I are a writer-feller.
I writes a lot.
I also work with editors and proofreaders a lot and have sometimes served in those capacities.
Here on the blog, I don’t have an editor or proofreader, so a significant number of typos get through, but that’s par for the course in the blogosphere. Other, more hit-laden bloggers than I have expressed their gratitude for the slack readers give them over typos. When you’re cranking out stuff in the rapidfire manner that blogging typically requires (what with fitting it around a day job and all), typos are bound to get through, and it is much appreciated when folks don’t sweat the small stuff.
It is also appreciated, however, when a reader points out a real howler. F’rinstance: One reader recently pointed out to me that the phrase I had intended to be "does not" had a misplaced space so that it read "doe snot."
The subject was not deer hunting.
Change made.
All of my dead-tree writing, though, does go through editors and proofreaders. These folks don’t get the credit that they deserve for the valueable work they do.
IT’S NICE TO SEE CREDIT BEING GIVEN.
(And it’s a fascinating look into the world of publishing that rings true to my experience of it.)
Doing a good blog takes a staggering amount of dedication. Who are you, sir? I see you have written some books. You seem very familiar… 🙂
What a wonderful tribute! My favorite line from the article–“She could find a solecism in a Stop sign.” Now, that’s one heckuva editor!
Lovely piece! Beautifully done.
My fingers quite often tend to move faster than my noggin when typing. Where I get in particular trouble is the re-ordering of words. The worst offender in my pantheon of misspellings is “this” which, when re-ordered, is always unintentional & usually inappropriate! I tend to catch those but it’s sure hard to carry that editor around in my head. ‘Specially when he’s watchin’ TV! I could use a Miss Gould in my life. And not just for my writings – it sounds as if she’d have been a wonderful coffee friend!
BTW, Bruce . . . I think, in that usage, the word should be “heckuvun”. 😉
Thanks, folks, you’ve been a great audience. Enjoy the Bangles!
Y’know, just after I hit the “send” button on my earlier post I took a walk down the hall from my office, and that same thought occurred to me, to my embarrassment. I promised myself that as soon as I got back to my office, I’d edit it. Of course, it completely went out of my head. Ah well, I’ll go down in blogohistory as a poor grammarian. Shame on me.