Partial excerpt from Success, Your Path to a Successful Book by Maralyn D. Hill and Brenda C. Hill.

Both books referenced in our posts of 12/23/08 and 12/21/08 are good reading a little at a time. Like most reference books, we suggest picking them up and reading a little at a time.

If you read an editing book 10 or 15 minutes a week, you will improve your selection of words and habits.

You’ll spot some worn out words and phrases and be able to replace them with concise words.

The more work you do, the less work an editor will have to do. Plus, it will give you great satisfaction to start noticing what you can change and improve.

If you want to go deeper into this area of your writing, Line by Line, by Claire Kehrwald Cook is easy reading with good examples.