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Why Make a BIG DEAL Out of Correct Spelling and Grammar?

May 4, 2020 by Barbara McNichol

Why Make a BIG DEAL Out of Correct Spelling and Grammar?

By Barbara McNichol

Now more than ever, clarity in communication is important.

We’re all adapting to more virtual meetings and a great deal more email communication. Documents that were discussed around a meeting table and then edited by a single person now make their way to multiple colleagues via email.

Correct spelling and grammar are under a spotlight.

We’ve become accustomed to common abbreviations in text messages, such as, “C U @ 8pm @ Rogers, bring appie.” It gets the point across that your friend will show up at Roger’s house at 8:00 pm and you’ll bring an appetizer.

But what about in business interactions? Are correct spelling and grammar still relevant? I’d argue that they most certainly are…and I offer advice for professionals seeking clarity and credibility in their communication.

Here are four common grammar and spelling mistakes that undermine your credibility.

Let me be clear: we’re not going for Shakespeare. But don’t discount the possibility that your peer, manager, or potential employer has a solid grounding in the rules of English grammar and spelling. When you break those rules, you lose (not loose) credibility.

Let’s take a look at four of the most common mistakes. I call them Word Trippers…

1. Who and That.

Who refers to a person. That refers to an object.

Incorrect:
“The person that sent you the proposal is an authority on the subject.”

Correct:
“The person who sent you the proposal is an authority on the subject.”

Correct:
“That proposal is worth considering. The person who wrote it is an authority on the subject.”

2. Me, myself and I.

I’ll grant you, this one is counter-intuitive. People often use “self” in a sentence, I suspect because they think it sounds more academic and authoritative. It’s “padding” in a sentence, which rarely adds meaning. So you’ll read phrases like this…

Incorrect:
“Please contact myself if you have any questions.”

Correct:
“Please contact me if you have any questions.”

Incorrect:
“Myself and Jim will be there at 4:00 pm to discuss the proposal with yourself in person.”

Correct:
“Jim and I will be there at 4:00 pm to discuss your proposal.”

Yourself is your self…no one can contact yourself. It’s a reflexive pronoun. You can talk to yourself. But nobody else can talk to yourself; he or she can only talk to you.

Consider these examples:

Incorrect:
“Jim and me attended the meeting yesterday and it was very informative.”

“Myself and Jim attended the meeting yesterday and it was very informative.”

Correct:
“Jim and I attended the meeting yesterday.”

Here’s a great way to avoid tripping on this: Test your grammar by removing the second person from the sentence. For example, say this awkward – and grammatically incorrect – sentence:

“Me went to the meeting yesterday.”

And so is this:

“Myself went to the meeting yesterday.”

3. Further or farther?

Have you ever wondered about the difference between further and farther? There’s constant debate around this – and since English is a living language, it’s ever-evolving. However, most experts agreed that further is figurative and farther is literal, referring to a measurable distance.

Incorrect:
“Jan has traveled further than anyone else in the company to meet with clients.”

Correct:
“Jan has traveled farther than anyone else in the company to meet with clients.”

Incorrect:
“Farther to the point Jan was making about excess travel for sales meetings, I’d like to send you this report regarding our fleet mileage costs.”

Correct:
“Further to the point Jan was making about excess travel for sales meetings, I’d like to send you this report regarding our fleet mileage costs.”

4. Apostrophes: the ultimate tripper.

Of all the grammar glitches I see, this is the most common. Misusing this punctuation mark rarely creates confusion in meaning, but it’s a glaring error for people who know the proper usage.

Incorrect:
“Its likely we’ll miss our fourth-quarter revenue projections.”

Correct:
“It’s likely we’ll miss our fourth-quarter revenue projections.”

Incorrect:
“Since our sales teams travel expenses have been so high, we’ll take a loss on our fourth-quarter revenue.”

