If you are a business owner, you write every day. Emails, notes, newsletters, articles, blog posts, Facebook updates, you name it, you’ve gotta write it. And as far as writing correctly, you either chew your nails over “its” versus “it’s,” or you don’t—you write what you think is right and hope the reader will forgive you if it isn’t. You might think that it’s easy as an editor to proof my own stuff, but no. It’s even more painful, because I check everything I write thoroughly and still make mistakes. I’m here to tell you, though, how important it is to make sure everything you write is as accurate as possible, because it all reflects on you as a business person and professional. I have seen much in my years of editing for businesses. Believe it or not, I have seen people misspell their own company name--which to an editor is like fingernails on a chalkboard! So here’s my advice. Don’t trust that computer program. Forget spell check and grammar check; you won’t like it when … [Read more...]
Editors Can’t Get No Respect
It’s unbelievable the things people say to you when they find out you’re an editor. “Oh, really,” and she walks away before she can make a grammatical error in her next sentence. Or, “Here’s a copy of my newsletter for you to read, as long as you promise not to EDIT it,” he writes. And, here’s the really passive-aggressive response—a warm welcome from a member of an online group I once joined: “Great, you can be our critic! (only kidding)” It all makes me feel lonely, depersonalized and unappreciated. Guys, I’m really not that bad. And I really like people. I think of them as flesh and blood, not a just a bundle of words and thoughts that must be placed into some kind of order. I don’t care how you speak, or how badly you write. I’ll still listen intently to what you have to say, and read your writing with great interest. And I’ll gladly provide suggestions, but only when I’m invited to do so— and preferably for money. So, please think of this, the next time you meet an … [Read more...]