As I was finalizing a manuscript I edited for a nonfiction author, I hired a proofreader to give it a final check. (I knew I’d read it too many times myself.) What she found humbled me. I thought I had a good handle on which words are customarily two words versus one (backyard—not back yard—comes to mind) but several surprised me.
My proofreader corrected these (verified on dictionary.com). Look familiar?
- rooflines (not roof lines)
- safe-deposit box (not safe deposit box)
- old-timers (not old timers)
- carsick (not car sick)
- safekeeping (not safe keeping)
- autopilot (not auto pilot)
- pocketknife (not pocket-knife)
Barbara McNichol is a nonfiction editor, who works with authors, speakers, and business professionals to add power to their pen through the written word. Barbara wrote Word Trippers: The Ultimate Source for Choosing the Perfect Word When It Really Matters. She offers helpful writing tips weekly and a course to take your writing and editing to the next level: “WordShops: Strengthen Everything You Write.”
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