• bringing out the best in your writing
  
• enhancing your unique style and voice
  
• improving the clarity, readability and flow of your manuscript
  
• ensuring that the quality of your manuscript meets publishing standards

Looking for some writing guidelines? Click on the links below.

If you have questions or would like information on other topics, send us an email!

• Grammar
  
• Punctuation
  
• Quotation marks
  
• Italics
  
• Acronyms
  
• Time & numerical values

• Watch for misplaced modifiers. Place adverbs and adjectives as close to the verb or noun as possible.
• Use prepositions (in, of, at, to, from, into, with, etc.) correctly. As a general rule, do not end sentences with a preposition. Describe objects using an adjective instead of a preposition and object. For example, fish pond is better than pond of fish.
• Use the word “will” or “would” instead of “is/are going to.” For example, “What will/would they do?” is better than “What are they going to do?”
• Use words and phrases like “Afterwards” or “When we arrived,” at the beginning of a sentence rather than somewhere within the sentence.
• Be careful when using the words “and” and “but.” Instead of using “and” to connect two complete thoughts in one long sentence, it is usually better to separate them into two separate sentences or clauses. Using “and” or “but” at the beginning of a sentence is acceptable and can be an effective way to emphasize a point.
• Don’t overuse the word “that”—especially if it is used more than once in a sentence. For example, “You promised I could see that movie” is better than “You promised that I could see that movie.”
• Some words may be used as adjectives or adverbs. To use “every day” as an adjective, join the two words together, e.g., “It’s an everyday occurrence.” To use it as an adverb, separate the two words, e.g., “I talk to her every day.”
• Hyphenate double- or triple-worded adjectives, e.g., well-thought-out.
• After characters have been introduced, refer to them by name. This personalizes the character and makes them real in the minds of readers. For example, Rita is better than my mother.
• Use words like “we” and “they” and “them” only if you’ve given readers a clear indication who this means. There must be no confusion.
• Using “active” verbs (rather than “passive” ones) to invoke images in readers’ minds. For example, “Jack built the house" is better than “The house was built by Jack.”
• If the style and subject matter of your book are informal, use contractions, i.e., isn’t instead of is not, won’t instead of will not, etc.
• In most case when you’re referring to a general person, use the word “you.” Use the word “one” only in more formal novels.

• Vary the punctuation. Use question marks, exclamation marks, semi-colons, colons, ellipses (…), parentheses, ( ), and em dashes (—) when appropriate. Note: never use a double dash (--) in place of an em dash.
• Don’t overuse commas. Use a comma before the word “but” only when separating two clauses in a sentence; e.g., The picture was beautiful, but I didn’t like it. Do not use a comma when separating two adjectives, e.g., The picture was beautiful but confusing.
• Use a question mark only if a direct question is being asked. Do not use if a question is merely implied, e.g., I wonder if he will ask me out on a date.
• In dialogue, put all punctuation inside double quotation marks. For example, “I love that dress!”

• Use double quotation marks:
• around spoken words in dialogue
• quotations
• highlighting specific words or phrases, e.g., use a comma before the word “but”
• names of newspaper or magazine articles

• Italicize thoughts and unspoken words. For example, Should I phone him? she wondered. Do not use italics if a character’s thoughts are merely stated, e.g., Cara wondered if she should call Pete.
• Italicize the names of books, magazines, movies, etc. Never use double quotation marks!
• Italicize words you want to emphasize to make a point. (This is not the same as highlighting a specific word or phrase.) For example, “Make love, not war.” Do not underline or use “double quotation marks” for this purpose.
• Italicize foreign words or phrases. Note: the first time you use a foreign word or phrase, it’s a good idea to include the English translation in parentheses beside it, e.g., kusigolo (leather bag).
  

• The first time you use an acronym, spell it out in full so readers know what the letters stand for, e.g., Management Science for Health (MSH). Note: if you use the acronym only once or twice in the entire book, you should include the full name each time.

• When referring to a past decade, the correct format is 1980s or ’80s. Do not use 1980’s or eighties (this refers to someone’s age).
• When indicating the time of day, use AM or PM, e.g., 8:30 AM. Alternatively, you can spell it out, e.g., eight-thirty that morning or eight-thirty a.m.
• As a general rule, numbers up to one hundred should be written out in full. Numbers over one hundred are generally expressed in numerical values, e.g., 150 (except at the beginning of a sentence). Note: when listing several numbers, dollars, weight measures, etc. in one paragraph, use numerical values.
  
  Also use numerical values when using:
• fractions, e.g., 2½ pieces
• percentages, e.g., 2 percent or 2%