The value of an editor

This is going to be a long one, but only because it’s important and I care.
It’s a little bit of a rant, but also a little bit of advice. I really appreciate anyone who takes the time to read this through. It matters a great deal to me and to many others. And before I begin, a friendly reminder: I do not think less of people who aren’t as good at English as I am. I’m not picking on them, I promise. This is about the role of editing.

Lately I've noticed a number of obvious and damaging written errors in some important places: news articles, magazines, emails, ads, promotional posts by small businesses, etc.
The one that made me cringe the most: I was reading a reliable and well-known science magazine that had misspelled "extinction". Twice. On the same page.

But that’s not the end of it.
At a later date I was reading another article in the same issue of the same magazine and stumbled upon three more errors. This time they’d left out a space between “match” and “our”, creating this weird new word, matchour.
Then they had used neither and or together, instead of neither and nor. The general rule is to pair neither with nor, and either with or. Mixing them up just sounds wrong.
Finally, further along in that article, I found this: “The prospect of genetic inequality are at the heart of public concern…”
That was even more irritating once I realised they’d re-used and emphasised that quote in a larger font separately on the page with the correct grammar. They had indeed used “is” instead of “are” there, so why was it wrong in the actual article?

How do writers for a science magazine misspell a word used commonly in the science world? How do writers forget spaces and confuse plural with singular? Well, the writers have probably just made some mistakes. That happens and is forgivable human nature. But that’s why editing exists – to look over written work for inevitable errors. And I think it’s a given that an acclaimed magazine would have an editing department. And so the question now becomes: How do errors like that get through editing without being picked up?

I might shrug it off if bad writing was confined to Facebook posts and texts, but it’s not. People are bringing their poor grammar and spelling with them everywhere, in contexts where more damage can be done.
Errors have been popping up all over the place, and I’ve been left feeling dejected and disappointed.
The career I’m attempting to pursue exists to avoid these issues. Nevertheless, I am seeing more issues, and getting less work. This post is an attempt to address what I believe is contributing to this lack of care for language, and to encourage those reading to consider the value of the editing role.

One of these contributing factors, from my observation, could lie in the “editor” role that is so well known in media, and yet so not an editing job.
I call myself an editor because editing is what I do. But if I accepted a job at a magazine to be an editor, I don’t think I’d be spending my days focused on editing. Many times I’ve looked at ads for jobs like this, and all too often the actual “editing” part of the role is mentioned briefly down the bottom of the job description, or not at all.
I get that there are other jobs to be done in editorial departments, but it seems there is a lack of focus on the editing itself. I rarely find job postings that are just looking for people to edit words. There are always other tasks that take precedence, and this is a problem because editing requires all the focus in the world. There’s no point hiring an editor who has great attention to detail if you’re giving them a hundred different details to focus on beyond their actual editing work. No wonder magazines and newspapers are producing content riddled with errors. Their editors don’t have the capacity, time, or focus to put everything into the task at hand because they have a list of other roles to fulfil as well.

Where are the editing roles that are just about editing? Sure, get your editor to run some other errands when things go quiet, but let editing be their thing. If you need people to do all those other tasks, create a new job title.

To be fair, I know there are editors editing magazines. And I know there are jobs out there. I’ve looked. Occasionally I do stumble upon a job offer that indicates the role predominantly involves editing and fact-checking. But I have a point to make: the editing role requires more care and focus than it seems to be getting. It isn’t valued enough. If it was, I’d be finding more jobs to do, and the world’s words would be cleaner and make more sense. If editing was valued, I wouldn’t have easily found four significant errors in a science magazine.

And yes, that matters. People are lazy with language these days, so much so that anyone trying to correct poor grammar is picked on and called a “grammar nazi”. People would rather joke about it than try to improve. I’ve had people joke about poor grammar to me, like it’s just some annoying hobby I do. But it’s my chosen career and I think it matters, as much as dental health matters to a dentist, and education matters to a teacher.
And beyond the fact that I care, it just seems very few people get the importance of speaking and writing well. In my view, it’s all about effective and meaningful communication, which matters in every aspect of life, in every corner of the globe.
Spelling errors in prestigious magazines, for example, can damage credibility, reputation, and the reader’s experience. The same can apply to novels and news articles. And that’s just the media side of things. Words are used in many other important places where mistakes can be far more impactful.

