The Importance of Punctuation

So, I've said on more than one occasion that I don't see the punctuation and grammar mistakes when I am reading submissions. I'm more interested in the story and the story-telling.

Unfortunately for me, this can mean a lot of work in the editing process. While my stance is that punctuation is the easiest thing to fix in a story, I understand why most editors reject stories that are filled with mistakes. It can take me several hours to edit a two thousand word short story that has the same mistakes throughout the story. (It would be a lot quicker, if I could just hand them their redpenned manuscript.)

Don't use the internet to learn the rules of punctuation; there are a lot of sites that are just plain wrong in what they tell you. Go down to the bookstore and buy a book on punctuation and grammar. Keep it next to your computer while you are editing your story, because I swear to freaking dog that I am going to scream if I see one more comma splice.

If you don't know what a comma splice is, then you need a grammar book. :)

It's The Storytelling and punctuation

I'm not sure whether this is a good thing or not. For me, when I read through the pile of submissions what I am looking for first is a story that grabs my attention and holds it until the end. I don't see the flaws in the manuscript: the typos, the awkward passages, the verb tense changes, the improper grammar. All I see is the story. And that is what I make my decision on, the story.

For unpublished writers, this is a godsend. You can send me your brilliant, compelling story filled with grammatical and typographical errors and I will not see them when I read through the pile to decide which stories to include in an issue.

Short, long or no author's bio, your story is what determines your acceptance by me. I read the bios, but I don't use them when I am deciding which stories to accept or not. My contributors range from no previous publications to hundreds of previous publications. It's all about the storytelling.

The drawback for me comes in the editing process. People, learn the rules or proper punctuation and grammar. Specifically, learn when you use a comma before the word "and" and when you do not. I'll make it easy for you, here's a brief run down:

Use a comma before the word "and" when "and" is used as a conjunction joining two INDEPENDENT CLAUSES together. An independent clause is another name for a sentence.

Use a comma before the word "and" when you're giving three or more things. This is the serial comma or the Oxford comma which comes under debate. Some people don't use it, some people do. I do. For clarity, consistency, and pure laziness on my part, I use the serial/oxford comma. (side note, why is it called the oxford comma when it's not commonly used in the UK?)

Do NOT use a comma before the word "and" when you have a compound subject, verb, predicate, noun, adjective, or adverb. A compound noun, verb, subject, predicate, etc. is TWO things. Bill and Tom ... run and jump ... lovely and charming ... laughing and smiling ... tall, dark building and small, tiny cottage ... TWO things, the word "and" -> NO comma.

I'm really easy to get along with in the editing process. Contributors get three choices to my suggested edits: agree, explain why it should be left unchanged, or rewrite it. I have misunderstood a sentence and my suggested edit would have changed the meaning of it, giving the contributor the option of rewriting it came out with a better passage.

Even so, I get one person each issue who has to reply with some snippy, snarky comment regarding my suggested edits. And they were in the wrong. If you're going to get snippy with me, make damn sure that you are right. Otherwise, you get labeled a "pain in the ass to work with," and I will think twice about accepting a story from you again.

I'm only working with short stories, I can imagine what it must be like for an editor of a novel to have to work with one of these people.

Sigh, unfortunately, everyone who is reading this and thinking, "I wonder if she's talking about me," aren't the ones I am talking about.

The point of this rambling post is: Writers learn the rules of punctuation and grammar. It will increase your likelihood of getting accepted by other publishers.

As for the typos in this post: Do as I say, not as I do. :p