Happy Holidays

Season’s Greetings

The holiday season for us in the US begins with Thanksgiving, which is a time when we gather with family and friends to give thanks for our health, happiness, successes, friendships, families and the many wonderful experiences of life. It has been a difficult year for many of us during the global economy but we are moving ahead and trying to find better ways of doing what we do so that tomorrow will be better than yesterday and today.

I thank each of you for sharing so much with me and making my year a special one. I learn about all aspects of life, science, academics, business, the arts, literature, our planet and people all over the world. What I do is exciting because each day I encounter new and different ideas and people.

It is probably not surprising that I have created and edited more resumes this year than ever before. I hope that all of you looking for new jobs are successful in your search and find jobs that will allow you to grow as people and contribute to our human society. For those of you who are writing academic papers best wishes in your endeavors. And for the author trying to publish that book, keep at it. Do not give up. I have recently heard about some recommended publishers that might be of interest to you.

In this holiday newsletter I will not introduce any writing tips or techniques but I will give you a preview of my upcoming newsletters for 2010. The following are some ideas for future newsletters. If you have any suggestions or requests, please contact me.

Topics for upcoming newsletters:

• Use vs. Utilize – Do these two words mean the same thing? When should you use each of these words?
• Copyright – Should you register your written work? How do you go about doing this? What are the implications if you do (do not) copyright your paper?
• Simple vs. Complex writing – Some research studies, some suggestions and some examples

And finally…

Best wishes to you for a fun filled, safe and happy holiday and best wishes for a fruitful and productive 2010. Please contact me with any of your editing, proofreading or resume needs. I look forward to working with you again and continuing this worldwide friendship that has inspired me and given me friends from all parts of the world, in all walks of life and from diverse and interesting cultures.



Shelly Rosenberg

“My goal is to enhance your text in a way that makes it clear and error free so that it is ready to be read by your professor, your readership, your clients, your future employer, your current employer, your agent or your publisher.”

Credibility

Consistency in Your Writing

When constructing a story it is imperative to pay careful attention to the consistency regarding names, places and times. When referring to a person, you must make sure that you spell the person’s name correctly throughout your book. If you are referring to a real place in a city, be sure that your facts are true. If you mention a street that leads into another street, but in the real world, it is a different street, most readers will not know the difference. But someone familiar with that location will know the difference and your credibility regarding the whole story will be in question because that reader will focus on the geographic information that was incorrect.
Timelines – It is also important to be careful of timelines and timing in your stories. If you mention a date be sure that the date was a Saturday if it is a Saturday in your story. If you say that an event happened ten years earlier and the character was a certain age at the time, make sure that other references to the person’s age are consistent with this timing information.
Technical information – If you mention medical conditions or scientific information, make sure your statements are correct. If it includes medical information, have a medical professional read the book to check for medical accuracy. If it includes a description of a weapon, have an expert review your facts to ensure that they are accurate.
Any errors in any of these or other areas will cause your readership to lose confidence in your writing. If you do not really know the details with complete accuracy, do not use those detailed descriptions. You are the author of your work. You have control over what you include and what you leave out of your story.


Honesty On Your Resume
In the current job market it is challenging to get a positive response from a hiring manager reviewing your resume. Just this week, I heard of a student making false claims on his resume. He stated that in order to get a job you need to say you did great things when in fact you did not. When asked “What if the hiring manager checks the facts?” His response was that they don’t.
To me, this is all very poor advice and very dangerous advice. Never lie on your resume. Never lie about anything on your resume. Surely it is advantageous to put your best foot forward and feature your most significant assets and accomplishments. There are methods you can use that will make the most important aspects stand out and be noticed; but again, never make statements that are untrue. I cannot stress this enough.
Again, your credibility is very important in the workplace and in your life. Be honest with yourself and with your potential employer. You will not ever regret this mode of behavior.

Shelly Rosenberg

What you need besides the resume.

Positioning Yourself as a Top Candidate

Many of you have asked me to create a new resume for you. Others have wanted me to update their current resumes. And, as I have said before, it is always good to have your resume in the best shape possible so that it is ready and up to date.
But, it is not enough to just have a great resume. You need to market yourself and plan your strategy in finding a new job. This process is even more difficult in these uncertain economic times.
I recently “met” (electronically) Skip Freeman who has written a fascinating e-book titled “Headhunter” Hiring Secrets – How to Position Yourself as a TOP Candidate in any Job Market. Skip’s ideas and plan are impressive and backed by years of experience. I highly recommend that you read his book if you are in the market for a new job. Even if you are not currently looking for a new job, this book will open your eyes to many aspects of the process that might just change your whole prospective on your career and your goals.

