Explaining the subjunctive

The subjunctive is one of the most difficult concepts to understand in grammar. In fact, it’s so complicated, that many publications ignore it. If the writer understands and uses the tense, or the editor is on top of her game and corrects it properly, that’s good. If it’s wrong well, too bad so sad.

However, to be professional, it’d be good to try to grasp the concept.

F.L. Bicknell, in The Grammar Police said, “Was and were, however, often suffer PMS. They have moods just like people do.”

The subjunctive mood is the verb form used to express a wish, a suggestion, a command, or a condition that is contrary to fact.
For example, “I was the proud owner of two hundred frogs.” This is a true past statement.
“If I were the owner of two hundred frogs I’d be really happy.” I don’t own them, but I’d like to, so subjunctive.

Because the subjunctive is about something that is not currently true, a hint that *was* ought to be *were*, is often *if*… followed by could or would.
“If I were rich I could buy two hundred frogs.”

Remember, the subjunctive tense applies only to something that isn’t currently true.


Helen Woodall
helen.woodall@gmail.com

Helen is available to line edit and/ or content edit fiction and non-fiction. Rates on application.

Author collaboration

Like all relationships, author collaboration can be a wonderful time of sharing and helping each other or an absolute disaster.

It makes sense for several authors to work together on joint promo events like book signings, marketing, and sharing resources. But this can go downhill fast, if authors don’t respect each other’s boundaries. Pushing in on a conversation between an author and a reader to promo your own book is a major no-no, as is inviting yourself to someone else’s book signing/party after the event has been planned.

Giving each other blurbs and reviews can also be a great way to promo. But once again, things can head south fast if one person doesn’t keep to the timeline. If you don’t like their book and can’t honestly praise them it’s important to tell them immediately so they can arrange for someone else to do the review.

Always be polite, professional and show gratitude and good manners. Something that doesn’t work out today may be a good idea tomorrow. Even if it isn’t, remaining calm and professional is the way to behave. There’s no need to burn bridges unnecessarily.

Author collaborations are just like any other alliance. They take work to realize their full potential.


Helen Woodall
helen.woodall@gmail.com

Helen is available to line edit and/ or content edit fiction and non-fiction. Rates on application.

Banned Books Week

Because I’m an Australian, I’ve always found Banned Books Week rather a head-scratching experience. Yes, books do get challenged and even banned in Australia, but almost invariably there’s a logical reason for it, such as age-inappropriate content.
Australia has rarely suffered the kind of wholesale banning of a title that some other countries introduce.

Out of a list of Banned Classics in the USA, the following books were on my compulsory reading list at High School. “The Lord of the Flies” we actually read in Seventh Grade!

1. The Great Gatsby, by F. Scott Fitzgerald
2. The Catcher in the Rye, by J.D. Salinger
3. The Grapes of Wrath, by John Steinbeck
4. To Kill a Mockingbird, by Harper Lee
6. Ulysses, by James Joyce
8. The Lord of the Flies, by William Golding
9. 1984, by George Orwell
12. Of Mice and Men, by John Steinbeck
15. Catch-22, by Joseph Heller
16. Brave New World, by Aldous Huxley
17. Animal Farm, by George Orwell
28. One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest, by Ken Kesey
30. For Whom the Bell Tolls, by Ernest Hemingway
48. Lady Chatterley's Lover, by D.H. Lawrence
49. A Clockwork Orange, by Anthony Burgess
64. Sons and Lovers, by D.H. Lawrence
75. Women in Love, by D.H. Lawrence

The Harry Potter books were the most challenged books in America from 2000-2009. I can recall people saying that the first Harry Potter book would “lead a generation of children astray”. But I would have thought that nine years later people would have realized that hadn’t happened. Apparently not if the books were still the #1 request to be banned.

One book that has been banned in Australia was Kathleen Winsor’s bodice ripper, “Forever Amber”. She was only twenty-four when the book was published. The book has more than nine hundred pages and I read it as a young teenager, entranced by the character of Amber and the rich historical tapestry of the background. Fortunately by then it was no longer banned. It’s still a story worth reading.

Helen Woodall
helen.woodall@gmail.com

Helen is available to line edit and/ or content edit fiction and non-fiction. Rates on application.

Oh look! Shiny new words!

One of the exciting advantages of online dictionaries, is that unlike their printed forefathers, new words can continually be added without having to delete older words to make room for them. I hate the idea of losing words, so I’m all in favor of this system.

One thousand new words have been recently added to OxfordDictionaries.com in its quarterly update. One of my favorite new words is “manspreading”. Nothing raises the ire of a woman forced to squeeze herself into half a seat on public transport, as much as the man who can’t sit any other way than with his legs so wide apart he needs all of his seat and most of hers as well.

After two years “hangry” has finally made its way in, along with Grexit, NBD (no big deal) and nine hundred plus others.

For the full story check out: http://www.oxforddictionaries.com/words/how-a-new-word-enters-an-oxford-dictionary

Helen Woodall
helen.woodall@gmail.com

Helen is available to line edit and/ or content edit fiction and non-fiction. Rates on application.

Halloween quiz

I’m a little late but oh well…

Here’s a fun Halloween Quiz from Grammarly (https://grammarly.com/grammar-check) to find out what literary monster you are. Are you a really bad person? Or just misunderstood?

Helen Woodall
helen.woodall@gmail.com

Helen is available to line edit and/ or content edit fiction and non-fiction. Rates on application.

E-Book Sales Fall After New Amazon Contracts

Three very large publishers signed deals with Amazon gaining the right to set prices themselves. Hachette Book Group, HarperCollins Publishers, and Simon & Schuster were very pleased with winning this battle, but it’s starting to look as though the readers were a lot less impressed.

For centuries publishers have told readers what they can read, how long they have to wait to get it, and how much they have to pay for it, by their method of choosing which books to publish, when to release them, geoblocking sales zones, and rigidly controlling writers’ contracts.

But just as vast numbers of authors have gone digital and self-published, avoiding the traditional publishers, to the great delight of readers, it is starting to look like readers are avoiding the higher prices these three publishers are setting for their new digital releases. While large numbers of books from these publishers are priced at $13.99 and $14.99, no title priced at more than $9.99 was on the top twenty bestseller lists.

Food for thought.

Helen Woodall
helen.woodall@gmail.com

Helen is available to line edit and/ or content edit fiction and non-fiction. Rates on application.

Writing emails 101

Sending a clear, concise and grammatically correct email seems like a no-brainer yet consistently, mistakes are made. Most of the time, these mistakes are minor and quickly forgotten, but sometimes they can be disastrous.

A well-written email is about presentation and professionalism. You don’t have to be Shakespeare, but a sound grasp of basic spelling and grammar is essential.

1. Incorrect names or titles. While spell checkers and auto-correct are important tools in eliminating spelling and grammatical errors, they can trip you up when it comes to writing names accurately. Ensuring you spell people’s names correctly, use their preferred title, and address them as the correct gender is about basic research.

2. Everyone knows that work isn’t always rainbows and lollipops, but never let the frustration bleed into an email. Take a deep breath, consider the recipient and the content of the email, and write to that point. Remember that long after your anger is gone, the email will live on in someone else’s inbox as a relic of your bad mood.

3. The subject line needs to grab the attention of prospective readers quickly, and convey what your email is about succinctly. Make sure it doesn’t sound like spam.

4. ALWAYS check the addressee and never hit “Reply All” or “Forward” without checking. The internet is full of horror stories about emails sent to the wrong person.

Helen Woodall
helen.woodall@gmail.com

Helen is available to line edit and/ or content edit fiction and non-fiction. Rates on application.