Homepage for: Formatting Tips…

Revised as of
29 Jan 2024

Formatting Tips arose from my frustration over the improper use of caps and lowercase, mixing topics within paragraphs, not isolating speakers, and it quickly escalated from there.

Formatting Tips are . . .

. . . all about appearance. How to treat abbreviations, what to do about acronyms (and initialisms), when to capitalize (and when not!), using diacritics, and what requires italics (and, yes, not *grin*). Do not even get me started on numerals! Who knew numerals had so many rules!?

Formatting also explores typographical issues — yep, they’re all about appearance too. it’s widows-and-orphans, tracking, kerning, rivers, romans, countrym-, oops, getting caught in my Shakespeare there . . .

Explore the current posts on formatting issues which confuse many authors. Explore it and reduce or eliminate them from your own publications. For more detail on the “anatomy” of a formatting tip, see below

Your book’s appearance reflects your own “appearance” as a professional author. Give it your best!

Formatting Tip Posts:



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Anatomy of a Formatting Tip

Formatting is similar to the Grammar Explanations in that it provides a category, defines it, includes rules that must be followed (sometimes a note about which style guide that rule belongs to is included), and examples. The examples range from a word to a phrase to a sentence. It all depends.

This list is in no way complete, and I’d love it if you’d send your own suggestions and comments . . . I don’t necessarily promise to include them, but . . .

If you know someone who could use some help with their own formatting issues, consider subscribing to KD Did It, if you’d like to track this self-editing aid for future updates.

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Pinterest Photo Credits

Woman in Front of a Mirror was painted by Mosè Bianchi and is in the public domain, via Wikimedia Commons.

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