Greetings, world. It's been a while, I see, since I tried to motivate others to use my services. Sad to say, very few people seem to know I exist. My efforts have not gone completely unrewarded, but I'm not getting as much work as I'd like! I wonder, is my style too acerbic? Do people think I'm rude or arrogant? Sorry, folks! I have never suffered fools gladly. I take the view that if you want to use the English language to part readers from their hard earned, then it behooves you to spell CORRECTLY, get your tenses right, and don't change the names of your characters in the middle of your MS! Don't use quotes from Lewis Carroll  in a story set 30 years prior to "Alice through the looking glass", don't use expressions from a later Era in a different country while writing 'Regency', and, if you must throw in foreign expressions, for God's sake, GET THEM RIGHT! Unless your contempt for your readers is total, give them credit for seeing your errors. I know it's not easy, given the complexities of the language, and the various alleged 'Manuals of Style', but believe me, it can be done! I still believe that those manuals were written by vitriolic people who were just trying to destroy the original English language as a patriotic act against England! Or wanted to 'dumb it down'! A simple comma can make SO much difference to the meaning of a sentence! It's all very well for someone to say an author does not need to use one in front of 'and', but I beg to differ! But I firmly believe some authors find the argument convenient, because they DON'T KNOW when they should, or should not, use a comma! Alright, let's face it, we all make the occasional genuine 'typo', in fact I'm still guilty of it myself, I have just noticed! But to use 'breaks', instead of 'brakes'? Nope, that's not a typo, that's careless! Or worse. That's where a good, pedantic proofreader comes in. From what I've seen of late, some of THEM are too damn greedy for their own good, but let's face it, they can make a hell of a difference to the quality of the story! I personally find it discouraging to have an author tell me that they can see how good my work is, but they can't afford my very reasonable fees, or 'maybe, when I write my next book'  they may use my services.!! I'd rather they came straight out to say "We don't really care" or "Look, it's just too much work to switch my brain on", or even, just once,(!) to say  "It doesn't matter, our readers are too stupid to notice!" Oops! Did I just do it again? Come on, people! Accept that not every one is equally good at the language, and that some authors just don't give a hoot! I'm just a crusty old pedant, and your failures BUG ME! My personal failure is one of lacking faith in my own ability to use computer software. I have books I would love to publish, but I am somehow scared of the thought of losing my work in the process of formatting. I do things sometimes on my laptop, which then VANISH, only to re-appear out of nowhere when I least expect them. If only I knew how to find them again! I KNOW that they are in there somewhere, but I CAN'T FIND THEM! I keep telling myself it's a generational thing, but I think I'm going to have to face it, sooner or later. It's affecting my opinion of myself, damn it! And yet, people who can't spell, get it right! So frustrating! Ah well, one day! Enough for now.catch me later, or leave a comment.   I can take it, as well as dish it out.