Sadly, this month we say good-bye to The Book Doctor, a staple here since Writers and Publishers Network began as SPAWN (Small Publishers, Artists, and Writers Network) many years ago.…
by Bobbie Christmas Q: Your track changes on my manuscript show that you want me to delete a lot of words from my manuscript. Why did you make that recommendation?…
by Bobbie Christmas Q: Do I really need a literary agent if I want to sell my book to a publisher? A: The answer depends on your manuscript. Some publishers—it…
by Bobbie Christmas Q: When I refer to a specific chapter in my book proposal or in my book, do I capitalize it? For example, when I say, “See Chapter…
by Bobbie Christmas (and AI) Q: What are your feelings about using artificial intelligence to write a novel? A: I’m intrigued with all the discussions about AI. My opinion is…
by Bobbie Christmas Q: I just received an encouraging response from an agent I queried regarding my manuscript of fiction. The agent is requesting, among other things, a description (approximately…
by Bobbie Christmas Q: Someone online the other day inquired about a quick, easy way to look up questions about writing. People suggested The Elements of Style by Strunk and…
by Bobbie Christmas Q: What does it mean when a magazine says, “No serial commas, except to avoid confusion.” What are serial commas? A: Also called the Oxford comma, a…
by Bobbie Christmas Q: I’ve written five short stories for children compiled in one book. Each short story has a title and subtitle. The book has a title and subtitle.…
by Bobbie Christmas For some reason I’m seeing more expletives than ever in the manuscripts I edit, so rather than a Q & A today, I’m going to address expletives…
by Bobbie Christmas Q: How important is the format of my manuscript? If I don’t follow standard manuscript format, can my book get rejected? A: I can’t speak for every…
by Bobbie Christmas Q: There is someone in my current critique circle who keeps saying, “Write tight.” Is he just being incredibly critical, or is he just trying to say…
by Bobbie Christmas Q: I just received an encouraging response from an agent I queried regarding my fiction manuscript. The agent requested a description (approximately one-page summary) and a synopsis…
by Bobbie Christmas Q: If I could find this in CMOS, I wouldn’t bother you. In one of Bobbie’s reports (Highlights of Chicago Style) it says: "Chicago style does not…
by Bobbie Christmas Q: With 9/11 and 24/7 prevalent in journalism, it seems odd not to write it with a virgule (slash) in fiction, even though Chicago Style and editors…
by Bobbie Christmas Q: I watched a reality show some years back wherein celebrities competed to win money for their favorite charities. Something happened in it that has bothered me…
by Bobbie Christmas Q: How do we support ourselves while we’re writing our books? A: If you’re writing nonfiction, you can write a proposal and several sample chapters instead of…
by Bobbie Christmas Q: I’ve been tasked with editing a magazine article that has quotes from several people. Some of the quotes use less-than-standard English. The article is in praise…
by Bobbie Christmas Q: Which of the sentences below sounds best? John's mother told him, A. "I'm beginning to regret giving birth to you." B. "I regret giving birth to…
by Bobbie Christmas Q: Which of the sentences below sounds best? John's mother told him, A. "I'm beginning to regret giving birth to you." B. "I regret giving birth to…
by Bobbie Christmas Q: After five years I have completed my autobiography. After submitting many query letters with the word count of 777,568, I have been informed that as a…
by Bobbie Christmas Q: I have several acquaintances who have given up writing because they could not sell their first book or two. One is a woman who wrote two…
by Bobbie Christmas Q: What’s the difference between book doctors and book coaches? A: In a nutshell book coaches work on you, whereas book doctors work on your manuscript. Coaches…
by Bobbie Christmas Q: A friend of mine is a male writer with a manuscript that has a female as the lead character in first person. He has repeatedly gotten…
by Bobbie Christmas Q: I am writing a non-fiction book about basketball teams, and my editor and I are confused about the use of numbers in the book. I have…
by Bobbie Christmas Q: I want to write articles for magazines. I’m especially interested in travel writing and hope a periodical will pay for my travel. I don’t know where…
by Bobbie Christmas Q: Is The Chicago Manual of Style the standard for editing nonfiction book manuscripts? What do you say about the comments below made by two editors I’ve…
by Bobbie Christmas Q: One of my critique partners said I use too many gerunds and participles and said I have several dangling participles. I thought I knew the parts…
by Bobbie Christmas In recognition of Punctuation Day on September 24, I pulled some of the questions people asked me about punctuation. I based all my answers on Chicago style,…