Correct:
“Since our sales team’s travel expenses have been so high, we’ll take a loss on our fourth-quarter revenue.”

An apostrophe plays two roles in the English language. It signals an abbreviation – “it’s” instead of “it is” – and possession – “the sales team’s travel expenses.”

Why Make a BIG DEAL Out of Correct Spelling and Grammar?

Pay attention to these common missteps in written communication. There are many others.

Don’t get let poor grammar and spelling prevent you from showing clients and colleagues you’re knowledgeable about your product or service. Contact me for more information.

Did these tips help you? Are you interested in improving your writing? I am offering a $29 discount on my Word Trippers program until the end of May.

Enjoyed this article? Here are three more to help you communicate effectively:

Poor Writing Means Your Credibility Is At Stake!
No More Boring Writing, Especially Your Adjectives.
Why Use Active Verbs Instead Of Passive?

Filed Under: Grammar Tips, Writing Tips Tagged With: book editing services, book editor, grammar and language mistakes, who vs. that, Word Trippers

Top 10 Self-Publishing Bloopers

November 1, 2014 by Barbara McNichol Leave a Comment

by Karen Saunders

Editor’s Note: My colleague Karen Saunders shares these 10 publishing “bloopers” to avoid if you’re self-publishing your book. Of special interest is #1.

Karen Saunders

10 Self-Publishing Bloopers

  1. The number one mistake is not having your book professionally edited. There are different levels of editing: content editing, copy editing, and proofreading. In my September 2014 blog post I describe in detail these three types of editing services.
  2. Missing the bar code. If you don’t have a bar code on the back cover of your book, you won’t be able to sell your book in bookstores or on Amazon.
  3. Bad cover design. Your cover sells your book. Hire a professional designer to create a stunning, attention-grabbing cover.
  4. Bad interior layout. Your book interior needs to be clean, organized, easy to read and meet standard formatting guidelines. One example of poor layout is the book titled A Million Little Pieces by James Frey. This controversial autobiography was revealed by Oprah to have fabricated content, and the interior layout is missing indents! It is extremely difficult to see where one paragraph ends and another begins.
  5. Blank back cover. Your back cover is valuable real estate to sell your book to prospective buyers. Make use of your back cover to include a snappy headline, bulleted benefit points, testimonials, summary, short biography, and a call to action.
  6. Misleading cover design and title. Make sure your title, subtitle, and cover graphics accurately portray and support the interior content.
  7. No copyright page. This is the most important page in your book. In my November 2012 blog post I include a list of necessary items for this page.
  8. Missing the ISBN number and/or LCCN number. You must have an ISBN number to sell your book anywhere other than your own website. Buy a block of 10 from Bowker.com. Use the second number in the list for the ebook version of your book. If you want to sell your book to libraries, you must have an LCCN number. Get one free from the Library of Congress.
  9. Using MS Word to lay out your book. This application is not a good choice for book interior page layout. It does not have the functionality and tools required to create a professional-quality layout. Use Adobe InDesign or Quark Xpress.
  10. Not having a well-thought-out marketing plan in place before you publish your book. How and where will sell your book? You may need coaching to optimize social media tools for marketing your book. Learn about publishing support sites where you can drive interest in your book, gather pre-sales, and raise funds.

Karen Saunders is the owner of MacGraphics Services, a unique graphic design firm for today’s entrepreneur. Karen Saunders and her team of award-winning designers help authors and small business owners design their books, convert their books into ebooks, build their brand, launch their website and market their business. Visit her website to download a free Book Media Checklist and a free eCourse on How to Create a Best-selling Book Design from the Inside Out at www.MacGraphics.net. You can also contact her at 888-796-7300, or Karen@macgraphics.net.

Filed Under: Editors and Authors Tagged With: award-winning designs, book design, book editing, book editor, graphics and title, Karen Saunders, nonfiction book editing, self-publishing, self-publishing support

Match Your Book Content with the Right Editor

March 2, 2010 by Barbara McNichol Leave a Comment

by Barbara McNichol

Finding the right editor for your manuscript helps you feeling confident you’ve got a good match and comfortable that your editor understands what you want to accomplish.

