graphic of header for ecommunication food for thought

ISSN:1544-8312		February 2014
Judy Vorfeld, Publisher		Issue 93

A Gentle Blend of Communication Expressway
& Webgrammar's Food for Thought

Judy's Corner

Hearing from my subscribers: Heard from writer/editor Susan Lamphiear. And from Rosemary Timoney and Lois Epps. My subscriber friend in China, May Chang, says, "Dear Teacher Judy: I will study the above article carefully. Thank you so much to brighten my day. Happy Holidays!" She is wonderful.

Here's a response from a subscriber who wants to remain anonymous: "I enjoy your newsletter. Re salutations. Often in writing letters to multiple persons, male and female, I use the salutation "Folks:" One excuse for that is that I'm an aging Texan lawyer. And I've often imagined that the more sophisticated addressees find "Folks" pleasantly quaint..."

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Introducing Pubslush: Crowdfunding For Books Only. I recently joined forces with Pubslush.com, a global Crowdfunding arena for books. (I do not have a financial interest in Pubslush, and receive no money for having a community page or encouraging authors to see that Pubslush may be the answer to raising funds for authors' costs when it comes to producing a book.)

If people like me (with a related business) are interested in promoting Pubslush, they can apply for a Partner page. And many books are also for sale on the Pubslush site (they indicate whether the product is a working draft or a completed manuscript, and approximate page length.

I suggest you go through the site, and meet the Advisory Board. Check out the Press & Media Coverage. And there's The Cause: the Pubslush Foundation says that for every book sold, a children's book will be donated to a child in need. Education is a priority to Pubslush.

If you want to look around, or ask a question, support someone's book, or join my Pubslush community, come visit my page. Or if you have a business relating to writing and publishing, apply for your own Pubslush page and network with your clients.

Because I believe in the people behind the business, their community service outlook, and their support for authors, I'm writing a series of articles for the Pubslush blog. I will directly target people who are ready to start writing an ebook. I will help with formatting ideas so the publishing submission process will move smoothly. And I'll give grammar, style, and Word tips along the way.

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Ask Judy: I now have a special place on my Editing and Writing site to answer all kinds of writing and grammar questions: Ask Judy. Please bookmark it and make use of it. Spread the word. I love researching such questions. I won't publish your name without permission. Promise.

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Reading Revolutions: Online digital text and implications for reading in academe by Barry W. Cull. While the Internet is a text-saturated world, reading online screens tends to be significantly different from reading printed text. This review essay examines literature from a variety of disciplines on the technological, social, behavioural, and neuroscientific impacts that the Internet is having on the practice of reading.

A particular focus is given to the reading behaviour of emerging university students, especially within Canada and the United States. A brief overview is provided of the recent transformation of academic libraries into providers of online digital text in addition to printed books and other materials, before looking at research on college students' preferences for print and digital text, and the cognitive neuroscience of reading on screen. Topics include the following:

A very brief historical overview of reading
Current North American reading trends
The benefits of leisure reading
Internet usage trends
Online research and reading behaviour
Online digital text: The story of academic libraries
Popular ebooks
Student preferences for reading print vs. digital text
The cognitive neuroscience of reading
Discussion and conclusion

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The sun be warm and kind
To you,
The darkest night, some star
Shine through,
The dullest morn
A radiance brew,
And when dusk comes—
God's hand
To you.

Eleanor Powers

Web link for this issue.

Grammar Tip #1 - It's or Its?
It's means It is or It has. It's time to go. It's been great. The possessive form (its) is never written with an apostrophe: "Its title is Octopus Island." "What is its value?"

Grammar Tip #2 - Their, They're, or There?
Their: possessive form of the word "they," e.g., Their website is full of typos.
They're: Contraction of the words "they" and "are," e.g., They're doing a great job on their website.
There: at or in that place, e.g., "Now there is an amazing website." "There they go." "There it is."

Business Email Tip

The Signature Line/Block/Sig File

Once you've finished writing your message, go down two lines. If you're writing informally to someone in your organization, just type your name: first or full. If you're writing on behalf of your organization, informally, you can just leave your name, but as a convenience, it's thoughtful to make sure critical info is somewhere on the page (phone, fax, email address).

For all others, you may want to use what I call a sig file. Most email programs will let you do this automatically. Include critical information including your organization's full web address. Having one full automatic sig file is a guarantee that you never miss sending out critical information. Some companies also require an automatic message regarding confidentiality.

If you're self-employed, you can also create and use an automatic sig file. Some experts recommend having the following on separate lines: full name, mailing address, phone/fax numbers, email address, and a tag line, which is a brief way to say what your company does. On my Editing/Writing site, I have a logo saying "Words refreshed and crafted with care," followed by a line saying "Editing & Writing Services," followed by changeable text which reads:

Judy Vorfeld, http://www.EditingAndWritingServices.com
Proofing & Writing Websites, Articles, Business Documents, & More
Grammar question? Ask Judy!

I don't broadcast my phone number because of my Reverse Slope Hearing Loss, but it's available on every page of my site.

How to find Judy's websites

Editing & Writing Services (Biz site w/writing tips blog)
Office Support Services (Original biz site w/more personal blog & ezine)
Webgrammar for educators, writers, editors, researchers, librarians, etc.
Digifeld (Complimentary redigitized photography by Judy Vorfeld)
Judy Vorfeld's personal website

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Archive: Webgrammar's Food for Thought

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