by Bobbie Christmas Q: After five years I completed my autobiography. After submitting many query letters with the word count of 777,568 I have been informed that as a new…
by Bobbie Christmas Q: I was wondering how you feel about e-books. Most people have pretty strong feelings for and against. I’d be interested to know how you feel and…
by Bobbie Christmas Q: I keep on hearing “write tight, write tight,” from fellow writers and others. I’m not so sure what they’re trying to say to me. The whole…
by Bobbie Christmas Q: Do single quotation marks indicate irony? Do they indicate thoughts? When should I use single quotation marks? A: Use great caution when using single quotation marks.…
by Bobbie Christmas Q: For a two-hundred-page novel, how short is too short for the chapter length? A: The length of a chapter has only to do with the scene…
by Bobbie Christmas Q: What are the most common errors you find in manuscripts you edit? A: I find and correct errors in word choice, punctuation, spelling, grammar, and more,…
by Bobbie Christmas Q: I’ve heard conflicting information about attributions. Some places say that using “said” is the best way to attribute dialogue to characters in fiction or interviewees in…
by Bobbie Christmas Q: How can I unblock my mental blocks and get my creative side back? A: This question arises often lately. I suspect more writers than ever are…
by Bobbie Christmas Q: What does my editor mean when she says my manuscript has danglers? A: She means some sentences are missing important words. Without seeing the manuscript I…
by Bobbie Christmas Q: My editor marked some passages in my literary novel and labeled them “purple prose.” I prefer to write creative passages and descriptions and often spurn traditional…
by Bobbie Christmas Q: Which is more important when writing a story, dialogue or descriptions? A: Without a doubt dialogue is more vital to a story than descriptions. I’ve read…
by Bobbie Christmas Q: Are author photos and biographies essential to have on your books? Would I be making a mistake if my back cover had only my blurb? A:…
by Bobbie Christmas Q: If I mention a song in my book, could I get in trouble? Here’s a sample sentence: Evanescence’s “Good Enough” was playing on the radio. I…
by Bobbie Christmas Q: I received a letter from the publisher I’d submitted my novel to. She says if I’m selected, her prices or advance is competitive. I don’t have…
by Bobbie Christmas Q: I have been steadily working on my corrections so I might start the search for an agent; however, when I asked my brother, who used the…
by Bobbie Christmas Q: Why is it that one-word sentences, made-up words, sentences beginning with “and” and “but,” and clichés can be found in novels written by bestselling authors. But…
by Bobbie Christmas Q: What’s the difference between a foreword, an introduction, a preface, a prologue, and an epilogue? A: With the exception of the epilogue, all those items will…
by Bobbie Christmas Q: Would it be alright to write an entire chapter about someone committing suicide? A: It would be fine to write a chapter that focuses on one…
by Bobbie Christmas Q: Is cell phone one word or two? A: Merriam-Webster, the standard reference for book publishers, lists it as two words, cell phone, with an acceptable variant…
by Bobbie Christmas Creative writers know to avoid clichés, but how can we recognize a cliché? And what’s the difference between an idiom and a cliché? First, all idioms are…
by Bobbie Christmas Q: In light of racial and LGBTQ issues, various terminology is changing to more sensitive language, avoiding words and phrases such as master, grandfathered in, slave, etc.…
by Bobbie Christmas Q: What format should I use to emphasize a word? Italics, underlining, bold text, ellipses? A: Before the advent of computers, way back when dinosaurs roamed the…
by Bobbie Christmas Q: My fiancée thinks I should change my main character to a woman, because doing so would make my novel more marketable. What say you? A: Marketability…
by Bobbie Christmas Q: I’m trying to grasp the concept that adverbs tell rather than show. I don’t quite understand what you mean. Will you explain “show rather than tell”…
by Bobbie Christmas Q: I’ve looked through all my grammar books and cannot find an explanation of why starting a sentence with a participle is a problem. I’m not talking…
by Bobbie Christmas Q: I tried writing novels, but I found I was better at writing shorter things. I wrote some short stories, but they all come out as if…
by Bobbie Christmas Q: Are both of the following sentences below grammatically correct? The first one seems off because it sounds like “while waiting . . . sister” defines “dance.”…
by Bobbie Christmas Q: What is the necessary balance between dialogue (that shows) and exposition (that tells but advances the story)? A: Exposition is usually background information and rarely advances…
