Do you want to be taken seriously by editors, readers or reviewers? Do you make errors in your fiction writing? This book is for you. Mike Reeves-McMillan is a fiction author, reviewer, and former copy editor and technical writer. He's analysed the errors he's found in hundreds of books, both indie and traditionally published, and written a simple, clear guide to avoiding the most common issues. Learn:

• Why editors reject 90% of what's submitted to them—and how to increase your chances.
• How to get punctuation right every time.
• The special conventions of dialog.
• The most common word confusions, typos, and research errors—and how to check for and eliminate them. Compared with the 2020 edition, the 2022 edition is 40% longer, and the popular Commonly Confused Words section has grown by more than a third. (Not sure if you mean diffuse or defuse, crevasse or crevice, gambit, gamut, or gauntlet? We have you covered.) It’s now based on an analysis of more than 25,000 errors in close to a thousand books from publishers of all sizes: self, small, medium and large. It includes new sections on American versus British English, whether “alright” is all right, “lay” versus “lie,” and the use of singular “they”. Other sections have been thoroughly revised and expanded, and there’s yet more advice on improving your comma usage in specific circumstances. Everything is still directed at improving the working fiction writer’s grasp of mechanics and usage, so that your prose reads smoothly and your readers can immerse themselves in your story.