[E.M.DuBois]

Originally Posted by gmw

I'm hesitant to ask whether you've run into hyphenation issues (where the only solution to work out whether certain word pairs should be separate, hyphenated or joined is to look it up in the dictionary, because these are constantly evolving). And I ran into "in to" and "into" issues with mine ... and a whole lot more. I also used to get my "its" vs "it's" wrong a lot of the time, not because I didn't know better, but because my fingers were badly programmed from years of not caring that much.

I did, until I learned the difference between hyphens, en dashes, and em dashes. This came in handy, as I found out, since I’ve managed to need all three without realizing it. That’s one of the few ways Grammarly has been useful to me: it has a constantly-upgrading dictionary that shows me when words might need hyphens and when words that I’ve put hyphens into are actually one word. It’s vs. its was never a problem for me, because I text all the time and I text like I write. I’ve been told my texting is very proper. Same thing with their, there, and they’re, and to, too, and two. They were beaten into me in school, so I spot the mistake on the spot. Though I learned the difference between words like alter vs. altar as I wrote The Savior Libra.

But if all else fails, I have an expansive list of Homophone, homonyms, and Homographs and I’ll just turn on the search feature, look for each one, make sure I’ve used it correctly, and through that I’ll learn to recognize each one like muscle-memory. It’s going to be ass-painfully slow, but whatever it takes, right?

Originally Posted by gmw

This I can really relate to. The result: I write for a hobby, I publish only those things that seem worth all the pain required for that next step.

Despite how my over eagerness to publish The Savior Libra (leading to mistakes) may make me look, I actually write a lot. Been doing so for 13 years. I have a lot piled up on me. Most of it won’t be published. Some of it’s going to writerscafe.org. Only what I’ve set my heart, soul, blood, sweat, and tears into will be published for sale. Most of what I write is just for fun, and as a hobby. So, I can relate to your perspective as well.

@Cinisajoy: I can’t afford luxuries like being able to drink often or DISH. I’m living on bare essentials. It took me months to afford a cover. Which, I think, was WELL worth the investment. And I bought it because I can’t draw. At all. But I can learn to edit.

And I’m pretty sure there someone here who I could work out a deal with. I’m don’t rule out things like providing free promotion in my blogs and stuff for whoever edits my work, pointing other writers in that person’s direction. Service for a service, right?

Originally Posted by ApK

Do zero-based budgeting of every dollar, every month. (try www.everydollar.com)
Be proactive and intentional with your money, and you may be surprised how much room in your budget you actually find.

The Corps, in my separation into the Inactive Reserves, taught me techniques and gave me tools to budget myself. Far more in-depth, too. With the number of vets on the streets, they invest quite a bit in making sure I can at least keep myself in the black, and it’s up to me to soar. I appreciate the suggestions, and while I still bookmarked the link (because one think I learned in the Corps is you can never have too much knowledge,) I’m well-ahead of those. If there was a way for me to cut out more, then I would.