by Bobbie Christmas Q: You told me that dog breeds don't get capitalized, right? Border collie is the one in question. I prefer to do it out of respect, but…
by Bobbie Christmas As soon as we take writing seriously, we learn to avoid clichés. In my decades of editing book-length manuscripts for publishers and individuals, though, I see a…
by Bobbie Christmas Q: I have a question regarding one of your “criticisms.” On several of the pages you edited you circled the word “And” and made a note not…
by Bobbie Christmas Q: What is the most popular shipping agreement for when buyers want me to ship them a book? A: I don’t know what is the most popular,…
by Bobbie Christmas Q: Why is using passive voice a no-no in fiction? A: Voice, when it refers to the verbs in a sentence, shows whether the subject acts (active…
by Bobbie Christmas Q: I'm publishing a book of rebuses. Should I use a pen name or my own name? I know some authors use another name when they switch…
by Bobbie Christmas Q: I wonder if you’ve noticed the recent outbreak of unnecessary commas between adjectives in otherwise respectable publications (I’ve even seen it in The New York Times!)…
by Bobbie Christmas Q: I have recently written a novel in Farsi and I have translated the first seventeen pages of it to English. Even though the story line has…
by Bobbie Christmas Q: I have a challenge with keeping up with the characters in a trilogy I’m writing. From one book to another I forget small details that could…
by Bobbie Christmas Q: I wrote a book about fifteen years ago and sold the rights to a publishing house. The book sold slowly, but it finally sold out. The…
by Bobbie Christmas Q: I have two questions. In including a quote from [source redacted] in an article I'm writing, I have these challenges: 1. He was British so his…
by Bobbie Christmas Q: I’ve created a series of interactive gift books. I think my idea would be great for a company like Hallmark, Peter Pauper Press, or Abrams, but…
by Bobbie Christmas Q: How do you use single quotation marks to indicate significance? Which of the following is correct? He nodded 'yes.' "I told him 'hello.'" 'Safety' is the…
by Bobbie Christmas Q: The members of my group write romance novels. I have always used *** to separate scenes within a chapter. One writer suggested that using symbol drops…
by Bobbie Christmas Q: When it comes to possessives, I find the rules can be confusing. Can you sort them out? What is the correct possessive of proper nouns, names…
by Bobbie Christmas Q: What's the difference between book doctors and book coaches? A: In a nutshell, book coaches work on you, whereas book doctors work on your manuscript. Coaches…
by Bobbie Christmas Q: In this sentence (for a nonfiction book), which version would be correct? (Or should it be something else?) Most lenders expect your mortgage payments not to…
by Bobbie Christmas Q: I noticed your newsletter used to hyphenate email (as e-mail) and capitalize internet, but the latest edition doesn’t do those things. What gives? A: What gives…
by Bobbie Christmas Q: My ten-year marriage is ending. I don't feel like writing. Do you have any advice on how to fight through the pain and write? A: As…
by Bobbie Christmas Q: A publisher recently requested my manuscript, and within forty-eight hours I received an email that said, “Only Word files are excepted.” Shouldn’t the word be “accepted?”…
Q: I can’t decide the best way to get someone to edit my manuscript. Should I let my editor edit the electronic file, or should I print out the manuscript…
by Bobbie Christmas Q: I have a couple of questions about ebooks, as I've had two responses to queries from ebook publishers. 1. Should my manuscript be copyrighted before I…
by Bobbie Christmas Q: I tried writing novels, but I found I was better at writing shorter things. I wrote some short stories, but they all come out as if…
by Bobbie Christmas Q: I'm having a problem with adverbs in short stories. (He said, shyly.) I want to enter some of my stories in contests, but they are usually…
by Bobbie Christmas Q: I have considered starting a book for a long time and I have come up with ideas on the plot, the development of characters, and so…
by Bobbie Christmas Q: I received two more instant rejections from agents today. One said, "We've read your material, and I'm sorry to say we don't think it is right…
By Bobbie Christmas Q: A friend read my nonfiction manuscript and said it lacks conviction, as if I’m not an expert on my subject matter. I have advanced degrees that…
by Bobbie Christmas Q: My publisher closed the imprint under which my book was published. What should I do now? A: You have several options, but first and foremost, you…
by Bobbie Christmas Q: I have strong political opinions, especially in light of the recent presidential election in America. I’m not one to write a letter to the editor or…
by Bobbie Christmas Q: I liked the way you addressed commas in a prior column. Have you addressed colons and semicolons in depth, as well? A: I haven't addressed colons…
