Topics: Capitalization of Titles; Webinars to Promote Your Books I have a confession to make. (That got you wondering, didn’t it?) No, nothing too juicy. It’s just about being an editor. Even as someone who’s written uncountable headlines for newspapers and newsletters, I sometimes have trouble remembering the rules for what’s supposed to be capitalized in a heading and what’s not. I don’t think I’m alone with that confession. If you’re a self-published author or editor, you’ve likely rubbed your noggin’ a time or two over capitalization of titles. Here are some examples of words that might or might not be capitalized in a heading. See if you can pick which of these words should be capitalized: after from out …

Easy Guide to Point of View Mastering point of view (POV) is one of the basics all writers should tackle. Knowing how to properly mix, or avoid, blending viewpoints, is something that, once learned, will become second nature to you. Okay writers, having read that opening statement, how many of you know there are two points of view in that paragraph? “All writers” is third person, as it signifies who is being written about, without using the actual words (he, she, they, their or a list of proper names). When I wrote, “second nature to you,” the “you” identifies this sentence as being written in second person. You can see how using the word “you” narrows down the audience to …

Did you know the Chicago Manual of Style is what should be used as your punctuation and grammar guide when writing a book? Rules for article writing can be different and everyone knows you get a lot of creative leeway with blogs. Even so, the rules for using commas are consistent and make a big difference to the reader. Think of commas as little signals on how to read each sentence. It’s as important to know when you shouldn’t use commas as it is to know how to use them properly. Below are some basic rules and some examples. Use a comma to set off quotes. In her book, she writes, “The way to discover this is tough.” Use a …