I wish I had an editor :(

I can't afford to pay for an editor to proof read my novel. I finished a rough draft and I am meticulously going over it myself to fix all of the issues. I was hoping the people here could go over some of the problem areas and tell me if I am correct with my punctuation and other problems. Here's some things I'm not sure about:

I’m sort of like a guardian angel, sent by God to people...

Is the comma before sent correct or do I need to use a semi-colon?

"...your powers are just as god-like as the others’.”

Is the apostrophe after others in the wrong place? In this case, others needs it because those others also have powers, but I feel it's strange to put it after the period.

forty or so year old gentleman

If I were to say a forty year old gentleman, it would need hyphens like this: forty-year-old gentleman. But since I put "or so" in there, I'm not sure if it's supposed to be "forty-or-so-year-old gentleman.

“How can I help you, son?” asked the priest.

Is "son" capitalized when a priest says it? I know Father is when referring to the priest, but what about "son?"

I want to devote my life to the Church; for their sake.

When I use the term "for their sake," does the sentence need a comma or a semi-colon?

Catholic theology

When referring to Catholic theology, does theology need capitalization?

First Confession

When referring to Confession (both as First Confession and just by itself), does it need capitalization?

First Communion

Same thing when referring to Communion and First Communion?

my first confession

Does the rule for "First Confession" change if it's "my first confession"?

Confession booth

Does confession still get capitalized if it's referring to the booth?

a five-year-old

I keep getting confused on when to use hyphens for ages. Does "a five-year-old" get the hyphens, too?

the deaths of people

Is "deaths" written "death's" when the deaths are possessive? This might be a stupid question, but I'm leaving no stone unturned.

this idea of yours

Does "yours" need to be "your's?" I'm not sure...

...these other people, besides Christine, of course.

Is the comma usage here correct?

Philosophy Major

Is a "Philosophy Major" capitalized?

That night Damian got...

Do I need a comma after night?

B.A. in Philosophy

Is Philosophy capitalized here, too?

theological studies

Again, do I need to capitalize?

three and a half years

Do I need hyphens for "three and a half?"


If anyone is willing to help me with this, I would be grateful. Thanks

 

How much money to you need for an editor to proof read your novel?

 

comma is correct. i'm not going through all these, maybe i'll do another one later.

technically, i should have used a semi-colon in my last sentence.

 

Remember how Microsoft Word used to underline your mistakes with red and green squiggles?

Irminsul remembers.

 

that's true. of course, sometimes it gets overly excited and underlines your non-mistakes too.

 

Yeah like wtf was with the green squiggle?

I'm like nah, I know what I said. It's not wrong.

 

Whut iff u finde an misspeiled wurd en thea finale virgin: tats fer sail en de buuk chelf rracs.

Du u got en quarenttee Porto monyz bok?

 

Many, many years ago, the Guardian Newspaper managed to mis-spell its name and it was distributed with the mis-spelling in place. Which is why some of us of a certain age now ask newsagents for a copy of the Grauniad !!!

 

Comma is right.

Apostrophe is right.

You only hyphenate "year-old."

"Son" is not a title, so it isn't capitalized.

You should use a comma. Semicolons are only used to link two independent clauses; typically, it is for two complete sentences that are closely related. (I didn't really use it appropriately with these two clauses; I'm just showing you how it works.")

Depends if it's a title. Not necessarily.

Depends.

Depends.

Depends.

I don't think a confession booth really has a title, so I wouldn't capitalize it, not unless it's the established name of something.

Again, you only hyphenate "year-old."

I would think you would just say "the death of people." Otherwise, if you were to write "the deaths of hundreds of men, for instance, no, you wouldn't want to show ownership. That would indicate that death owned "of hundreds of men" which makes no sense.

Yes, "yours" should be "your's."

Yes

No

Yes

No.

Depends.

Yes.

 

Semicolons are fun when you get the hang of it. You can get creative.

 

There are instances where they should be used; there are instances where they should not. It's really a question of poetry.

 

Thank you

I've been working on the edits all morning and I have a few more questionable things:

a Bible

Is "Bible" always capitalized when it's the Holy Bible?

emaciated-looking

Is the hyphen correct?

Damian wanted to punch him in the face; or even better, shoot him with his gun.

Is the use of the semicolon correct here?

There were a few times when Nina initiated silly play fights with Christine which involved unexpectedly jumping on top of Christine in bed and tickling her, but these never seemed sexual to Christine, who was admittedly ignorant of these things.

Is the comma usage at the end correct?

Like the Flash?

When using superhero names that begin with 'the,' is "the" left uncapitalized (unless it's the beginning of a sentence)?

duffel bag

Is it duffel or duffle? I've seen it spelled both ways

"What I mean is, the Master, or whoever, or even you, is..."

Is the comma usage here correct?.

"She intends to stay in the closet her entire life and never expose her sexuality to anyone, even the man she would marry for this purpose."

Is the comma usage here correct too?

Please, tell me: have you been talking to Gary?

Do I use a colon or semicolon for this sentence?

“Give the order, now.”

Comma or semicolon?

Christine swiftly picked up the gun, pointed it at Brother Dominic, yelled out “I’m sorry!” and shot him in the face.

I feel like there needs to be a comma by "I'm sorry!", but I don't know where to put it.

“Well, you’ll have to fucking try!”

Comma or no comma?

You’re going to have to play "Doctor’"and remove it.

When using the term "play doctor", does doctor need to be capitalized?


That's all of the edits left in my novel. Thanks again.

 

What are you doing this on? Any decent word processing program will do all that stuff for you.

 

I'm sorry, I was incorrect about hyphens and ages. It would be forty-year-old, for example.

Bible should be capitalized.

Hyphen is correct.

A hyphen instead of a semicolon would be more appropriate.

Yes.

Yes.

I've seen it spelled both ways, too, but I believe
"duffel" is correct.

I would use ellipses after the first "is." So, "What I mean is...the Master..."

Yes.

Semicolon.

Depends on how it's being said. But it would either be "Give the order now" or "Give the order. Now."

I don't think you need one. Remember, the point of punctuation is to make things less confusing, and to provide emphasis. Sometimes it's just your choice.

Comma.

You would just say doctor without the quotation marks, and no capitalization.

Hope I can be of help. I like how your novel has so much shooting in the face!

 

I think you just need to read about semi-colons.. Because the examples you're asking about seem very obviously not places to use them. It's no good for people to just tell you which to use; if you don't develop an understanding of them, you won't become a better writer.

I don't mean that to sound rude : )
I went through the same process with many forms of punctuation.

 

Thank you for your help. I appreciate it

 

Running it by family and friends tends to work well. Most people can catch enough that you don't need to hire an expensive editor especially if you get several opinions.