What It Is (posts below left; rate sheet, client list, other stuff below right)

My name is Bob Land. I am a full-time freelance editor and proofreader, and occasional indexer. This blog is my website.

You'll find my rate sheet and client list here, as well as musings on the life of a freelancer; editing, proofreading, and indexing concerns and issues; my ongoing battles with books and production; and the occasional personal revelation.

Feel free to contact me directly with additional questions: landondemand@gmail.com.

Thanks for visiting. Leave me a comment. Come back often.

Sunday, April 26, 2009

Easy Pickins

Yeah, I know that pointing out typos can be amusing and fun, and I've sent out any number of pieces of correspondence and probably blog postings that have typos -- my worst was about 12 years ago, sending out a flyer referring to my editiorial services (last-minute change, forgot to spell-check: lesson learned = no more flyers) -- but I can't resist posting this gem, which I just saw on a writer's blog:

Nothing kicks a writing pro in the teeth like writing something which does not communicate what you indented.

I happened upon a blog the other day that was nothing but pointing out typos in newspapers and screen grabs . . . and then going on for hundreds of words about each of them. Boring.

5 comments:

moi said...

Nothing kicks a writing pro in the teeth like writing something THAT does not communicate what you INTENDED.

I hate sending out query letters because I live in utter fear, fear I tell you, of just this very thing happening. My brain loves to trip me up.

moi said...

P.S. Oh, and the "you." I'd do something about that, too. Is the "you" the reader or the writer?

Gah, I should have gone into plumbing.

czar said...

Moi: (a) I know how you feel. (b) The problem stems from this writer telling a first-person story in second- and third-person. Why not just, "Nothing kicks me in the teeth like writing something that does not communicate what I intended." Oh, because then you're not doing your job as a writer, and, by the way, it's time for your shift at the Olive Garden.

moi said...

Yes! See, that's why you rule the universe.

czar said...

it's an easy job fixing other people's mistakes. and if i rule the universe, how come i can't pay my bills? well, i know the answer to that one also. it's just that fixing my own mistakes is far harder to do.