The Articles "A" "And" "The" & the Visual CV

Editing, Proofreading & Resume Services
June 2009 – Newsletter
from the desk of
Shelly Rosenberg
www.shellyrosenberg.com

Greetings! Summer is here and for many of you that means vacation time is here too. If you have extra time for writing that paper, novel or memoir or for sprucing up your resume take the time to review your work carefully. In this issue of my newsletter, I would like to discuss the following items.

· Recommendation to ESL (English as a Second Language) writers
· A new concept for resumes


Recommendation to ESL (English as a Second Language) Writers and Speakers

When you hear and speak a language from birth, everything seems natural and logical. You do not analyze the word order or the use of words, you just speak. But, if you then learn a new language you tend to translate. By translating, many people just substitute each word in their language’s sentence with the corresponding word in the new language. But, that does not work. Why is that? Each language uses different constructions, different word order and different grammatical rules.

One of the most difficult concepts for ESL speakers and writers is the use of the words “a,” “an” and “the,” the articles that we use in the English language. I have come across a wonderful little book that seems to explain the rules and uses for these articles quite well. Three Little Words: A, An, and the (A Foreign Student's Guide to English Articles) by Elizabeth Claire and Richard Greenwood (Paperback - Aug 1, 1988). I found it on Amazon for $10.36 new or for as little as $7.13 used. I highly recommend this book to ESL speakers and writers and for English speakers who want to more fully understand the dilemmas facing the ESL writers and speakers.
A New Concept for Resumes

A client recently informed me of this unique and new concept designed to help job seekers. It is a called a Visual CV. The website states:
VisualCV helps you create dynamic resumes that will get you noticed.
If you're looking for the best way to get hired in today's ultra-competitive job market, you need a VisualCV. Combine your resume with our easy-to-use templates and add video, charts, and pictures to make your skills stand out and make recruiters take notice.
The link to the website is http://www.visualcv.com/
I am not recommending this concept nor am I endorsing this company. However, I would be interested in your thoughts and responses regarding them. If you have by chance used a “Visual” CV or Resume, please let me know about your experience and your impressions.

If there are areas you would like covered in this newsletter, please send them to me.
Best wishes.

Shelly Rosenberg

“My goal is to enhance your text in a way that makes it clear and error free so that it is ready to be read by your professor, your readership, your clients, your future employer, your current employer, your agent or your publisher.”

Errors with the Apostrophe

Common Errors to Avoid Regarding the use of the Apostrophe

There has been an emerging trend of errors in text. A great number of people are no longer paying attention to the apostrophe when they write. Words that should contain an apostrophe are written without one. In this article, I will discuss when you need to use the apostrophe and why.

The apostrophe should be used to form a contraction, which is the combination of two words. You are can be written as you’re; can not can be written as can’t; it is can be written as it’s; you will can be written as you’ll; should not can be written as shouldn’t; I am can be written as I’m; he is can be written as he’s. When the apostrophe is used to form a contraction, you can think of it as showing the omission of a letter or letters. When we write can’t we are actually using the apostrophe to show that we are omitting the “no” from can not.

The use of contractions is reserved for more formal writing and should not be used when writing a proposal or formal letter. However, when you are using a contraction, you must use the apostrophe.

The apostrophe should also be used to form the possessive form of a word. When writing, Mary’s hat is blue, you must use the apostrophe to show possession. Again, I have seen so many people omitting the apostrophe in this instance. If the possessive word is plural, you should put the apostrophe after the “s” at the end of the word. For example, “The plants’ containers are in the garden.” In this case, we are talking about many plants (plural). The possessive form requires that the apostrophe go after the “s” in this case.

Another use of the apostrophe is for abbreviations. If we want to write, “That song was popular in the 1950s” we can also write “That song was popular in the ‘50s.” In this case, the apostrophe is used to create the abbreviation. Some people, however, make the mistake of writing “That song was popular in the 50’s. This is incorrect.

Perhaps the omission of the apostrophe in current writing is a result of texting where you would need to go to another screen to get the apostrophe character. Perhaps in quick, casual emails people accept this error but it is important to note that errors in writing reflect poorly upon the writer. Proper grammar is essential in formal writing, academic writing and especially on resumes.

Literary Critiques

Literary critiques are often required by book agents and publishers when submitting a manuscript to them. A literary critique reviews the work in several ways. It examines the target audience, the synopsis, the dialogue, the opening sentences, the grammatical usage, the sentence structure, the chapter breaks, the flow, the character development, the genre and any other factor particular to the given manuscript.

