I wrote a post on this last year, but it’s a topic that has cropped up again for me.
I tweet a ton of different writing blogs on many different topics. I’ve subscribed to blogs that have nothing to do with my particular area of interest (graphic novels, scriptwriting, etc.), but which I think other writers might find interesting or helpful.
A couple of times in the last couple of weeks, I’ve gotten direct messages on Twitter from users about typos in different writing blogs that I’ve tweeted.
One tweeter said that they just couldn’t finish reading the writer’s article at all because they were so distracted by the typos. It made me pull that blog post up again on my computer and look at it with a more critical eye.
The post’s content was very helpful, I thought. The writer had a refreshing take on the writing craft and sound tips to follow that could prove useful to someone facing the same issue with their writing.
I did see typos. And there was even a pretty flagrant typo in the post’s title. Was it distracting? English Major Me would have said yes. And it still distracted me a little…but not enough to keep me from tweeting the post because I found it useful. That’s because I was searching for content.
The second time was a couple of days ago and I got a direct message from a tweeter. She said sadly that she wished typos didn’t bother her…but she couldn’t seem to stop being bothered by them. I pulled up the blog post for the writing blog she’d referred to. I skimmed the author’s blog, then skimmed it quickly again. Finally I saw it…due instead of do. Homonym issue.
Again, that person’s blog post was worthy of tweeting…this tweeter was being especially picky. The post was a list of archetypes found in a particular genre. I hadn’t seen a post like that and knew that people who wrote that genre would find it interesting.
Typos happen. I think some writers don’t have an especially wonderful grasp of spelling, either. And some could use a grammar brush-up. I was an English major and am the daughter of an English teacher, but– I still have typos, especially in blog posts, which I tend to write quickly. I do put more time into my manuscripts, as do other writers, I’m sure.
So…the question is, how picky are agents and editors? If just random writers on Twitter can get badly tripped up by spelling, grammar, and carelessness, how badly do the gatekeepers get tripped up by reading it?
I think, if the mistakes are flagrant, they can be distracting, no matter how good the content is. It would be like a person arriving at a job interview in a really inappropriate outfit—maybe they’re an excellent candidate for the position, but the fact they showed up in torn jeans and a rock band tee shirt makes the interviewer think twice.
Former Writer’s Digest publisher and editorial director, Jane Friedman, wrote in a post last summer entitled “Why I Don’t Care About Grammar (and Why You Should Stop Worrying”). Jane’s main point was that perfect grammar didn’t necessarily mean good writing.
I agree with her and I think, in my small way, proved that we can become immune to typos, etc., in the search for good content when I became temporarily oblivious to the mechanics of the interesting posts that I tweeted.
But still, I think about all the competition out there. I wonder what goes through an editor’s mind when she sees two equally good manuscripts—but one needs a heck of a lot more editing (which equals more time and money) than the other. And I think about the poor impression someone makes when they show up at a job interview in torn jeans and a rock band tee shirt.
Janice Hardy had a nice post about areas every writer should be familiar with—great summary.
With spelling and typos, I think you just have to be super careful to check your work. And not just with the spell-check program on your computer, either—it won’t catch a homonym problem.
Here are some other resources that might be helpful:
Grammar, Punctuation, Mechanics, etc.:
Online guide to grammar and writing
Daily Writing Tips
Grammar Girl
The Grammarphobia Blog
Mighty Red Pen
Crystal Clear Proofing
Usage:
Common Errors in English Usage
Style:
The Chicago Manual of Style Online
The Elements of Style
Some writers might benefit from the help of independent editors. I know there are several who frequently comment here, including Helen Ginger, Marvin Wilson, Crystal from Crystal Clear, and Victoria Mixon.
How easy is it for you to ignore others’ typos? And, are there resources that you’ve come across that you’d like to share?
My critique partners scuff up my stories all the time. They are sealing in those grammar rules that I never gave much weight to. It really does matter!
Elizabeth – You’ve got such a good point. When we write, we’re mostly concerned with content first. Then we think about things like typos and so on. TO go with your job interview analogy, it’s like preparing for that interview. The first thing you do is brush up on your knowledge of the field, etc.. The outfit comes later. But….you still need to look right at an interview, and writing still needs to be polished.
