Recently a reader asked me what the AP Stylebook says about the difference between affect and effect. My first inclination was to tell them that this is one of those cases where the issue is not one of AP Style, but rather grammar and definitions, which the Associate Press Stylebook leaves up to other authorities. [...]
Neither et al. nor etc. have entries in the AP Stylebook. That does not mean that they are not allowed under AP Style per se, because the main rule of AP Style is to use Webster’s Dictionary unless there is an overriding rule provided in the Associated Press Stylebook. That would make both et al. [...]
If you read many of the ads out there looking for freelance writers, you may notice a proliferation of those asking for respondents to have "perfect English grammar." As a professional writer myself, I find this to be the world’s most meaningless qualification. All published writing should strive for perfect grammar, of course. Professional writers [...]
I’ve talked many times about how writing faster, coupled with getting paid on a project or assignment basis, is the quickest way to increasing what you earn as a freelance writer. There are a lot of ways to write faster. The first, of course, is to write shorter length articles. When a client asks for [...]
If you are reading this freelance writing blog, I hope that you are either pursuing a writing career as a freelance writer – or otherwise – or that you are interested in writing better. Although there are many professional writers who become writers and stay writers without traveling down any of the various literary forks [...]
I’ve written a handful of posts lately about my new netbook for writing that I have been using. That has led some readers to query about whether or not I had abandoned by my other computers in favor of the writer’s netbook. Far from it, my desktop computer remains my primary writing computer and a [...]
As professional writers, we know all to well the frustration of copyright infringement and people stealing professional content to fill up junk websites filled with advertisements and affiliate links. When it comes time for freelance writers to find and use stock photography to go along with our writing efforts we play by the rules. If [...]
I had a chance to get some hands on time with an iPad the other day. Like everyone else, I thought it was really cool at first. I mean, imagine the possibilities. But, then as reality sat in, I could only actually imagine two possibilities (games and reading), neither of which justifies a $100 device, [...]
The precise meaning of words and the proper construction of syntax is often too mundane to be observed by many. However, to the professional writer and those who strive for excellence, getting the words right is important. Here is one of many instances.
The single best piece of advice any freelance writer can get when they are just starting out as a new freelance writer.
As a freelance writer, I need a way to create, organize, and keep notes, sources, and even snippets of text or dialog, as well as article ideas. Around my home office, I have literally a hundred or more notebooks jammed with scribbles, ideas, magazine clippings, and newspaper articles. While opening up one of those notebooks [...]
