Lead or led?

Many people get muddled by these two little words. As a noun, lead can mean a metal or something Rover drags you along by on his daily walk. Notice the metal is pronounced 'led' and the dog's attachment 'leed'.

The verb form of lead is most likely to lead to confusion for writers. In the present tense, you say I lead, you lead, he leads etc, all of which are pronounced 'leed'. But in the past tense, the verb becomes I led, you led, he led etc, all of which are pronounced 'led'.

So, the sentence 'Jim lead me by the hand' is never correct - Jim either leads you or led you.

Society of Young Publishers

For the past couple of years I've been writing a column on the highs and lows of freelancing for the Society of Young Publishers. It's been a great way to chart my business journey and share some of the lessons I've learned along the way, and I confess I rather enjoy the writing side as well.
Next month I'll be popping into the Big Smoke to give a talk on freelance editing and proofreading, which will be a nice break from the norm and will no doubt remind me why I usually avoid public speaking at all costs! Although I used to be something of an actress in my youth, these days I'm rather used to expressing myself via the written word rather than spoken. It will be great to meet other freelances though, and I grab any chance to spend a day in the city that can incorporate an afternoon in Waterstones on Piccadilly . . .