Editorial Notes = clarifying information, additional insight, annotations

Hiya Reader,

I successfully implemented my own self-editing advice this week on a section that's been problematic for a while. I changed the font!

No, that's not a joke. And I am newly reminded of what a great tool this simple change can be.

I almost exclusively use 12 point Times New Roman, and I ask my clients to do the same when sending manuscripts my way. Whether my preference insistence is because it's a traditional default typestyle or aesthetics, habit or something else entirely, my brain likes this old standby.

It's a simple mind trick. Seeing my words in unusual font (I don't mean unusual like Comic Sans for heaven's sake but merely a font that's not my go-to) is like looking at it fresh. I had to slow down rather than skim, read and ponder and process rather than automatically filling in what "should" be there. The trick worked so well that I'll try it again in the next revision, perhaps this time with 13 point font!

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Example of the Week

Sometimes this is a good example—or a great one. Sometimes this is a bad example—or just a funny blooper. Sometimes a combination. You never know.

This came in from a reader submission (Thanks, JT!)

Putting aside the redundancy of "as a reminder" and "please remember," how many errors can you spot here?

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Actionable Tip of the Week

A trick to add to your self-editing toolbox right now!

You might remember my advice to create your own style sheet. (If you missed it or just want a refresher, you can find that issue here.)

I now have a new tip to add. My friends and I were talking about the words we can never remember how to spell no matter how many times we try. (For me, aptly, the word is "embarrass." And yes I misspelled it the first time I typed it here, leaving that gosh darn second "r" off as always, and had to fix it.)

Create a personal "problem words" list for your use, made up of the words you consistently misspell, misuse, or confuse. Keep this list handy and do a targeted search for each problem word during your editing passes.

This isn't just about spelling, of course. Maybe you're like Valerie in this week's reader question below and have difficulty with who/whom. (Other common grammatical culprits include: its/it's, affect/effect, who's/whose, then/than, and desert/dessert.)

Whatever your personal writing demons, add them. Maybe you always type "form" when you mean "from," or you can never remember whether it's "compliment" or "complement." Maybe your keyboard autocorrects "is" to "Oscar" 80% of the time. (Just me?)

Use your word processor's Find function to hunt down every instance of these problem words. This focused approach catches errors that spell check misses (because the wrong word is correctly spelled) and trains your brain to be more careful with these troublesome pairs.

Maybe, over time, we'll internalize the correct versions. I'll get back to you on my experience!

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Reader Question of the Week

Valerie wrote: I'm confused about using "who" versus "whom." I've heard the rule about subject versus object, but I still can't figure it out in real sentences. Is there a simple trick?

Valerie! You're not alone—"whom" trips up many people. The simplest test I know is to substitute "he/him" or "she/her" (or a person's first name) in the sentence.

If "he" or "she" fits, use "who." If "him" or "her" fits, use "whom."

Example: "The person (who/whom) called didn't leave a message." Test it: "He called" or "Him called"? Obviously "He called," so use "who."

Another: "The author (who/whom) I interviewed was fascinating." Test it: "I interviewed she" or "I interviewed her"? It's "her," so use "whom."

The trick works because "who" and "he/she" are subjects, while "whom" and "him/her" are objects.

When in doubt, rewrite to avoid the issue entirely: "The author I interviewed was fascinating." But hopefully your rewritten sentence will be far more interesting than that one. 😊

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Link of the Week

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If you've been less than thrilled by Google's search results lately, you're not alone. Google has been slowly and methodically eroding the quality of their results, but thankfully someone created a site that returns your Google search without ads and AI overviews.

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I ❤️ Hearing from You!

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Thanks for reading!

~Helene, your writing sherpa

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