Beyond all of that, there is another contributing factor that affects me more directly.
I can detach from media jobs to some extent. I know it’s a role I may have to play at some point in this career, but I was never into the idea of a nine-to-five office job anyway, because I’m driven by what makes me happy. That’s why I put my focus (for now) into flexible freelance work, helping the small businesses, passionate individuals, and independent authors out there who could use a second pair of eyes.
So far, that’s worked out a little bit for me. But only a little bit.
I appreciate all those who have reached out in the past year and hired me for their own passions. Every opportunity has brought so much to me. Thank you for taking it seriously and seeing the value.
But, unfortunately, it hasn’t been enough for me to leave my other job which is slowly breaking my back. And spirit.

I’m passionate, I work hard, and I am good at what I do. But I don’t get to do it enough. I’ll keep on doing whatever is necessary to get more work – promoting, networking, and advertising. I know a large part of it is how hard I work to get myself out there. But I believe the following message has to be relayed as well, because clients are the other half of it.
Many of you are ignoring the editing step. And for your sake as well as mine, you shouldn’t.

I’m noticing that small businesses I follow are making constant mistakes in their social media posts. These people know I exist and they know what I offer, but I am not contacted.
I’ve also had clients show interest in edits for their websites and blogs, but have followed that up by not replying to my messages at all. I even gave away a free website edit as part of a deal, and one of my clients simply didn’t use the edits, so I was unable to reference her website as work experience. She also didn’t acknowledge or thank me when I sent them to her.
I mean, if nothing else, that’s just unbelievably rude.

Let me put it this way:
You’d probably rely on a professional printing company for your business cards and flyers. It’s definitely worth spending the money instead of doing it yourself if you’re not good at that sort of thing. You’d spend money on advertising and equipment too.
But why, when it comes to presenting clean words in promotional posts, websites, blogs, etc., are people so unwilling to pay a small amount of money for proofreading?

Speaking and writing well doesn’t come naturally to everyone. Perhaps you put more effort into your passions and your strengths. That’s important to you, so your focus is on that, not your words. And that’s how it should be. But if writing and grammar aren’t your strengths, and you know that, you should be getting a professional to check words for you before publishing. If you know you’re not the one to oversee it, then hire someone who can, who is passionate about writing when you’re not.

It matters, by the way. I’m not just typing this up because I want work. I am also typing this up because I really want to help. I’m tired of seeing problems I know I could have helped with. It’s frustrating and disheartening. And it also sucks for you and what you’re selling, whether you realise it or not.

If you are trying to gain a reputation and make your professional mark on the world, having an editor you can rely on is a good idea. Proofreaders and editors are everywhere, and we exist for this exact reason. Writing is not for everyone, but it does have an effect on the way your potential clients perceive you, and whether they will take you seriously. You don't have to be the one to perfect your writing, especially if it's not something you enjoy. But please recognise that, and acknowledge that someone else can help. If you don't care enough to present your work well, your clients may not care enough to give you a chance. It might be easy to brush proofreading off as an unnecessary step in your work, but I can assure you it makes all the difference. I know many people, myself included, who will be less inclined to give money to a company whose words are all over the place. Poor spelling and grammar turns me off. It turns a lot of people off.
It's great to see so many people sharing their passion with the world, but your followers can be easily distracted by messy writing, and may subsequently lose interest.

Unfortunately, the services editors offer aren’t as desirable as personalised arts or crafts, clothes, food, or photos. It’s a need more than a want, and as a client it can be hard to confront your faults. But that doesn’t mean you should ignore it. You probably need it, and I’m here. Also, my rates are more than reasonable. I’ll probably raise them some time in the near future, so now is kind of a good time to use me.

If you made it this far, thank you. I want to be clear that I don’t intend to offend anyone. I am simply choosing to speak up because it affects people and I believe talking about it can help. Over the past year I’ve realised I do a thing that people don’t seem to want. But it’s a thing they need. Please don’t be afraid to reach out. I love to support other people pursuing their desires, and I’d appreciate your support too.

If you're looking for editing or proofreading services, be sure to visit my website to check out the services and rates I offer. Thank you for reading!
www.thewritething.com.au

“Used to” or “use to”?

This is one I never really thought about until a friend mentioned it the other day. I've always used "used", but there is confusion out there, so I did some investigating.

It’s hard to know which one you’re actually using because they both sound about the same when spoken.
But one is right, and one is wrong. I’ll cut to the chase.

You should be saying “used to”, because you are referring to something that happened in the past.
- I used to listen to different music.
However, “use to” can be used in questions and in the negative.
- Did you use to play an instrument?
- I didn’t use to listen to music very often.

That being said, “use to” in those examples, in my opinion, sounds a bit awkward.
My argument is you can drop the “use to” in both example sentences and they would still make perfect sense. But it is technically correct, so go ahead. Just remember, in general, it should be “used to”.

