Inventing Reality Editing Service

Getting deep inside: Embed vs. Imbed

Sometimes different spellings of a single word arise. Such is the case with embed and imbed.

The verb embed means to root, plant or place something deeply within another thing. For example, The United States media often embeds reporters within military units during war.

Imbed means exactly the same thing and is merely a variant spelling.

One spelling is no more correct than the other. But usage trends show that since the early 1960s, embed increasingly has been used with more frequently than imbed. Because of this, going with embed is your best bet.

Professional Book Editor: Having your novel, short story or nonfiction manuscript proofread or edited before submitting it can prove invaluable. In an economic climate where you face heavy competition, your writing needs a second eye to give you the edge. I can provide that second eye.

Contrasting Different From vs. Different Than

Sometimes writers struggle over which of these two phrases to use. One definitely is better than the other – usually.

Different from means “to contrast two things.” For example, if you wanted to show how one football team is strikingly dissimilar to another team, you might write The Los Angeles Rams play an offensive scheme that is different from the New York Giants.

Different than also means “to contrast”; the two words in the phrase often are split, as in Steve took a different approach to his science project than Mike did.

Traditionally, most editors prefer different from over different than if only because the latter phrase is split. Because of this, different from is far common in writing than different than. Sometimes though, different than actually results in a shorter, more clear sentence. For example, if the above example sentence for different than were written with different from, it would read as, Steve took an approach to his science project different from that used by Mike.

I recommend using different from, but in cases where you can avoid clunky sentences, go with different than.

Professional Book Editor: Having your novel, short story or nonfiction manuscript proofread or edited before submitting it can prove invaluable. In an economic climate where you face heavy competition, your writing needs a second eye to give you the edge. I can provide that second eye.

Getting the whole answer: Comprise vs. Compose

Writers often confuse words with closely related meanings and similar spellings. Comprise and compose are among them.

Comprise is a verb that means “includes” or “consists of.” For example, Canada comprises 10 provinces.

Compose also is a verb and means “to make up the parts of.” To wit, Ten provinces compose Canada.

You’ll notice that in both of the given examples, the sentences are in active voice. You can create a passive voice structure for compose through is composed of as in Canada is composed of 10 provinces. The active voice version of the verb, however, makes for tighter writing.

And while some writers use is comprised of (Canada is comprised of 10 provinces) , it’s generally frowned upon. The Chicago Manual of Style calls it poor usage while The AP Stylebook forbids the structure.

A way to remember the difference between the words is comprise follows the structure of “whole to parts” while compose is “parts to whole.”

Professional Book Editor: Having your novel, short story or nonfiction manuscript proofread or edited before submitting it can prove invaluable. In an economic climate where you face heavy competition, your writing needs a second eye to give you the edge. I can provide that second eye.

How frequently? Biweekly vs. Semi-weekly

If someone told you paychecks came out biweekly, would you give them a confused look and say, “Twice a week? Why so often?” And if someone said a class met semiweekly on Wednesdays, would you ask them if that was “the first and third or the second and fourth Wednesdays of the month?”

Yes to both? Then read on.

Bi- means “two,” so something that is biweekly occurs every two weeks or every other week. For example, We receive our paychecks biweeekly or about twice a month.

Semi- means “half,” so something that is semi-weekly occurs every half-week or twice a week. To wit, The class meets semi-weekly on Tuesday and Thursday evenings.

Though you now know the difference between the two words, your readers still might not. To prevent confusion, instead write “every other week” for biweekly and “every two weeks” for semiweekly.

Professional Book Editor: Having your novel, short story or nonfiction manuscript proofread or edited before submitting it can prove invaluable. In an economic climate where you face heavy competition, your writing needs a second eye to give you the edge. I can provide that second eye.

Clash of the spellings: Armor vs. Armour

Knowing the difference between these two words can make you a stronger writer – at least in the grammar arena.

Armor is a protective covering worn by knights and other warriors. It also can refer to tanks in modern warfare. This is the preferred spelling in American English.

Armour means exactly the same things but is standard in British English. The split in spellings between the two sides of the Atlantic dates to the 1800s.

One easy way to remember which spelling is which is that in the United Kingdom – which begins with a U – a u appears in the word.

Professional Book Editor: Having your novel, short story or nonfiction manuscript proofread or edited before submitting it can prove invaluable. In an economic climate where you face heavy competition, your writing needs a second eye to give you the edge. I can provide that second eye.

