The Case for the Comma

About a month ago I had a piece of writing accepted for magazine publication. The day after I received word of the acceptance, the editor called to discuss "a comma." That's right. A comma. Not that I'm complaining. In fact, I was impressed. This was one tenacious woman and I was elated to command her attention.

I began our conversation by apologizing for my inexactitude. After all (unlike this blog, which I write quickly and which contains many typos and errors) I pride myself on submitting perfected text for publication. I want every sentence to be exact in expression and intention, and God-forbid, an editor would discover a typo, a misspelled word, or a dangling participle in anything I submit.

But the question for this day was the lack of a comma. "I think you need a comma in the first paragraph," she said, "after the word slipped." I dredged up my text and studied her suggestion. "I think you are correct," I said. "I'm sorry I overlooked that. There should be a breath there, a pause. You are right."

Now, I wasn't trying to earn brownie points, folks. Not in any way. This editor was spot on. Later in our conversation, she asked about a second comma I had inserted in another paragraph. "I'm not sure about that one," she said. "Tell me about it."

I made my case for the pause, for the intake of air, the tiny stillness--which is what the comma represents--and she considered it. "Yes, a comma is warranted there," she said. "I see your point."

So, I batted .500 on commas recently.

Now, in the event this blog entry is absolutly boring you to tears, let me here offer a quote attributed to King Richard III at the Battle of Bosworth Field. "My horse, my horse, my kingdom for a horse." Or, as another proverb states: For want of a nail, the shoe was lost. For want of a shoe, the horse was lost. For want of a horse, the battle was lost.

In case you don't understand the proverb, it is about small things that add up to big things. And in the case of writing well, everything matters. Especially commas. Tiny marks on the page. Word selection. Verb tense. Proper structure. Spelling. Without the details in working order, writing is little more than marks on a page.

So, as I learned again last week. Details matter. Editors notice. They are paid to notice! And that's why I spent four hours on a Thursday night reading over all of the work I have produced in the past month . . . writing that I want to inspire to perfection. I read every essay. Every story. Every poem. Every book proposal. I read every sentence again. Every word. Studied over the structure and semi-colons and the periods. Even the commas. Especially the commas.

I'm not making that mistake again!