Good Links: September Edition

Well, September came and went, just like that. Now here we are in fall. Wah.

Here are some of the good links I came across this month.

Grammar, Style, etc:

Have you been wondering about spacing around your dashes and ellipses? I haven’t either, but I did discover I wasn’t spacing around my ellipses correctly when I read How Publishing Really Works’ article about it.

Along with spacing issues, do you wonder about which font to use? The Rejectionist pokes fun at Courier font while making a nice, valid point for not using that crappy old font.

Passive tense, anyone? Not sure what it is and why you should possibly avoid it? This article will help you out. (Passive tense can be more wordy, more convoluted, but it can also highlight the action instead of the agent performing the action.) Here is a nice little quote from the Purdue Online Writing Lab (OWL):

You can recognize passive-voice expressions because the verb phrase will always include a form of be, such as am, is, was, were, are, or been. The presence of a be-verb, however, does not necessarily mean that the sentence is in passive voice.

What the heck is an Oxford Comma and where and when do you use one?

On Writing:

Is your character reactive or proactive. Do things happen to your character or does he or she make things happen? Rachelle Gardner explains a bit about reactive and proactive characters.

Finished your project and dreaming up that perfect title? While a perfect title is good to have in the querying stage, don’t get too attached to it. BookEnds Literary explains.

Brenda Hiatt shows us the money in publishing romance. And who says getting your work with a big publisher doesn’t pay?

More on publishing and money, this time the goods straight from a literary agency. Basically, you’ve got to sell a lot folks. And that means you, the writer, have to get your butt in gear and sell your work. It ain’t no free ride.

And here’s the pitch! Rachelle Gardner advises you to tell the actual story in your pitch. Is it an emotional journey? Big deal! What actually happens.

Guide to Literary Agents’ 5 Ways to tell if you and a literary agent are a good match.

Just for Fun:

Universal Studios unveils plans for a Harry Potter theme park in Florida. Thanks, guys. I think bloody ol’ England is closer to my house than freaking Florida.

How much time do you spend listening to muzak while trying to get a hold of a real person when calling a company? Ha! Listen no more. Here’s what number to push to get to a real person. Love it!

Rick Astley (remember him?) only has one dance move. Seriously, though, this is a fun mash-up between Rick Astley and Nirvana.

Cow abduction is a very serious problem. Please check it out and be sure to offer your support for the cause by clicking on the cow. (Some folks have way too much time on their hands and I love them for it.)

And there you have it, September in a nutshell.