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Named to "Writer's Digest 101 Best Websites," this #SharingwithWriters blog is a way to connect with my readers and fellow writers, a way to give the teaching genes that populate my DNA free rein. Please join the conversation using the very tiny "comment" link. For those interested in editing and grammar, go to http://thefrugaleditor.blogspot.com.

Tuesday, May 04, 2010

Karen Cioffi Presents Model Review for Those Who Would Review

I'm in love with this review written by Karen Cioffi. Not because it is a rave review (really, it's quite matter-of-fact), but because it gives readers what they need to make a buying decision. So, I think of this not only as a brag about my new little booklet, but as an example of what a well-written review looks like.

Title: Great Little Last-Minute Editing Tips for Writers
Author: Carolyn Howard-Johnson
Publisher: HowToDoItFrugally.com
ISBN: 1450507654

What’s more important to a writer than words? Not much . . . maybe how to put words together properly, using correct grammar, weaving them together to create descriptive or informative content . . . but, we still go back to the foundation of every writer’s manuscript or article . . . words.

Carolyn Howard Johnson’s latest book, Great Little Last-Minute Editing Tips for Writers, is a little 55 page book (or e-book) that a writer can refer back to over and over and over to find help with some of the most common word trippers.

In the Before You Get Started section of this book, Howard-Johnson explains, “Great Little Last-Minute Editing Tips for Writers is full of words that are trouble causers. They either sound alike or are spelled similarly. They are not arcane words that you will seldom have an occasion to use. They are not words the writer knows but still mistypes.”

Words such as climactic and climatic used improperly or misspelled can mean a rejection when submitting to the “gatekeepers.” The addition or deletion of that little second “c” makes a huge difference in the meaning of the word.

Or, how about the words: all together / altogether; demur / demure; one in the same / one and the same; and peeked / peaked / piqued. These are just a few of the word trippers added in the Great Little Last-Minute Editing Tips for Writers.

Listed in an A – Z format, the words chosen for this book are thoroughly explained with the aid of examples. This all makes for an easy to understand and easy to read guide. The author also provides two resource sections at the end of the book: Reading: One Editing Book at a Time, and Other Writers’ Aids.

I happen to be a fan of Carolyn Howard-Johnson’s Frugal series and have the Frugal Editor as well as the Frugal Book Promoter. They are a part of my writing and marketing toolkit. The author has done it again with the Great Little Last-Minute Editing Tips for Writers. She has compiled this much needed booklet as an addendum to a list in the appendix of her book, The Frugal Editor: Put Your Best Book Forward to Avoid Humiliation and Ensure Success.

I learned a great deal from Great Little Last-Minute Editing Tips for Writers and will be referring to it often; I highly recommend it.

Reviewed by Karen Cioffi, author, writer-for-hire, freelance writer. She blogs at
http://karenandrobyn.blogspot.com and is co-author of Day's End Lullaby. She is the author of The Self-Publisher's Guide, Writing, Publishing, and Marketing - You Can Do It!, and Walking Through Walls - In contract with 4RV Publishing. She also reviews for BookPleasures.com and Muse Book Reviews
Follow her at http://twitter.com/KarenCV

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Carolyn Howard-Johnson, author of This Is the Place; Harkening: A Collection of Stories Remembered; Tracings, a chapbook of poetry; and two how to books for writers, The Frugal Book Promoter: How To Do What Your Publisher Won't and The Frugal Editor: Put Your Best Book Forward to Avoid Humiliation and Ensure Success. Her FRUGAL book for retailers 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 is also the author of the Amazon Short, "The Great First Impression Book Proposal". Some of her other blogs are TheNewBookReview.blogspot.com, a blog where authors can recycle their favorite reviews. She also blogs at all things editing, grammar, formatting and more at The Frugal, Smart and Tuned-In Editor .

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5 comments:

  1. We all need reviews like that now and then!

    ReplyDelete
  2. Anonymous8:00 AM

    Is this a book or ebook, Carolyn?
    Allyn

    ReplyDelete
  3. Allyn, this is both. The URL for it on Amazon is www.budurl.com/WordTrippersPB. You can get it on Createspace.com as an e-book. The beauty of this as an e-book, is that it's a booklet and even people who don't read well onscreen can handle it.
    Best,
    Carolyn

    ReplyDelete
  4. Carolyn, Wow. Thanks so much for your kind words. It's funny, after reading the Great Little Last-Minute Editing Tips for Writers I find myself much more aware of silly mistakes I make with words and how a simple little deletion or addition of a letter in a word can make a world of a difference.

    ReplyDelete
  5. Karen, how sweet of you to say this. I'm thinking you may enjoy my editing/grammar/formatting blog, www.thefrugaleditor.blogspot.com. I'm running a series on wordiness and inviting people to submit phrases we use all the time that are just unneeded fluff. Would love to have your input!
    Best,
    Carolyn

    ReplyDelete

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