How can we fix it to say what TR meant to say? “We’re here to celebrate the lives of two people who are extremely important to me.” That way the phrase “who are extremely important to me” modifies the noun “two people,” as opposed to it modifying the word “lives” in the original sentence.

It’s great to know that even Tony Robbins makes mistakes!

Sigrid Macdonald is a book coach, an editor, and the author of three books, including the newly released Be Your Own Editor, available on Lulu or on Amazon in paperback and on Kindle.

David just sent me a text from his cell phone.
I have to be there at 10 AM in the morning.
He was all alone by himself.
The rugged kayak lover grew up in a tiny little town.

Stop! There’s no need to repeat yourself. We know that a text message is not being sent from a toaster, and that 10 AM will always be morning. When you’re writing, it’s good to be creative and allow your juices to flow. Get everything down. But when you’re editing, streamline. Cut everything that’s unnecessary. It will make for a much cleaner sentence… And there is no need to add “please” to RSVP because SVP stands for s’il vous plaît, the French term for please.

Sigrid Macdonald is a book coach, an editor, and the author of three books, including the newly released Be Your Own Editor, available on Lulu or on Amazon in paperback, and on Kindle.

Here’s the line from “Macy’s Day Parade”: “When I was a kid, I thought I wanted all the things that I haven’t got.” Okay. What’s wrong with that sentence? The words “thought” and “wanted” are both in past tense, but the word “haven’t,” a contraction for “have not,” is in present tense. There are a couple of ways to fix this. First, we could say, “When I was a kid I thought, I wanted all the things that I had not (or hadn’t) got.” That keeps everything in past tense. Second, we could have someone from the present reflect back on the past, and rephrase the sentence like this: “When I was a kid, I thought, I want all the things that I haven’t got.” (Many people use italics for thoughts, instead of quotation marks.)

Who knew how educational Green Day could be?

Sigrid Macdonald, Author of Be Your Own Editor, now available on Amazon : http://beyourowneditor.com

Houghton Mifflin Harcourt seeks a K-12 editor for their Evanston, Illinois office. Note that this is an on-site position, not a telecommute.

The Motley Fool is searching for an editor with an obsessive streak to work in their Alexandria VA office. If you’re a grammar freak with no problems working with a Content Management System, give this one a try. Again, this is an onsite gig.

This NY Craigslist ad looks promising–the ad requests a content editor, which is a bit different than a typical editing gig as it requires specialized knowledge of content management systems and other specialized info. Got a knack for both copy editing AND gap analysis? This could be the gig for you.

The University of Maryland has a full-time editor gig open which includes work on web-based teaching materials. Chances are you’ll edit a combination of distance learning and traditional ed coursework.

Good luck!

Sometimes, the words all right and altogether look as though they are related and that they should both be spelled the same way. But this is not the case. All right is always spelled as two words; the one word version is incorrect. Altogether, on the other hand, may be spelled as one word or two, depending on the meaning. Here are some examples:

1. “Altogether, Greg was satisfied with his thesis.” In this instance, altogether is an adverb meaning wholly, completely or entirely.

2. “We were all together for Thanksgiving.” In this sentence, the phrase means everybody or everyone.

How can we tell when to use what? If you can omit the word all, and just say together, it should be spelled as two words. If you can’t omit all, you probably need to use altogether.

Sigrid Macdonald is a book coach, an editor, a writer for Freelance-Zone.com, and the author of three books, including Getting Hip, D’Amour Road, and Be Your Own Editor. Visit her at http://sigridmacdonald.blogspot.com/.

When do we use myself? When the word actually reflects back on us: “I feel the same way myself.” Use of this reflexive pronoun is becoming less popular, unless you want to emphasize a point. For example, “President Obama himself greeted us at the door.”

What about me and I? You can say, “Marianne and I are best friends; she tells me everything.” You don’t want to say, “Marianne and me are best friends; she tells I everything.” Most of the time you can figure that one out by reading it out loud.

Sigrid Macdonald is the author of three books, including Be Your Own Editor, available at Lulu.com. Check her out at http://sigridmacdonald.blogspot.com/.

Chicago-based Quarsan seeks a freelance math editor/writer to work on projects at a high school math level. Apply online and don’t forget to include your educational pedigree as a Bachelor’s or Master’s degree is preferred. You’ll need experience in Algebra, Trig and other high-end math subjects.

Landor needs a proofreader for its Cincinnati office. Apply online for this freelance proofreading gig, and be ready to upload a copy of your resume to via the online application form.

This one is a bit old, but Kelly Fletcher PR may yet be looking for a freelance PR/social media person. Email a resume and a list of your media accomplishments to kelly@kellyfletcherpr.com.

Law.com seeks a news editor with five years of editing and writing experience and a four-year degree. Send an e-mailed resume and cover letter with “News Editor” and do not forget your salary requirements. Send everything to opportunities@alm.com.

That’s all the freelance job opportunities for this edition, stay tuned for more and don’t forget to send us any hot tips you might run across–drop us a line via the comments section.

But perhaps that interpretation of what this book can be used for is too inside-the-box.

What about the editor who needs a career change? Someone looking for a way to find new opportunities with or without the benefit of the freelance job boards or for-editors websites might do well to consider a book like this as a glorified phone book.

Want to move into the publishing world? Looking for new addresses to send those resumes to? So many people get wrapped up in the target audience for books like these that it never occurs to them to buy one to use when targeting companies for your resume and cover letter.

There’s more than one way to interpret a resource like this. Take a creative look at your bookstore shelves and ask yourself if a new editor job tool is hiding in plain sight.

1. Google loves sites that are deep and have plenty of content. If your site is light on the content side, try adding a professional-sounding-but-personable blog. You can update once or twice a week and see how it goes–just make sure to take the advice of the next step into consideration when writing it.

2. Use keywords the same way you would when writing or editing SEO content. Don’t skimp on the phrases that you want Google to associate with your resume page, but don’t stuff them in at every turn, either.

3. Name your images with Google-friendly file names. “Picture 1A.jpg” isn’t going to help you out much. “Freelance Editor at work.jpg” might be more helpful. Know what I mean?

4. In addition to posting your resume, work samples, and related material, try posting a page about your experiences. An about me-type page that’s tucked away somewhere on the site for the REALLY curious adds more keywords to your resume page and also gives a bit of insight into who you are, your work ethic and experience. Just don’t turn it into a commercial for yourself. Keep it personable and fun to read.

5. Get other sites to link to you–especially any professional organizations you belong to or other groups. The more incoming links to your resume page from legit sources, the better.