Manuscriptas Editorial Services

Just finished Careless People (👀) by Sarah Wynn Williams and am now into The Bookshop on the Corner by Jenny Colgan

This is a concise explanation of who/whom with expamples:

For dialogue questions, my go-to is The Chicago Guide to Copyediting Fictionby Amy Schneider. It is fantastic and more user-friendly than full CMOS.

The reality for most writers:

Some great advice for editing any piece of writing!

Be wary of this one that trips people up.

😂 Merriam-Webster for the win!

Of course, people had to come up with others. See comments.

Homophones of the week:

Material: matter (especially physical matter) or having real importance or great consequence

Materiel: equipment or supplies used by an organization, particularly the military

Writing Tip o' the Day: Sight and sound are the biggies, but there is no sense more closely linked to memory than smell. A well-described, vivid scent will instantly immerse your reader in the scene. Don't ignore this description.

#WritingCommunity #amwriting #amediting

🎰 Gamble = To take a risk (Publishing is always a bit of a gamble!)
🐑 Gambol = To frolic (The characters gamboled through the meadow after their HEA!)

💡 Tip: Take a gamble on your writing dreams but never forget to gambol in success! 💕 #WritersLife #AmEditing #WritingTips #RomanceEditor

Merriam Webster NEW 12th Edition Collegiate Dictionary

We have some words for you.

Merriam-Webster’s Collegiate Dictionary.

The NEW Twelfth Edition.

Made of paper.

11.18.2025

www.merriam-webster.com/collegiate-d...

Oldie but a goodie:

AFFECT: almost always a verb meaning to do something to produce change. In healthcare, it can be a noun describing a person’s emotional expressiveness.
EFFECT: almost always a noun, meaning an outcome. Exception is that you can also effect change (verb).

Purple bird pulling on a squiggle that comes from a pencil icon in the Red Pencil Conference logo. Text: Northwest Editors Guild Red Pencil Conference. November 8, 2025, Lynnwood Event Center and Online. Early Bird Registration NOW OPEN! edsguild,org/red-pencil-2025. #Edsguild 2025. Red Pencil Conference 2025 Framing our Future. Perspectives on a Changing Industry.

Early Bird Registration is open for the #EdsGuild2025 Red Pencil Conference!

Join us in-person in Lynnwood (just north of Seattle) -OR- online 11/8 for a full day of sessions exploring editing and publishing trends, practical skills, the dizzying rise of AI, and more!

edsguild.org/red-pencil-2025

Full card, anyone? 🤪🤪

#amwriting #amquerying #amediting #writingcommunity

Just say no.

Me: Each chapter has been created to be freestanding...

Grammar checker: Remove “created to be."

Me: …

Happens so much in dissertations that have been edited and formatted over and over and over. Painful.

I see these misused often:
COMPLEMENT: to enhance, improve, or complete something else
COMPLIMENT: praise, expression of admiration

She complimented Jane on the elegant scarf that complemented her dress.

Often confused:
portent: warning or signal (often as a foreshadowing)
potent: strong or effective

amuse: to entertain
bemuse: to bewilder/confuse/puzzle

Homonyms are words that look or sound the same but mean different things. These often trip people up, me included. I am quite a good speller but am still surprised by them at times.

hangar: a plane-storing building
hanger: item to hold clothes
ware: something for sale
wear: piece of clothing

I guess that I will be content with the squirrel and raccoon robbers...

Of course, be sure and the check the comment section of this. 😂

Because not everyone clicks through to the bonus panel…

A ‘boathouse’ is a type of house.

A ‘houseboat’ is a type of boat.

This is a common pattern in English.

The first noun MODIFIES the second word.

The second noun is what it IS.
🧵⬇️

You ‘run the gamut’ and ‘run the gauntlet.’

You don’t ‘run the gambit.’

gamut = entire range or series

gauntlet = severe trial

Gambit = Alpha-level mutant who can convert potential energy to kinetic energy

To clarify:
DISCREET: modest, prudent, unobtrusive
DISCRETE: distinct, individual (not continuous) elements

Discrete is most commonly used to describe stages or data points.

Happy Monday.

Manuscriptas Editorial Services: Amplifying voices.

Clarification of the week:

filet mignon: beef tenderloin cut—note there is one L
fillet: used most commonly in reference to a cut of fish or the process of cutting the fish—two Ls

Hire an editor. We can help. 💜

MS Word editor was on crack today, too. I mean, worse than usual.

#booksky