I’ll admit it. One of my pet peeves is misspelled words. Well, not just the words themselves. It just seems like when content contains typos – the person who created it didn’t bother to take the time to read it themselves. I find myself asking, “If they didn’t take the time to read what they wrote, why should I?”
Typos have been known to cause a great deal of embarrassment. Many years ago, I saw a headline in a major metropolitan city newspaper (one that has won 20 Pulitzer Prizes) that was trying to convey a story about how the famous Chinese revolutionary and statesman, Deng Xiaoping, came out of seclusion. The headline read “Deng Returns to Pubic View.”
Guy Kawasaki, in his book, APE: How to Publish a Book, tells the story of how Penguin Australia published a book entitled The Pasta Bible. In it, a recipe for tagliatelle with sardines and prosciutto called for “salt and freshly ground black people.” The company had to destroy 7,000 copies – although it became somewhat of a collector’s item because of the gaffe.
How embarrassing! And costly!
Microsoft to the Rescue?
Many think “Oh, there will be a squiggly red line under all words that are misspelled while I’m writing, so I’ll be fine.” Not true!
Some of you may be familiar with the Spell Check Poem below.
Candidate for a Pullet Surprise
(by Mark Eckman and Jerrold H. Zar)
I have a spelling checker,
It came with my PC.
It plane lee marks four my revue
Miss steaks aye can knot sea.
Eye ran this poem threw it,
Your sure reel glad two no.
Its vary polished in it’s weigh.
My checker tolled me sew.
A checker is a bless sing,
It freeze yew lodes of thyme.
It helps me right awl stiles two reed,
And aides me when eye rime.
Each frays come posed up on my screen
Eye trussed too bee a joule.
The checker pours o’er every word
To cheque sum spelling rule.
Bee fore a veiling checker’s
Hour spelling mite decline,
And if we’re lacks oar have a laps,
We wood bee maid too wine.
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Is checked with such grate flare,
Their are know fault’s with in my cite,
Of nun eye am a wear.
Now spelling does knot phase me,
It does knot bring a tier.
My pay purrs awl due glad den
With wrapped word’s fare as hear.
To rite with care is quite a feet
Of witch won should bee proud,
And wee mussed dew the best wee can,
Sew flaw’s are knot aloud.
Sow ewe can sea why aye dew prays
Such soft wear four pea seas,
And why eye brake in two averse
Buy righting want too pleas.
It turns out that all of the words in this poem are spelled correctly. However, 123 of the poem’s 225 words are faulty. I think it makes a good case for not relying on a spell checker.
Watch Out for the Obvious Ones
Perhaps the word I see misspelled most often is the word “led,” which is often spelled “lead.” Ironically, I noticed, many who misspell the word think of themselves as leaders.
Here’s a link to what “Dr. Language” calls the 100 most misspelled words.
Copyediting vs. Content Editing: What is the Difference?
The two main things a manuscript – as well as a simple blog post – needs are: 1) content editing and 2) copyediting. Many people don’t understand the difference.
Content Editing is basically making sure what is in the manuscript is indeed in there and what isn’t in it (but should be), is. The content editor makes it more appealing by suggesting needed changes not only to the content, but also to the organization, structure and style.
Copyediting, on the other hand, is, in many ways, proofreading. The copyeditor improves the spelling, grammar, usage, style, and factual accuracy of the manuscript.
Don’t skimp on either of these. The consequences can be cringe-worthy, much like this one, which appeared in the New Orleans Times-Picayune in 2011.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR: Frank Felsburg is a ghostwriter, publisher and marketer of content. He can be reached at frank@spokenandwrittenwords.com , 484.278.4674, or @fjfelsburg
