Publishers Comments – Page 19 – Rosepoint Publishing

MS Word Spelling and Grammar Checker, Grammarly–or Both?

Late to the party again? Sometimes I never get there at all! It’s not as if I haven’t heard of Grammarly before, just that I’ve been quite content to finish my thoughts and then run the Spelling and Grammar checker under “Tools” in my very old MS Word (2003) program. But there are advantages and disadvantages to the simple Spelling and Grammar checker on my equally old (POS) computer. I wonder if the newer word (2007, 2010) .doc and .docx have a more complete command of the language? Currently, I must “add to dictionary” constantly slang terms, colloquialisms, and common blogging expressions, as well as the idioms commonly used for sailing or popular historic word usage (from my grandfather’s manuscripts). So, I thought I’d look into the fuss over Grammarly.

MS Word Spelling and Grammar Checker

Part of the reason I continue to stick with MS Word Spelling and Grammar checker is that it also gives me Readability Stats, including passive voice phrases (8%–that’s acceptable at under 10%). This is the Flesch Reading Ease score for this document (55.5%–I’d prefer to see 70%) as well as the Flesch-Kincaid Grade Level score (at 8.9 or freshman in high school–should be easy to read–I’m good with that), about which I’ve previously written and I try to keep my posts within a certain level.

Paper Checker

There are a number of free, but limited, independent spell and grammar checkers out there available for download. One is Paper Checker. It is easy as copy/paste. And while it invites you to paste the text of your paper (or upload a file), I didn’t see any word limit. The Terms of Service, which you must agree to, were last updated February 20, 2014. After pasting (or uploading) your text, just select “Get Report” and you’ll immediately receive your analysis. This is not a program I’ve personally used and I’d assume is limited. (That is, don’t expect to upload a novella size text for analyzation. OOPS! Word doesn’t recognize that word [analyzation] either).

Grammarly

I signed up for the Grammarly Extension yesterday, intending to use it for this post, but almost before fully “signed in,” asked to upgrade to “professional.” I’m not sure about you, but I get really ticked when immediately asked to upgrade before I’ve had a chance to use or understand the program. The free version is available to download for your browser on Chrome, Safari, and Firefox and is compatible with Word and Outlook. Is the “FREE” version that cheesy? Well, let’s see:

Grammarly Pros:

The naysayers insist it is not that great at telling you if you have the correct word.

1. Free Grammarly for Word currently uses 100 grammar rules to apply to your document.
2. Punctuation correction.
3. Will work with WordPress(?) as well as Facebook. (I have yet to prove this.)
4. Grammarly can scan a document and highlight those words (thesaurus) that could be replaced to strengthen the text. (Upgrade to premium)
5. Grammarly now corrects out of order pronouns; i.e., Her children and she—She and her children…
6. Word spelled correctly but used in the wrong context is caught. Examples: lose/loose, affect/effect, lie/lay, there/their/they’re
7. The biggee according to Bill Winterberg, Journalist out of Atlanta…The service goes beyond the basic spell check and grammar check built into the word processor, as Grammarly can identify correctly spelled words that are used in the wrong context. (According to the Grammarly website.) (Is this, or not, another upgrade to premium?)

And that alone will separate the men from the boys… or writers from blogger/hobbyists. (“Major” improvements have been added over the past year, according to my new email.)

Mercy! So, are there any cons? Yes…but these may not all be cons–just more incentives to upgrade:

Grammarly Cons:

If you are busy writing in real time, you may lose your train of thought if you are constantly interrupted. I normally complete my text and then test. I have enough interruptions without contending with my program constantly second-guessing me.
You don’t get off that easy–you’ll still need a command of the English language and grammar rules so you can decide when to accept the suggestions made by your software. I routinely use contractions; Word Spelling and Grammar catches those and apparently must be ignored every article.
You must be online and connected to use the software. (Another reason I like to work in MS Word and test when I’m ready.)
Blog writers, students, journalists, and others may edit content according to their profession. (For free, I was given a choice of student, professional, or other.)
A writer may select their specific genre to receive the best analysis. (Upgrade to premium.)
Text can be analyzed to provide results that separate writing from casual, academic, technical, or business. (Upgrade to premium. The first upgrade is $8.75/month when billed annually.)
The plagiarism notification is available after upgrading to premium.
Premium Grammarly currently uses 250 grammar rules to apply to your document and ensures text incorporates the standard for writing based on the pre-selected genre.

