Taken its toll

FOUND ONLINE: Years of struggling with substance abuse have clearly taken its toll on the singer-actress.

I wonder if their should have been used instead of its. I know the writer is taking "Years of struggling with substance abuse" as a sort of noun, but you can say that "Years have taken their toll on the singer-actress."

FROM A SPORTS ARTICLE: This year they’ve hit on something very unique: Draft picks will be announced from outer space.

No, no, no, no, no. If something's unique, it's unheard of, spellbinding, beyond rare. It doesn't need any help from very.

EMAIL: tgilli52@gmail.com TWITTER: EDITORatWORK

More EDITOR@WORK blog entries

• You really DO need an editor

• Reminders for would-be novelists

• What I do when I'm editing

• What I charge (it's a deal) and what I edit

• Slogging through the Internet

• J-school: More eyes on your stories

• J-school: Go out and learn

• Rookie mistakes for magazine writers

Entries from The Dog Blog

• Katie cried

• Growl and pull

• 13-plus years with my dog Lady

• ... said the spider to ...

• The Dog Diary (2014)

• YIP! YIP! The stereo-sound huskies

• What Lady and Michael Jackson had in common

Blog entries from The Auto Racing Journal

• Angel in Black: Remembering Dale Earnhardt Sr.

(a book of great stories about the Intimidator)

• Then Junior Said to Jeff...

(the book of great NASCAR stories)

• My best day as a sports writer

• Jeff Gordon's milk toast to Dale Earnhardt

• Wayne Auton: A life in racing

More blog entries by Tom Gillispie

• Resume for a writer and editor

• An editor's views on powerful writing

• Advice for be and would-be novelists

• Links to TG's stories online

• Favorite quotes

• What I do when I'm editing

Anecdotes by Tom Gillispie

• Days with rainbows

• A desperate writer working in the dark

• Yer outta there!