Hi! I’m Kathy Ide. In addition to being a published author, I’m a full-time professional freelance editor. For CAN, I’m blogging about “PUGS”–Punctuation, Usage, Grammar, and Spelling … tips for writers based on the most common mistakes I see in the manuscripts I edit. These are excerpts from my new book, Proofreading Secrets of Best-Selling Authors, which reveal how multi-published authors proofread their manuscripts to avoid typos, inconsistencies, inaccuracies, and PUGS errors. (The book is available from Amazon.) If you’re interested in working with a freelance editor (or know someone who is), e-mail me through the contact page of my website. Or go to the Christian Editor Connection to get referrals to other established, professional editorial freelancers. If you’re a freelance editor yourself, or think you might be interested in that field, check out The Christian PEN: Proofreaders and Editors Network.

USAGE TIP

more than vs. over

More than is used with figures.

“More than one thousand people bought Tim’s book.”

“The grammar book has sold more than fifty thousand copies to date.”

Over refers to spatial relationships.

“The football soared over the receiver’s head.”

Over can also be used with amounts.

“I paid over five dollars for that book.”

(One could argue that the number of dollars you spent was more than five; however, here “five dollars” represents an amount of money.)