Until recently, I would only do a literary critique as a supplement for clients after proofreading and editing their manuscripts. I believe that it is necessary to read the complete book in order to do an in-depth literary critique. However, I have had numerous inquiries to do literary critiques without doing the proofreading and editing for a given book. In most cases, these books have already been proofread and edited but the author needs or wants a literary critique.

Therefore, I have begun to do literary critiques for books that I have not proofread or edited. The critique is not as in-depth as the full literary critique, mostly because I only read and review the first and last chapters with a brief scan of other sections as needed. This literary critique is less detailed than the in-depth one but it is valuable to the author and can help him or her refine the manuscript as needed.

I hope this new service is helpful to authors and provides the necessary guidance to adequately enhance their manuscripts.

You Must Proofread Your Book, Paper, Thesis, Resume or Article.

You Must Proofread Your Book, Paper, Thesis, Resume or Article.
Proofreading will uncover errors including wrong words, spelling errors, grammatical errors, typographical errors (typos), errors in tense, errors in pronoun-verb agreement and other errors. Errors in print give a poor impression of the writer as well as the written work; they cause the reader to feel a lack of confidence in the information as a whole. If you tend to make these types of errors, have someone else review your work. Trying to proofread your own work is often non-productive; you tend to not see the errors each time that you read them. In this article, I will discuss some of the common errors found in print today. Being aware of these will help you to identify them and either fix them or avoid them completely.
Using the spell check feature in MS Word or other word processors will only let you know if you have written a word that is not in their dictionary. If you type their instead of there it will not usually catch the error. Even the grammar-checking feature should only be considered a guideline. It does not uncover all errors nor does it always give you accurate suggestions for fixing each of your errors.
Reading software is an interesting technique that can be used to detect some errors and be a good proofreading aid. Reading software will speak your text. You will find that if you have repeated words like the the you will be immediately alerted when you hear it. But by just reading it, you (like many people) will not see the double word, especially if it is the last word on one line and the first word on the next line.
What do I mean by pronoun-verb agreement? I walk, he walks, they walk are correct forms to use. She walk is incorrect.
Correct tense is another important factor to keep in mind when writing or proofreading your work. I often see written works in which the author switches back and forth between present tense and past tense. Sometimes depending upon the situation, this is fine but in many cases, it is best to keep everything in the same tense. If you are talking about something that happened sometime in the past, use the past tense.
Plural and singular terms should also be reviewed when proofreading your text. Three hat is incorrect, of course. We must say, or write, three hats. These types of errors are also easy to miss when proofreading your own work because your eye just reads past the error and sees what it wants to see and not what is actually on the paper.
After doing your own proofreading, have someone else proofread your work. Or, better yet, have a professional proofreader or editor review it. That way you can ensure that you paper is error free.
Shelly Rosenberg is a proofreader and editor who will review your work carefully and return a perfect paper, book, article, thesis or website.

Editing, Proofreading & Resume Services
March 24, 2009
from the desk of
Shelly Rosenberg
http://www.shellyrosenberg.com/
shelly@shellyrosenberg.com

Worldwide Project Report

I have mounted a world map on the wall in my office and have used “map pins” to mark the locations where my clients live. It is amazing to me that I have worked with clients from 51 countries in the world. Regarding clients in the United States, I have worked with clients from 39 states plus the District of Columbia. I believe that the client the farthest distance from my office, here in Springfield Tennessee, is living in Queensland, Australia. This is an interesting project and I will continue to track client locations and mark my map accordingly.

I also have a page on my website that shows which countries and US states are home to my clients. The page is http://www.shellyrosenberg.com/countries.htm Please help me to add pins in different countries.

The only states in the US that are not yet represented are Alaska, Arkansas, Delaware, Hawaii, Kansas, Kentucky, Maine, Montana, New Hampshire, North Dakota, Oklahoma, South Dakota, Utah and Vermont.

Contact me at Shelly@ShellyRosenberg.com with your editing, proofreading and resume needs. If you have requests or suggestions for future articles send them to me.

Shelly

Editing, Proofreading & Resume Services

March 17, 2009

from the desk of

Shelly Rosenberg

www.shellyrosenberg.com

shelly@shellyrosenberg.com

Point of View for Novel Authors

Is this the year you are going to be published? Yes, it is. You need to get that manuscript into the best possible shape you can before submitting it to an agent. Besides writing clearly and with correct grammar, it is important to understand and use “point of view” appropriately.

Point of View
Simply stated, the point of view refers to how the person is telling the story. If your book is told in the first person singular, your story might say, “I first walked over to the chair in the kitchen and sat down.” If you are writing in the third person, this statement would be written, “He first walked over to the chair in the kitchen and sat down.” You need to make the choice when you begin the manuscript of what voice or point of view you will be using.