Conclusion

This is a test. This is only a test! If you use Grammarly for Word and are totally sold, see something here I missed, see something here I’ve incorrectly interpreted, please let me know. I’m just getting started on yet another piece of software I’ve been made aware of and never used. First, I’ll run this through my usual–MS Word Spelling and Grammar. Then I’ll paste in Grammarly.

NOTE: I tried uploading in both options:

Paste
Upload

The paste checker came back with two (2) “critical” issues, 14 advanced issues, which are only accessible through an upgrade to premium.

Upload was done twice. The first came back with 5 critical issues, the second with 6, both suggested 24 advanced issues. (Items suggested were adding “the” in front of upgrade…)

(A) Although it says formatting will be saved with upload–was not. (Formatting was saved with copy/paste.)

(B) Ignoring a suggestion results in an “undo” arrow.

Unless I upgrade to premium, I don’t see a real advantage for me over the current MS Word Spelling and Grammar checker. For some great, additional and current details, however, including comparison of free and premium, see here, and let me know what kind of spell and grammar checker you prefer. Is it Grammarly? ©2017 Virginia Williams – Photo attribution: 123RF

The Absolute Definitive List of the Top Ten Best Selling Genres

Apparently, it is impossible to find one absolute definitive list of the top ten best selling genres anywhere–but can you find a list with 150? Yes, if you know where to look!

There are SOOO many variables out there from website to website. What is the focus? Is it hardback fiction, hardback non-fiction, paperback, or ebook? Are you asking the New York Times, USA Today, or Amazon? I recently wrote an article regarding Historical Fiction, and alluded to that genre’s sub-genres. This week I went looking for where the Historical Fiction genre related to all the others. See below for the breakdown. Continue reading “The Absolute Definitive List of the Top Ten Best Selling Genres”

Budweiser is Still King of Horse-Dog Commercials

I was struck by the recent post on Twitter by Ellen DeGeneres of the charming little picture of a dog and horse friendship and the obvious appreciation by Ellen as she noted, “They’re so cute and they nose it.”

Not the first picture of an unlikely pairing of animals far out of their own species, but as amazing and fun as the friendships between canines and felines or mammals and avians.

Sitting Horse and Dog — Sitting companions courtesy of pawmygosh.com

I suppose the bond between horse and dog isn’t so unnatural as the two have a history of working together under domestic situations for their humans the world over.

It’s Friday and we love cuteness overload. There are possibly few videos of a horse and dog relationship better than those Budweiser has put out over the years. What is your favorite?

10 Amazing Sub-Genre’s in Historical Fiction

Historical Fiction as a literary genre is generously broad and notoriously ambiguous in that the beginning of man can be included in the same spectrum of writing as our own recent Wild West. It was bound to happen then that sooner or later sub-genres would be broken out.

What is Historical?

In that it depicts and closely associates the period’s social conditions, manners, clothing, and environmental factors, the story can capture any century or millennia from the dawn of man. Generally, “historical” refers to publications written at least 50 years after the event. Considering an extended time frame, therefore, an author would usually be assumed to be writing from research rather than from experience. (In the relatively unusual case of my grandfather’s manuscripts, however, they were written some time shortly after his “sailing, mining, prospecting, and cowpoke days,” over 90 years ago but only recently published by myself.)

