The Grammar Lady

Introduction: I have never felt the need for a website, but perhaps I'll come to realize it would be a business asset. My main qualifications are that I was educated in Raleigh, NC, back in the day when good grammar was thoroughly ingrained in us from the early grades on up to high school; and after I majored in English Education at UNC, and taught 8th grade English (with a strong emphasis on grammar!). I am thoroughly disappointed that schools no longer tend to teach the principle parts of verbs, case, conjugation, phonics, and even spelling! I have proofread for a few local writers. I realize this is a lot to ask, but if you'll just trust that my generation was the be-all and end-all of grammar correctness, I promise you will not be disappointed. Don't ever simply rely on spellcheck, etc. There are tons of mistakes on those sites. And often, there will be perfectly legitimate words that they say are not in the dictionary. Where are they looking? I have to get out my old college Webster's to prove them wrong. That deficit never ceases to amaze me! I edit papers and manuscripts from my home, since I am a retired (former) teacher and (also former) stay-at-home mom. My main testimonial is that my students - years after I'd taught them - used to call my mother's home asking for me. When they found that I had moved out of state, they would tell my mom that I was the best English teacher they had ever had and just wanted to thank me for preparing them for more advanced schooling. Some of these students were in high school by then, but many of them had graduated from college! Nothing pleases a teacher more that to realize that she's made a difference in her pupils' lives. My most recent proofreading/editing 'job' was for a friend who had written a 3-volume fantasy series. I did not charge her because she was a lifelong friend, and her creativity was so beyond belief that I felt honored to be able to correct her grammar or awkward sentence structure. We still have not found a publisher for her, but seeing her book in print would be a dream come true for both of us. I, myself, have written 1.5 books (my mother broke her hip halfway through the second one and I simply never got back to it) and a children's book, which I also illustrated. None of them were ever published. I always enjoyed writing, regardless of any success, plus unknowns find it almost impossible to find publishers who will take on the risk of representing a novice, regardless of his/her talent. But I am sure that my writer friend's books, would rank right up there with the Harry Potter series. And I'm not even a fantasy-genre fan! I offer a full guarantee: Money refunded for any pages on which you find a mistake! I am a very ethical person, prompt, efficient, and trustworthy. Hope to hear from you soon. Linda