Changing Point of View in a Novel
It is a wise idea to keep your entire book in one point of view, especially if you are a new author with little experience. Changing the point of view in a book, or especially in a chapter, can be confusing to the reader and create an unpleasant reading experience. However, there are authors who can effectively change point of view and do it in a way that is clear and effective. My recommendation is to use a single point of view in a chapter. If in the next chapter, you wish to use a new point of view, make it precisely clear from your text and dialogue.

Exercise on Point of View
You can experiment with point of view by writing two or three versions of your work each in a different point of view. Think of it this way: How is the story told? Whose viewpoint is being expressed? Write from that person’s mind and experiences. Then, in your next version of your chapter, have someone else tell the story. There are advantages to each point of view. Your creativity and purpose can help craft an interesting novel if you can understand this concept thoroughly and choose the best one for your adventure.

Most Commonly Used Points of View
The most commonly used points of view are the first person singular, the third person singular and the omniscient. The first person point of view, as stated above, is the I AM point of view. If using this one, as a writer you can tell the story as if you are the central character and the story is unfolding from your viewpoint. Remember, in this case, you can only know what you see, know, hear and experience. You cannot tell us what another person is thinking; you cannot tell us what another person is doing unless you are right there and can see for yourself.

The third person point of view is the one that uses HE SHE or IT. This is quite common and probably easier to use than the first person.

The omniscient is the ALL SEEING and ALL KNOWING point of view. When using this point of view, the teller of the story knows everything each person is doing, saying and even thinking. This was the universal point of view used in the nineteenth century and is still extremely popular today but it is no longer the only point of view to use.

References
There are some good books that give detailed explanations of point of view and techniques for understanding and using them. I highly recommend some reading and studying in this area.

“My goal is to enhance your text in a way that makes it clear and error free so that it is ready to be read by your professor, your readership, your clients, your future employer, your current employer, your agent or your publisher.” Shelly Rosenberg

Editing, Proofreading & Resume Services
March 2009 – Newsletter
from the desk of
Shelly Rosenberg
www.shellyrosenberg.com

Hello and best wishes to you! In this issue of my newsletter I will be sharing the following information that should be of interest to you.

· Common Grammatical or Spelling Errors
· Caution – Easy Mistakes Often Made
· Update Your Resume Now

Common Grammatical or Spelling Errors

I keep finding this error in documents from clients. It is one of the most common errors that I have found, particularly on resumes. It is the incorrect use of the verb to lead. I am not sure if people make the error as a spelling or grammatical error since the sounds of the words can be the same or different in different situations. Here is how to use this commonly used word:

Present Tense
I lead
you lead
he or she leads
we lead
you (plural) lead
they lead

Past Tense
I led
you led
he or she led
we led
you led
they led

The item in pencils is lead. This is pronounced the same as the past tense of the verb – led but is spelled lead.

Another common error that I have found in papers is the confusion between the words lose and loose.

Lose is the opposite of find.
Loose is the opposite of tight.


Caution – Easy Mistakes Often Made

Several of you have handheld devices also known as smart phones. I have the Palm Treo. We love these and don’t know what we did before we had one. It is really convenient to be able to get your emails while you are away from your desk, out to lunch, at a lecture, at a ballgame, out to dinner, etc. Right? And it is so convenient to send a quick email (or text) reply when you are away from your desk. Right? And how about that feature that completes the word you were keying in? That’s great too. Right? But here is the problem and the caution. Make sure you carefully read the word that it finished for you. I can hear you laughing to yourself now. If you sent that email with the wrong word to a friend or in a casual email, that is probably not a problem. We can all have a good laugh at the error. But, if that email is being sent to a prospective employer, or to an important business contact about a significant account or to a professor regarding an important scholastic issue, that mistake is not so funny. I have received (and probably sent) several of those emails with embarrassingly erroneous words. So, again, a word of caution…

Update Your Resume Now

In this volatile market, few people’s jobs are safe. Most people need to be planning for the possibility of a layoff or job cut. Even if you feel that your job is secure, it is a good idea to take out that resume and update it. It is always more difficult to attack this task when you are out of a job. So, take an hour and review your current resume. List any new accomplishments and record them. Take a look at the layout of your resume. Does it need a new look? Remember, if you are applying for a job, there are now twice the number of people applying for each position and half the number of job openings available. You want your resume to shine. Make sure it does.
Contact me if you need assistance in updating your resume or creating a completely new one.

Shelly Rosenberg

“My goal is to enhance your text in a way that makes it clear and error free so that it is ready to be read by your professor, your readership, your clients, your future employer, your current employer, your agent or your publisher.”