"I" vs. "Me" in Self-Publishing - by LK Kelley, Author/Editor of The White Wolf Prophecy Trilogy

Not only am I the author of The White Wolf Prophecy, Mating, Book 1 of The White Wolf Prophecy Trilogy , but I actually began as a Freelance Editor. 

(For fun, here is one of the behind the scenes photoshoot for my book with Laura Kelley, Win Noble, and Matt Mclenahan - photographer of Razorbackfoto.com)

Behind the Scenes Photoshoot
The White Wolf Prophecy, Mating, Book 1
ofThe White Wolf Prophecy Trilogy

I read.  A lot.  Both books and e-books.  Occasionally, I find some editing errors in a book in the hand, but more than not, e-books are ripe with problems.

If you want money from your book, then you really, really need an editor, because an editor can be your very best friend.

Some examples of the errors I find are incomplete sentences, duplicate sentences, paragraphs, or even whole pages.  Ending a sentence in a prepositional phrase is a no-no. Spelling, grammar, punctuation are just other problems. 

But, this one makes me yell - DO NOT MAKE THIS MISTAKE!  

It is the most egregious of all errors, and is prolific in a great majority of e-books, yet it is one of the simplest to correct.  I have to admit that I do not know why this "new and disturbing trend" is happening, but I see it in almost every self-published book.  It is something to AVOID AT ALL COSTS!  And, this is one of the main reasons you need an editor if you want to make money, and could be the difference between a mediocre book, and a best seller. 

This disturbing trend of authors not knowing how to use "I" and "Me"  is unacceptable, and is one of my biggest pet peeves.  Grammar usage is also one of your readers' BIGGEST complaints.  

Red is wrong; blue is general; green is right.

Let's look at two examples of a sentence I see in almost every single e-book that I read: 

"The three other friends went to the movies with James and I."

Does this sound OK to you?  Because, if it does, it is not correct.  Let me show you how to figure out when to use "I" or "Me" in a sentence.

Now, HOW do you figure out if it is wrong?  We break down the sentence in to three, singular sentences.   If you use this simple example, you will ALWAYS be able to use "I" and "Me" correctly.  In other words, I'm giving you a TEST.

1. The three other friends went to the movies with James.
2. The three other friends went to the movies with I.
3. The three other friends went to the movies with me.

Now, you should be able to tell which sounds right.  So, pick one of these. Which one of them sounds correct to you?  Say them out loud as if you were actually speaking the words.  Circle the number of the example that you believe to be wrong.

(Jeopardy Theme)

If you picked example 2, you would be correct. It is the wrong use of "I".

1. The three other friends went to the movies with James.
2. The three other friends went to the movies with I.  
3. The three other friends went to the movies with me.

Now, let's rewrite the sentence correctly.  You know that example 2 is wrong.  So, here's how the sentence should read: 

"The three other friends went to the movies with James and me."

This is one of the easiest English tests you can ever do.

Let's try another one.

"James and me went to the movies with three other friends."

Again, let's break this sentence down into three separate sentences to TEST the correct way to write the sentence.

1. "Me went to the movies with three other friends."
2. "James went to the movies with three other friends."
3. "I went to the movies with three other friends."

Again.  Read it aloud. Which sentences would you use in speaking.

(Jeopardy Theme)

OK. Time's up.  If you chose example 1, then you would be correct that the use of "Me" is incorrect.

1. "Me went to the movies with three other friends."
2. "James went to the movies with three other friends."
3. "I went to the movies with three other friends."

Now, let's put that sentence together correctly:

"James and I went to the movies with three other friends."

This is one of the simplest tools that a writer should know - whether still in school or not.  This is how I learned to use "I" and "Me" correctly.  But it is obviously sadly lacking in today's schools.  If it were not so, writers would not be writing incorrectly. If you are copying off of other authors in the use of the English language, don't.  There is no guarantee that the author knows grammar.  

Writing a book should be your most prized possession.  It's your thoughts, your story, your words put down on paper for everyone to read. You need to be embarrassed by errors.  This simple thing could cost you sales and money for your books.

ISBN-13: 9781615000500

The White Wolf Prophecy, Mating, Book 1 of The White Wolf Prophecy Trilogy

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