Writing Tip: If Only Writers Put the Word “Only” Only Where It Should Go

By Lisa Silverman

"Susan only submitted her manuscript to three literary agencies."

"Susan submitted her manuscript to only three literary agencies."

Ever hear of a “misplaced modifier”? Don’t worry, I’ll get into those in another article. Today I’m going to briefly explain one example, a pet peeve of mine and of copyeditors everywhere: the use and misuse of the word “only.” This is one of those grammatical rules that most people (including yours truly) don’t follow in speech or in informal writing, and therefore needs editing in every single manuscript that comes across my desk, even those by the most experienced authors. “Too picky,” you might say--but remember: book writing isn’t speech. Being “picky” means being a professional.

The sentences above, if you spoke them out loud, might have the same meaning to your ear. But a closer look on the page reveals that their meanings are different. The most important thing to keep in mind when writing—after, you know, stuff like spelling words correctly--is to never to confuse a reader. This doesn’t mean never intentionally mislead the reader of your mystery novel or leave ambiguous the ending of your thriller. It means that the meaning you are trying to convey is never in question, not in any single sentence. If it is, readers become distracted, and you’ve lost them.

The first sentence in my example does not convey its intended meaning. Why? Because “only” is next to “submitted,” which is not the word it is modifying. As written, the sentence tells us that Susan did nothing but submit her manuscript to three literary agencies. She didn’t submit it to publishers. She didn’t enter it into writing contests. She didn’t have it bound and engraved. (Don’t do that, by the way, if you’re planning to send it to anyone.) In fact, if we’re being really strict, she didn’t do anything else at all. She didn’t even get out of bed and brush her teeth this morning. She “only submitted.”

Now look at the second sentence. Aha! Now you get it. Susan submitted to “only three” literary agencies. This construction leaves no room for doubt. And it emphasizes more strongly the sentence’s significance: that she didn’t submit her manuscript to very many agencies. This simple rearrangement of words eliminates ambiguity and improves clarity and specificity--so why not go through your manuscript right now, do a global search for the word “only,” and make sure it’s used properly?

The proper placement of the word is not always this clear-cut, and there may be instances where moving it makes your sentence read awkwardly. As always, use your judgment and tailor this tip to your own work. But if you ever see that clarity is in doubt, this is an easy way to eliminate that doubt and make your writing that much more professional.