I’m a zoologist interested both in animals and science. Publishing in international journals is therefore an unavoidable part of my activities. No matter how much time, energy and money I invest in a project, as long as it is not published, I cannot expect credit for it, and the credit is proportional to the impact factor of a journal. It follows that the language and style of my papers matter, just like technical and scientific expertise invested into earlier steps of my work.  I am a non-native English speaker and although I communicate with my colleagues abroad with ease, I need help with written English in scientific papers. Like many of my colleagues, I always ask someone to edit my manuscript for language and style. For the last fifteen years, this “someone” is Karolyn Close, or Karry as I call her in our frequent emails. In my submissions, the referees and editors may criticise various aspects of technical performance of research or of deduction, proposing improvements (or rejection). However, I do not receive criticism on the written English of the papers Karry has edited. Since I have been working in the field of zoology for quite some time, I am also engaged in editing journals and books, and frequently serve as a referee to evaluate whether a submitted paper is suitable for publication. Some of the papers I receive are poorly organized and written in bad English. I strongly advise authors not to submit a paper before it is ready in every respect, including editing for language and style.