If you're looking for editing or proofreading services, be sure to visit my website to check out the services and rates I offer. Thank you for reading!
www.thewritething.com.au

"Should of" is not a thing

This is much like the he’s/his issue, where people are inclined to write what they hear without actually thinking about the meaning of the words being used.

“Should of” does not mean anything. Neither does “could of”, “must of”, “would of”, etc.
The reason you’re saying it or writing it like this is probably because they are contractions – “should’ve” (should have) and “could’ve” (could have) – which makes it sound like they have “of” in there somewhere.

“I should have/should’ve gone to the party” is correct. “I should of gone to the party” makes no sense.

This is why making assumptions is a bad idea. Lazy writing and lazy speaking can leave some negative impressions on all the right people. So, know what you’re saying before you say it. If you’re ever in doubt, it takes just a few seconds to check!

If you're looking for editing or proofreading services, be sure to visit my website to check out the services and rates I offer. Thank you for reading!

www.thewritething.com.au

Prepositions: What are they and why should I care?

Here is another interesting suggestion from one of my friends.
Prepositions. We all know the word, but do we know the meaning and significance of it?
As school becomes a thing of the past, it can be easy to forget what each grammatical term refers to, so let’s start with this one.

What are they?

The Macquarie dictionary describes a preposition as “a word which defines the relationship between a noun (or pronoun) and some other word(s) in the sentence.”
This means the preposition is usually telling you when, how, where, etc. Without prepositions, we wouldn’t get to add detail as easily.

Examples:
The dog sat on my bed.
She walked across the road.
We ate lunch inside the café.

If you want a little clue to help you remember what prepositions are, think of the “positions” part of the word. Often a preposition will tell you what position the subject of the sentence is in.

Why should I care?

Well, there’s a good chance you use prepositions every time you speak and write. They are an essential part of our language, and I personally think it’s important to know as much as you can about the everyday things you do. A preposition can assist you in descriptions and in connecting words to one another. This is extremely useful in communication, both in social and professional contexts. And the more of them you know, the more versatile you can be in your word usage. Good language is impressive to many people, myself included.

Another reason to care became apparent to me through one of my friends, who is a speech pathologist.
She reminded me that many of her patients (who are kids) struggle to use prepositions. This sort of blog post, though brief, might be useful for those patients. Being able to communicate easily is something we probably all take for granted, but unfortunately it is a challenge for some. When there is a barrier preventing you from communicating properly, it must be a very frustrating and disheartening experience. So, if you have the ability to use prepositions, know what they are and use them well. Spread the knowledge. It might help someone.


If you're looking for editing or proofreading services, be sure to visit my website to check out the services and rates I offer. Thank you for reading!www.thewritething.com.au

His and he’s are two different words

I recently asked my Facebook followers to share their pet peeves and grammar queries with me. I am so glad this one came up. Thanks, Gwen!

Too often people will use a wrong word simply because it sounds close enough to the right one. This is a very lazy thing to do, and it’s not the kind of mistake you want to be making, if any.

Examples of said lazy mistake:

He took he’s hat off.
His going to the movies with me.
I am going to he’s house to watch he’s movies because his really nice.

None of those sentences make sense, but they happen. A little too often.
With most things, you just need to take a second to consider what you’re writing or saying before you actually deliver it. Ask yourself: What even is “he’s”?
Well, it’s a contraction. “He” and “is” have been put together, and it can also be "he" and "has". Once you realise that, you probably won’t be using it for ownership anymore. You should only use “he’s” when you want to say “he is” or "he has". And then hopefully you’ll be using “his” for ownership, as it should be.

Examples of how to use these two words correctly:

His results were outstanding.
He’s going shopping for his mum.
He's fixed the car.
He’s so smart that his teachers let him skip a grade.

This topic almost ties in with the your/you’re/their/they’re/there issue, which I have dealt with in one of my earlier posts. If you wish to read it, go here.

Remember, just because it sounds right, doesn’t necessarily mean it is right. Buying your mum flours might sound good in conversation, but the second you write it down there will be confusion.




If you're looking for editing or proofreading services, be sure to visit my website to check out the services and rates I offer. Thank you for reading!
www.thewritething.com.au

Climatic or climactic?

Yes, there are two different words with two different meanings. It is confusing because they sound very much the same, so one can be forgiven for using them in the wrong context. But that’s why it’s important to investigate and learn new things, perhaps by reading blog posts like these.

To highlight this lesson I’m going to use Lord of the Rings. No one is really surprised.

