"LOOK INSIDE"
It all began on the "click here to see what's inside" button for a book I was thinking about purchasing. I went to the first chapter of the book and it was filled with typo's, grammatical errors and poor sentence structure. Now, granted, I had previously visited the Author's web page and watched a few of his YouTube videos, so I could tell he was an intelligent guy who knew what he was talking about. The book, however, told an entirely different story. AVID FAN
I am a supporter. If I see that you are doing something productive in society and could use a shout out or a purchase, I will help you. My desire in my work life is to demonstrate excellence in the work I produce. As a supporter of others' work, I want to help them achieve the same level of excellence in their work. Here is this poorly written first chapter, visible for the world to see. What is a word critic to do?
What I did was found his email address and emailed him a three sentence introduction with a request to edit his next book. He responded in less than an hour and boy was I ecstatic. The next day, I sent him a few pages of his book that I had re-written, without changing the tone or the message, and a few days later I had a signed contract to edit his current book.
ABOUT TRANSCRIPTION and EDITING SOFTWARE
Nothing, absolutely nothing, takes the place of a human reader. Software is good to get things going initially, however, your final product needs to be proof read and edited by a professional person. I have read books, including the one I mentioned earlier, that the author obviously used transcription software to convert the file from audio into a written form and the machine transcribed words it thought the person said. Coming close to the word and getting the word correct can make a huge difference when giving instructions. Accuracy is extremely important when a "how-to" manual is involved.
AS A RESULT OF TEXTING
There are so many disadvantages to texting. We will not get into the way it avoids verbal confrontation and causes young people to lack adequate verbal social skills. What is important to know about texting, as it relates to book writing is that, unless the book is about texting, no one really wants to read text shorthand in your book on "How to Make Money in Real Estate During a Downturned Economy". If you are a frequent texter, there is the possibility that you will slip up and have shorthand in your manuscript. You can believe that a trained eye for error will catch that for you. Let's hope that person was your editor and not your reader.
LAZINESS
Let's face it, too many of us are far too lazy when it comes to speaking grammatically correct English. Fun fact #1: Did you know that, according to an article posted on CNN.com, the DEA was seeking to hire people to translate "Ebonics" that was picked up on wire taps during a drug investigation? That is not as extreme as some would like to believe; ebonics or "AAVE" as it is also known, is its own language. There is even a translation to English software for it. Okay, enough about that. The point I am making here is that copy editors have a huge responsibilty. It is up to professional editors to preserve the quality of the English language for as long as possible, before it becomes totally extinct.
WEB SITES
How many times have you been to a business webpage and found so many misspelled and incorrectly placed words? Did they not go back and proofread what they wrote, you wonder? If the answer is yes, call me! Quickly.
IN A NUTSHELL
"I write compelling copy to help my clients attract their clients”.
