Publishing E-Books For Dummies

Avoiding Common Spelling Mistakes

As a writing coach, I come across quite a few words that are habitually confused or misspelled. The list in this section is far from exhaustive, but if you can remember these 12 corrections, you’ll be well on your way to a typo-free e-book.

A lot is two separate words. (Compare with a few.)

Affect is usually a verb, and effect is usually a noun. (Note, though, that you can effect a change.)

Conscious means “awake.” Your conscience makes you feel guilty about doing something wrong.

Its means “belonging to it.” (Compare with his and hers.) It’s means “it is.” (Compare with he’s and she’s.) If you’ve used it’s, and you’re unsure whether (ahem) it’s what you want, try replacing it with it is. Does the sentence still make sense?

Lose is when you don’t win. Loose isn’t tight.

Principals are in charge of schools. Principles are rules.

Set and sit are different words. Some dialects say “set down” for “sit down,” but unless you’re writing dialogue, you should use the correct word in writing.

Stationary means “not moving.” Stationery is what you write on.

Their means “belonging to them.” They’re means “they are.” There means “over there.”

Yeah is a slang term for “yes.” Yea is an archaic form of “yes” and is now used only in the context of voting (“yea” or “nay”).

Your means “belonging to you,” and you’re means “you are.” Most people know the difference, but it’s easy ...