<p>Complacency</p> <p>In this age of social media, instant messaging, text messaging, and the like, there are plenty of errors flying across the Internet miles, into print, even onto the television screen.&nbsp; I've even noticed blatant errors on the NEWS!&nbsp; For some, after seeing the same error over and over, they start to believe that what they are seeing is <em>correct</em>.&nbsp; Many people have gotten complacent in their writing, accepting of shortcuts and abbreviations, and lazy.&nbsp; They're often not even aware of it.</p> <p>Fresh eyes</p> <p>You need a fresh pair of eyes.&nbsp; After writing and rewriting, our brains have a tendency to register something as correct, fill in the blanks, and generally not see some errors. After awhile they all look corrrect, even when there not, and you don't actually sea (nor will a spell-checker all ways catch) wear their errors.&nbsp; For example, the sentence you just read is fraught with errors!&nbsp; It really should read "After a while, they all look correct, even when they're not, and you don't actually see (nor will a spell-checker always catch) where they're errors."&nbsp;&nbsp; A proofreader would catch those errors, and an editor would change the sentence entirely so that it is easier to read.&nbsp; For example:&nbsp; "After a while, some errors may look correct even when they are not.&nbsp; You may not actually see (nor will a spell-checker always catch) certain errors."</p> <p>Write from right</p> <p>You need someone who will know that "alot" is not a word, "judgement" looks right but is wrong, and that they're going to use their knowledge to understand the difference between they're, there, and their.&nbsp; And, while we're on the subject, they need to know that its' is NOT a word in any context (even though a spell-checker does not recognize it as an error!).&nbsp; Your editor or proofreader should actually know when "all ways" is the correct term or if it should be "always"; he/she knows when to use "some times" and "sometimes", and when the word is "awhile" and when it really is "a while".&nbsp;</p> <p>Best foot forward to get that foot in the door</p> <p>While it is true that there are people who do not notice, would not know the difference, and/or do not care about typographical, grammatical, and syntax errors, there are far more who DO notice and WILL get a negative impression.&nbsp; More often than not, it means the difference between a prospect calling you or moving on to the next company or person who responded to their RFP.&nbsp; You cannot get "your foot in the door" without giving the best impression by putting "your best foot forward."</p> <p>Error translation</p> <p>To have a brochure, a website, or a proposal in the hands of a potential client is <strong>not</strong> your primary goal.&nbsp; Your goal is to have that particular prospect remember you in a positive way and want to contact you for more information.&nbsp; Your efforts are wasted if they merely toss that brochure at the sight of the first error, not bookmark your error-ridden website for future needs, and want to forget about you at their nearest opportunity.&nbsp; Errors and hard-to-read copy directly translate into lost sales.&nbsp; Bad copy translates into lost sales because you gave the impression that you may not care enough for them if you did not care enough for you. Period.</p> 2009-01-22T15:33:47Z -12.2495 157 2904 true 15 24179 why-utilize-an-editor 1 2009-01-29T05:46:57Z 2009-01-29T05:46:57Z

Five reasons why you should utilize an editor - and why you may be completely unaware that you need one!

0 2009-02-24T09:48:47Z