So if it’s all historical fiction, what are the ten sub-genres? Continue reading “10 Amazing Sub-Genre’s in Historical Fiction”

2017 Spring-Summer Fashions Are Here!

Once again, left in the dust when it comes to haute couture, I set out to see what kind of fashion Europe has cooked up for us this spring-summer and discovered they are not as heavily into the off-the-shoulder look as the home front would have us believe.

Thom Browne 2017 Fashion Collection — The Thom Browne 2017-18 Fashion Collection debuted in Paris in January.

The Entertainment Section of the Sacramento Bee, January 22, 2017, ran an impressive number of pictures that would set your heart aflutter; that is, before you noticed the price. But no problem–you’d definitely be in the “in” crowd with Thom Browne’s 2017-18 fashion collection that debuted in Paris the same month. It would appear they bought a huge bolt of this material though, as they presented two notable styles with the same fabric. Continue reading “2017 Spring-Summer Fashions Are Here!”

Winter May Be More Attractive South of I80

Just over 30 years old, Interstate 80 runs across the United States from San Francisco, California to Teaneck, New Jersey, which is actually in the New York Metropolitan Area, according to Wikipedia. The interstate is the second longest in the US (after Interstate 90) at 2,899 miles. Started in 1956, it wasn’t actually completed until 1986!

From California, the highway progresses over the Sierra Nevada range, through the barren, windy desert and over the Rockies, where it finally drops into the plains. This time of year that means everything from more rain in California, blizzard conditions in the mountains, and treacherous driving and flying most everywhere else.

More than half the country is expected to receive a major wallop in the next week with three successive storms. Meanwhile, there has been a wild variety of temps along the I80 corridor demonstrating what an expansive, topographically diversified country in which we live.

Around here they can’t remember a recent winter with this little snow (18″), but they are expecting small amounts from these systems. Meanwhile, it was 75 degrees in Goodyear AZ today. ©2017 Virginia Williams

Celebrate Another President’s Day–It’s Not Just Another Day Off Work

We are about to celebrate another President’s Day weekend, and with good reason: We’ve had some amazing presidents!

Most of these men issued forth a veritable number of memorable quotes. So it is here that I shall honor just a few:

George Washington-Born February 22, 1732-Died December 14, 1799

Actually, this quote was shortened–the full text was: “Associate yourself with men of good quality if you esteem your own reputation; for ’tis better to be alone than in bad company.”

Thomas Jefferson-1743-1826

“When angry, count ten, before you speak; if very angry, a hundred.”

Abraham Lincoln-quote — **Excellent quote for today’s president–yes?**

Abraham Lincoln – 1809-1865

“Always bear in mind that your own resolution to succeed is more important than any other one thing.”

Franklin D. Roosevelt – 1882-1945 “The only thing to fear is, fear itself.”

Harry S. Truman-1884-1972

“I have found the best way to give advice to your children is to find out what they want and then advise them to do it.”

John F. Kennedy-1917-1963

Ronald Reagan-1911-2004

“The future doesn’t belong to the fainthearted; it belongs to the brave.”

Of course, there are the memorable quotes made by others regarding our presidents, such as the one from Ann Richards about George W. Bush:

“Poor George. He was born with a silver foot in his mouth.”

And then, there is the one from William Taft that all authors and writers can take to heart: “Don’t write so that you can be understood, write so that you can’t be misunderstood.” Good one, Bill! Thanks to BrainyQuote.com for all the great photo pins! ©2017 Virginia Williams

Not Your Grandma’s Library Anymore!

Lake Co Public Library-Merrillville — **Sunday Afternoon at the Lake County Public Library – Merrillville**

OMG, have you been to a library lately? What is this nonsense about reading being dead? Libraries are huge, newer, and offer SO many services these days; they are way beyond a normal repository for books. I’ve always enjoyed using libraries, but a quick trip to my local neighborhood depository discovered it’s no simple store of books anymore.

Beyond books of information and education–a storage of knowledge–libraries now have information specialists. Find the answer to any question–but not necessarily in books. Now the world wide web is at your service with internet access provided. Continue reading “Not Your Grandma’s Library Anymore!”