In The Return of the King when the Ring (yes, this ring gets a capital because Tolkien said so) finally gets destroyed in the fires of Mount Doom, it’s emotional, exciting, and dramatic. But it’s also a climax of the film, so we can also describe it as climactic. It’s a good word to use when there is a climax.
Another climactic moment occurs in The Two Towers when Aragorn and Theoden lead their army out of the gates at sunrise, and Gandalf and Eomer arrive shortly after to help them win the battle for Helm’s Deep. And it’s also probably my favourite scene ever, but that’s beside the point.

The other word is climatic. Notice the difference?
Climatic has one less “c” in it, and it refers to the climate. You might use it like this:
“Climatic factors occasionally hinder the characters on their journey through Middle Earth.”
Or, the non-geek version:
“Predictable climatic conditions make it easier to plan holidays.”

So, how will you remember which is which?

The way I see it, climatic is pretty easy. It sounds a lot like the word it belongs to: climate.
Just take climate and replace the e with ic.

And I remember climactic belongs to climax because of the extra c. I like to look at the extra c as representing the x in climax. The x is a reminder that there is something extra involved in this word, so chuck in an extra c.
I hope that helps!

If you're looking for editing or proofreading services, be sure to visit my website to check out the services and rates I offer. Thank you for reading!

www.thewritething.com.au

Lost in translation

In reference to my business I often talk about the value of meaningful communication, as that is one of the reasons I am passionate about perfecting written communication through editing. The way we communicate matters if you want to deliver your message well. Bad word usage, sentence structure, or even a typo can have a negative impact on your message. This article provides a fun yet concerning list of written errors that led to significant repercussions.
Whether you’re a large company hoping to achieve something significant, or a small business looking to attract the attention of a potential passing customer, you need to avoid mistakes. Typos and poor grammar can turn people off.

But one important thing to consider, which became more apparent to me in the last month, is that often mistakes are a result of problems in translation. This occurs not only in writing, but in speaking as well. I spent some time in France and Belgium recently, and had lots of fun observing the way things translate differently from French to English, and vice versa. I was already aware of this, as I studied French in high school, but seeing it and hearing it around me was an eye-opening experience.

For example, on a tour to the magnificent Mont Saint Michel in Normandy, our tour guide would sometimes say the name in what would technically be the English translation: Mount Saint Michael. And every time he said it, I smiled. It sounded kind of funny, and I think that’s because some things just don’t need to be translated – especially names.

I think part of communicating effectively involves acknowledging and understanding, to some extent, the different languages of the world. And it’s important to use some logic as well, because quite often direct translations don’t make sense.
For example, a chocolate croissant in French is pain au chocolat, for which the direct translation would be chocolate bread. But you probably wouldn’t put “chocolate bread” on a menu. You need to consider what chocolate bread might be referring to, and adjust it in a way that English speakers will understand.
Another good example is chocolat chaud, which is a hot chocolate. But if you tried to translate that as two separate words in that order without considering the way French works, it would come out as "chocolate hot".
It does seem that French words are a little back-to-front at times, like in “la tour Eiffel”, where the tower part comes first. But they usually translate well. You just have to be aware of the differences if you’re dealing with other languages. And don't assume that "tour" in French just means "tour" in English. Always find out first.

If, in your writing, you wish to use a language other than the one(s) you’re familiar with, just be sure you’re learning as much as you can about it. A mix-up in translation can be just as damaging as a typo. In general it matters to be thorough and strive to communicate in the way that your audience will understand.

On a side note, consider one of my favourite quotes by JRR Tolkien:
“Do not write down to children or to anybody.”
I agree that we should be as complex as we can be because surely that will encourage others to learn something new. Use other languages if you can. Use big words. Be clever and diverse. But my message is to be sure you’re doing it right. Translate properly, get your stuff edited, and just double-check things.

And a little bit of travel advice:
If you’re in a foreign country and struggle to understand the language, always consider context. If your taxi driver has stopped and is talking in his/her language and gesturing to the left and the right, and you’re too focused on trying to understand what they're saying, you might miss the very obvious fact that they’re asking whether to go left or right. It’s not always about words; sometimes body language and surroundings can give away what the person is trying to communicate. Just think about where you are and what you’re doing, and the meaning behind what is written or being spoken may become clearer.

If you see a red windmill in front of the words "Moulin Rouge" it might be fair to assume moulin rouge means "red windmill". Again, though, it's backwards, so if you took it word by word without considering French properly you would get "mill red". This is also another example of a time you would just leave the French name as it is, because Moulin Rouge sounds much nicer than Mill Red, or even Red Mill.




If you're looking for editing or proofreading services, be sure to visit my website to check out the services and rates I offer. Thank you for reading!

www.thewritething.com.au