By Tessa Pulyer Posted on

#BookBloggerHop | Editing Software

The Book Blogger Hop was originally created by Jennifer @ Crazy-For-Books in March 2010 and ended on December 31, 2012. With Jennifer’s permission, Billy @ Ramblings of a Coffee Addicted Writer relaunched the hop on February 15, 2013. Each week the hop will start on a Friday and end the following Thursday. There will be a weekly prompt featuring a book related question. The hop’s purpose is to give bloggers a chance to follow other blogs, learn about new books, befriend other bloggers, and receive new followers to their own blog.

Do you run your reviews through editing software before posting?

(submitted by Billy @ Coffee Addicted Writer)

DEFINITELY!!! It’s funny when people find out that I have a degree in English or that I used to teach High School English before I became a counselor. They apologize to me for their grammar when speaking or writing. But, the biggest thing I came away with from school and work is that none of us are perfect regarding language usage, and everyone can use a second pair of eyes on things we write.

So, my second pair of eyes is Grammarly. It’s intuitive and catches my two biggest problems – comma usage and passive voice. I love writing in passive voice, and I have no idea why. And I never use enough commas. For some reason, I consistently forget the comma before a conjunction that connects two independent clauses. Grammarly helps me keep my voice active, which makes for a faster, more interesting read and fixes those pesky commas.

What this post looked like when I added it to Grammarly.

I write my reviews in Microsoft Word, which has its own grammar/spelling fixes, but it does not work anywhere near as well as Grammarly. I’ve also tried other editing software, but Grammarly works best for my needs.

Do you use editing software for your reviews?

37 Replies to “#BookBloggerHop | Editing Software”

  1. WendyW says:

    I also use Grammarly. I’ve always struggled with grammar and need all the help I can get.

    Liked by 1 person

    1. Lady Tessa says:

      It doesn’t do that for me. In Word, it’s an extension that I have to open and close. And the app, I have to paste into. But I do think it’s an option to have it working with most of what’s running on your computer. I love it 😻

      Liked by 1 person

    1. Lady Tessa says:

      You can always try it and see what you think. Grammar is challenging because the way we speak is so different, a lot of times, from what is grammatically correct.

      Like

  4. Kelly says:

    Never. I know it exists but I’ve never been tempted to try it. Grammar has been drilled into me for so long I feel like I can manage on my own 😂

    Liked by 1 person

    1. Lady Tessa says:

      It was drilled into me too. The classes I had to take as an English major in college where wildly focused on the technical aspects of the language. But I like having the backup.

      Liked by 1 person

  5. Jonetta | Blue Mood Café says:

    No, I don’t use any tools even though I’m plagued, as you are, by the tendency to use a passive voice. But, I go back and self edit specifically for that. Have no idea where that comes from! Kudos to you for using a tool.

    Liked by 1 person

  7. Louise H says:

    I’ve used Grammarly ever since you mentioned it on your blog a while ago. Currently, I use the free version but I do think the paid version could be a good investment.

    Liked by 1 person

    1. Lady Tessa says:

      I actually use the paid version. There’s a few programs out there that I’ve deemed worth the cost of the premium plan – Grammarly and Canva. I don’t know how I’d function without either of them.

      Like

    1. Lady Tessa says:

      I always think a second pair of eyes is good for everyone. And programs like this are not perfect in their suggestions but they are pretty good.

      Liked by 1 person

  9. Janette says:

    It has never occurred to me to use an editing program and I often ignore microsoft suggestions about commas. I think that English grammar usage might be slightly different to American as I would never use commas in some of the places that microsoft suggests. I often use the passive voice too 😯

    Liked by 1 person

    1. Lady Tessa says:

      I wonder if it can be set for different countries? Hmmm… now I have to look. You are right, there are technical aspects that are different for the same language in each country.

      Liked by 1 person

      1. Janette says:

        I know that you can set the MS word spelling for UK as opposed to USA English but I’ve never thought about the grammar aspect

        Liked by 1 person

        1. Lady Tessa says:

          It looks like you can customize Grammarly for American English, UK English, Australian English or even Canadian English. I wonder now how well it works.

          Liked by 1 person

          1. Janette says:

            I never realised that grammar rules were different. I guess it’s obvious when you think that grammar was only really codified in the 19th c by which time, each country had its own society and culture.
            This seemed like quite a boring question yesterday but it’s actually been a fascinating discussion on different blogs

            Liked by 1 person

  10. Leon Stevens says:

    That pesky comma is my most common error as well. I ignore most of Grammarly’s suggestions to “rewrite for clarity” as it usually has to do with my writing voice.

    Liked by 1 person

  12. Zainab says:

    I’ve actually never used an editing software, but this has actually made me rethink a lot! 😆 Maybe I’ll start using them! Thanks for sharing Tessa!

    Liked by 1 person

  13. Books Teacup and Reviews says:

    I have Grammarly extension installed in chrome so I don’t have to copy paste my content on site. It does spell check minor things in all writing sections, whether it’s posts or comments.

    Liked by 1 person

  14. stargazer says:

    I wasn’t familiar with Grammarly, but it sounds like a useful tool. My writing / grammar could definitely use a check-up from time to time. Btw. left a message on your post this morning, but it seems to have disappeared into cyberspace.

    Liked by 1 person

    1. Lady Tessa says:

      WP sent you to spam for some reason 🤷🏻‍♀️. It does that with the oddest of comments. And Grammarly is extremely useful ❤️

      Liked by 1 person

  16. D. Wallace Peach says:

    I’m not bad at grammar, Tessa, but Grammarly still catches all kinds of stuff (usually commas). It’s far from perfect, but I rely heavily on it for proofing. And it’s free. I’ve tried paid programs, and though they are more thorough (like catching repeated words in close proximity or suggesting stronger verbs), they haven’t been worth the extra bucks. Grammarly is a great service. 😀

    Liked by 1 person

  17. Carla says:

    I use spell check, but that is about it. I even get frustrated with that, so I guess my short answer is no. I do reread my reviews before posting, but I know I still miss things. I often find mistakes a day or week later, and fix them then. Maybe I should give grammarly a try?

    Liked by 1 person

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