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Today I received an e-mail asking how to get an article published in the newsletter I work for, but since that’s not my function I referred its author to the correct contact. As I looked over the pitch however, I foresaw doom for this plea....
I saw two glaring misspellings in its main paragraph -- two errors that the most rudimentary spell-check device would catch immediately -- and I knew they would not elude our editor’s fine scrutiny.
Whenever I write a piece of business correspondence, no matter how functional or perfunctory, I look it over a couple of times before hitting “Send." I ruthlessly prune extra words, which may pad or bloat my thought; I add words as needed to achieve maximum clarity; I re-punctuate; and I keep a sharp eye for squiggly lines, which might indicate a spelling error, or just a colorful colloquialism. Admittedly, I set unreasonably high standards for my own communication, but let’s face it, a misspelled editorial pitch has little chance of succeeding, especially with a rigorous arbiter of editorial content.
Proofread first… then hit “Send.”
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Comments
Words to live (spell) by. You know, I do wish that there existed spellcheck in the comments field for blogs--as I find typos all too many times with my own comments.
Posted by: CK | 11.20.06
CK,
Man, I am guilty of that. My comments are a hodgepodge of typos and errors. As a former editor and currently making my living mostly as a communicator, I am embarrassed when I look back at my comments. (Today's are no exception.)
However, commenting takes time away from higher priorities, and I have consciously decided to write and type as fast as I can, and deal with my mistakes internally and painfully, hoping others understand.
It's a tradeoff, and one I make so that I can comment. If I had to carefully edit and proof, I would not comment frequently.
Posted by: Lewis Green | 11.20.06
Jim --
Your post reminds me of the comment you shared with me last week, originating from your dad: "Hard writing makes easy reading."
Words to live by indeed!
Posted by: Ann Handley | 11.20.06
Lewis: You made the right decision. I just wish that they could build spellcheck into the commenting process. But as I say, 3 things are certain in life:
1. Death
2. Taxes
3. Typos
:-)
Posted by: CK | 11.20.06
They have spell check on MProfs Know How Exchange...
Ann couldn't they add it to the blogs?
Posted by: Tammy Strnatka | 11.20.06