You Writers....do you use a standard reference for grammar and punctuation?

Question

Like "Elements of Style" or some other style guide, or do you leave that part to an editor?
Also, do you have someone to read your work to get feedback on the quality?

Answer 1

Professional writers do have editors, but they also have a working knowledge of grammar and how it relates to stylistics. The Elements of Style is an excellent resource for common grammar errors that could lead to confusion. The writer needs to be concerned with what he or she is saying, how, and why. This way when the editor makes suggestions, there can be a dialogue between the author and editor about semantics, creative license, whatever.

Bottom line is that editors are fantastic, but writers should not use them instead of making the effort to learn the complexities of the language themselves.

Answer 2

The person who gives me feedback is my editor. Editors do a lot more than just correct grammar and spelling. Hopefully, they have to do very little of that. I am a big girl now and I know how to use proper English. It isn't an editor's job to hold my hand and cross my T's and dot my I's for me. What an editor does for an author that is far more important is give you margin notes. They tell you where to pick the story up or slow it down. They tell you where more description is needed or too much is used. The job of an author is to edit your manuscript and turn it into a better book without changing your voice. They don't come cheap (3-5 dollars a page based on 250 words per page) but they are worth their weight in gold.
----
They're, Their, There - Three Different Words.

Careful or you may wind up in my next novel.

Pax - C

Answer 3

Elements of Style is good, but a bit old fashioned.
Some "rules" change over time, such as which words should be capitalized.
Older style books have you capitalize east, west, north and south. Modern writers don't do that anymore (well, some do).

I think writer's who rely on an editor for fixing these problems are not really professional.
There are some on YA who would lead us to believe they are successful, published writer's, but, after close examination of their postings, leave me doubting.
For a real professional, good punctuation and grammar are second nature.

Answer 4

I don't really need reference works to guide me on grammar and punctuation. I figure at some point an editor will call me on anything I've gotten wrong. (So far, so good.)

However, when I'm helping other writers, I refer them over and over to The St. Martin's Handbook, which is easy enough to understand, yet far more complete than Strunk. I got mine for $5, and it's almost always open on my desk because I used it to help me explain something to a writer who asked for feedback.

Answer 5

I pay attention to how my favorite books are written.

Different writers use different rules (look at Tolkien's punctuation) so it doesn't seem all that important so long as it is consistant and the reader is comfortable with it.

Answer 6

Element of Style. You should never be lazy and hand off an inferior product.

Answer 7

You should always do your best to keep your work in order, never let anyone correct mistakes that they do not have to.

Answer 8

S&W all the way


cheers!