been developed to write documents and fully edit them with little to no human interference. This flux in AI programs for writing and editing has certain implications for the future of copyediting, but can AI really become proficient enough to fully replace human editors? We’ll explore this question in this blog post.
Is this a typo or is it just poetry? Editing poetry can appear so daunting at times because of this infamous question. Everything within a poem can seem intentional. From two em dashes in a row to a misspelled word, it can be hard to decipher what’s needed and what isn’t. However, there are poetry rules of thumb that make it a little easier to navigate a poem.