How do you start this match-making process? By first seeking a reputable editor who understands the type of book you have written. If your book is business or self-help, for example, choose an editor experienced in these genres who has been a pro for a decade or more. Check to see that this editor has worked with both traditional and self-published books over the years. Spending time reading that person’s website should give you clear answers and reveal a high level of professionalism (or not). You want your writing to reflect a professional image that comes from expert editing; an editor’s website is your first clue.

In your match-making search, get ready to answer the following questions an experienced editor will likely ask. Your responses help ensure this editor understands your objectives. More important, they reveal an eagerness to get to know you and set up a conversation that will give you a sense of how you’d work together.

Questions Editors May Ask in the Match-Making Process

How would you answer these questions?

  • Who is in your book’s target audience (demographics, age group, position, industry, region, etc.)?
  • What genre or market niche does your book fall in? What section would it be found in a bookstore?
  • What is your expected editorial timeline (e.g., when did you promise to give it to an agent or designer, or have it ready for a conference, etc.) allowing time for your review, peer reviews, and a professional editor’s review?
  • What is the current length of your book before editing? (number of pages and/or number of words in an MS Word document)
  • What is the anticipated total length, including front and back matter?
  • If you want to have a foreword, have you asked someone to write it and provided a deadline for delivering it?
  • How much are you expecting to spend on having your book professionally edited (excluding proofreading after the design)?
  • What else do should the editor know about your expectations so he or she can do a really good job for you?

Finally, it’s important to convey how much of your book is written. Have you finished all the content you want? Does that include both front and back matter (e.g., foreword, testimonials, acknowledgments, dedication, footnotes, resource list, glossary, appendix, etc.)?

If your book isn’t 100% complete, determine what’s missing to make it complete from a content perspective. Alternatively, your incomplete manuscript may be a candidate for a manuscript review. This “big-picture” analysis evaluates the ideas and wording already in place, then provides you with direction for making changes before the manuscript is deemed ready for “nitty-gritty” editing.

Three Steps to Selection

Once you’re clear on what you’re looking for in an editor, where do you start to find the right one for your manuscript? Consider these three steps:

  1. Ask your author, speaker, and designer friends for recommendations and anecdotes about the editors they’ve worked with.
  2. Check their recommendations and/or search for alternatives by reading the Acknowledgments in books similar to yours that are well written. Then using an Internet search, locate these editors.
  3. Contact them and request from each a sample edit of your own work (not someone else’s).

The before/after sample edit of your own work reveals how an editor can work magic on your writing without changing your voice. But be sure you like the overall result. If you don’t agree with the approach or the kinds of changes made, discuss them immediately. Chances are, you’ll come to an agreement on how to deal with any “sticky” issues. Getting agreements at the beginning of the process will save lots of time in the long run.

Reviewing Sample Edits

Here’s a rule of thumb when reviewing the sample edits you receive: If you, the writer, can clearly see an improvement based on the editor’s work—words flow better and your piece has more clarity and pizzazz—you’ve got a good match. If you think the changes are too many or too few, or if you have specific preferences, talk them through. The editor has good reasons for making the changes and is probably willing to explain why.

Remember, the final judgment belongs to readers in your target audience. Ultimately, you want your editor to be the advocate of those you want to influence. So select a pro who not only “gets” you and your book, but makes it possible for your readers to easily connect with your message.

Barbara McNichol adds power to your pen with expert editing of articles, book proposals, and non-fiction manuscripts. Request a free “Getting to the Results You Want” questionnaire via email at editor@barbaramcnichol.com or contact Barbara at 887-696-4899 (toll free).

Filed Under: Book Writing Tagged With: book editor, find editor, nonfiction book editing

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