7 Tips for Writing Better Dialogue

• How to pen engaging dialogue for your story
• How to make dialogue sound realistic
• Delete bookisms in your story’s dialogue
• Place dialogue attribution in right spots
• Avoid placing attribution before dialogue
• Mastering the fine art of dialogue punctuation
• Place commas inside quotation marks
• BONUS: “The ear is the only true writer and the only true reader.” - Robert Frost

Professional Book Editor: Having your novel, short story or nonfiction manuscript proofread or edited before submitting it can prove invaluable. In an economic climate where you face heavy competition, your writing needs a second eye to give you the edge. I can provide that second eye.

A digital dilemma: Website vs. Web Site

Should website be one or two words and either way should it be capitalized? There’s no need to do an Internet search, as the answers follow...

A website is a location on the World Wide Web that one can access, as in Every major business today has its own website.

The term web site means exactly the same thing and is merely a variant spelling.

During the early 2000s, website as a compound/one word became the preferred spelling. Most stylebooks now recommend spelling it as a single word.

The same has occurred with capitalizing it. During the 1990s, the word generally was spelled as Web site. Just as the word has lost the space between its two syllables, so it also has dropped the capital letter. The AP Stylebook, The Chicago Manual of Style, Garner’s Modern English Usage, and several dictionaries all go with website.

I advise sticking with that trend. About the only time you might use Web site is if letters or diary entries were written during the 1990s by a story’s characters.

Professional Book Editor: Having your novel, short story or nonfiction manuscript proofread or edited before submitting it can prove invaluable. In an economic climate where you face heavy competition, your writing needs a second eye to give you the edge. I can provide that second eye.

Please leave an answer: Voicemail vs. Voice Mail

Both voicemail and voice mail came onto the scene during the 1980s when the first answering machines were widely sold and used by businesses. After the beep, I’ll tell you which spelling is right.

Beeeeeeep.

Voicemail is a recorded audio message left when no one answers a phone call, as in I didn’t want to talk to that jerk, so I just let the call go to voicemail.

Voice mail, as two words, means exactly the same thing and is a variant spelling.

For many years, voice mail was more common in writing than voicemail. Stylebooks often listed the two-word spelling as its preferred style.

That has changed during the 2010s. Stylebooks and dictionaries now generally favor the compound/one word version. Often words that start as two become one in the English language.

I recommend going with the trend and using voicemail. If that spelling really bothers you, though, you still can use voice mail. Whichever spelling you go with, just be consistent with it in your manuscript.

Professional Book Editor: Having your novel, short story or nonfiction manuscript proofread or edited before submitting it can prove invaluable. In an economic climate where you face heavy competition, your writing needs a second eye to give you the edge. I can provide that second eye.

Up to Date vs. Up-to-Date – When to Hyphenate?

A general rule for hyphenation is that phrases used as an adverb do not use hyphens while phrases used as an adjective do. Such is the case with up to date vs. up-to-date.

Up to date is an adverb phrase meaning that something was brought current. For example, Our supervisor required us to bring our accounts reports up to date. It does not take hyphens.

Up-to-date is an adjective phrase that means something includes the most recent information. To wit, Molly’s up-to-date history textbook includes the results of the last presidential election. It needs hyphens.

Knowing whether or not you need hyphens is simply a matter of determining which word the phrase modifies. In the first example given here, up to date modifies brings, which is a verb, so you have an adverb phrase and no hyphens. For the second example, up-to-date modifies textbook, which is a noun, so you have an adjective phrase and hyphens.

Professional Book Editor: Having your novel, short story or nonfiction manuscript proofread or edited before submitting it can prove invaluable. In an economic climate where you face heavy competition, your writing needs a second eye to give you the edge. I can provide that second eye.

Unsportsmanlike grammar: Touch Base vs. Touch Bases

In baseball, after hitting the ball the batter has to touch each of the four bases to score. If he misses a base and keeps running, he must go back to that base before advancing. Runners who miss a base usually are an easy out for the opposing team.

From this simple sports rule arises two widely used verbal phases – touch base and touch bases. One of the phrases is considered standard and gets writers a figurative score; the other phrase is certain to garner an out, though.

Touch base is the correct phrase to use. It means to “quick check with someone,” as in Let me quick touch base with Kevin before sending the email.

Touch bases might be correct in baseball, but it doesn’t really work when you mean to say “quick check with someone.” If you wrote “I need to touch bases with some people,” that would mean you need to check in multiple times with multiple people rather than you first need to check in with several people.

Two other incorrect variants of the verbal phrase also are misheard versions – touch basis and touching basis. Neither makes much sense though each may sound right.

Professional Book Editor: Having your novel, short story or nonfiction manuscript proofread or edited before submitting it can prove invaluable. In an economic climate where you face heavy competition, your writing needs a second eye to give you the edge. I can provide that second eye.