That’s why I love my beta readers. They catch every misplaced comma, every typo and so on. Well…almost every one ;-).
As a reader, I notice typos in others’ work a lot. But that’s quite possibly because I’m an educator in my “day job.”
Typos hit me in the face, but I don’t let it stop me from reading the content if it’s good reading.
I read the Writer’s Digest article. It was very helpful.
I think editors would be turned off by errors.
Tpyos really bug me. When I read them, and wehn I make them. They pull me rihgt out of the story. Thank goodness for copyeditors!
I am so with you on this one, Elizabeth. I am especially forgiving in blog posts, because I know we are all in such a hurry. If I find errors in a book I’ve purchased, I just think, oh well, someone missed it somewhere along the line. None of us are perfect and we all have differing skills. If the content is worthy, we need to let up on the judging a bit, yes?
Karen
We’re rubbing elbows on blog topics again, Elizabeth. I’m reading for the RITA contest, and I’m reading ARCs for my May release. Two entirely different approaches, and different things will bother me.
Terry
Terry’s Place
Romance with a Twist–of Mystery
I try to catch all the typos in my blog posts, but I admit some escape the net and I find them later that day. Once found, however, they are fixed as a wave of embarrassment washes over me.
Like you, I can forgive a few typos. If you’re trying to land a publisher or agent though, probably best to catch those mistakes.
When it comes to blogs, I am pretty forgiving about errors. Like you, I am more interested in content and realize that people are sometimes in a rush to post.
I try to make my own work – manuscript and blogs – as error free as I can, but I’m sure I still miss a few things here and there.
I typo all the time, and I’m always fixing old posts when I spot them. Especially in titles where the spell check doesn’t work! Grrr.
I’m a lot more forgiving about typos in blogs because I know folks tend to write them fast. I don’t hold it against the blogger. But I imagine if they were a total mess and that made it hard to read overall, I’d stop reading. There is a line between an oops and carelessness.
And thanks for the link shout out :)
I don’t mind typo’s so much on blogs because, well, we all do it. It’s the nature of the beast.
But in a professional setting, no, it doesn’t fly. With the writing market so crazy right now, there’s no excuse to not make the ms. as perfect as perfect can be.
Typos don’t bother me two much if they are knot all over the palace. Butt if they are sew obvious that they detract from the continent of the article or post, then – yes they can seam annoying. ;)
LOL, fun and good topic today, Liz. As a writer I am very careful to eliminate typos from a query letter, I’ve been warned from day one in this career that they can get your potential next Great American Novel tossed into the round ‘File 13′ without even being considered by agents and publishers. As an editor, I work hard to ensure that all the authors’ typos are fixed, of course. As a reader, I can handle a scant few typos – I’ve seen them even in best selling novels – but if there are too manhy – and this is a very subjective thing to quantify – then it is a turn off, like hey – where’s the professionalism?
Thanks for those links, btw – VERY useful resources!
“I still have typos, especially in blog posts, which I tend to write quickly. I do put more time into my manuscripts, as do other writers, I’m sure.”
Exactly what I try to do. If I had to spend more time editing my blog posts, I would *never* have time to write any fiction. So before I send things off to agents or publishers, I do my best to check when it should be s/z, s/c etc, but I don´t believe for one moment that they will reject a book because of a few mistakes if the overall impression is good.
And when I read blog posts – well, I´m certainly not looking for those typos, meaning I won´t notice them unless there are several – or they are glaring. Which/witch annoys me, but that is partly because I spend so much time telling Danish students to avoid it.
Great post! I think typos are much more forgivable than just not understanding how to use words. Typos are excusable, even though some good proofreading could take care of it. But, IMO someone using words wrongly (which I am guilty of from time to time) and being a writer is like being a mechanic and not understanding how to use tools.
I think people who can’t handle typos maybe shouldn’t be looking to blogs for their reading material. Production is not on a timeframe that allows for meticulous editing and proofreading. I’m sure I have errors DAILY–99% of which are TYPOS (or rather fingers too fast for brain, so sometimes wrong word, but because I am going too fast, not because i don’t KNOW).
A BOOK should be cleaned several times, but there is SO MUCH that I would expect some tolerance for an error here and there. The query? i would expect THEM to expect perfection. We really ought to be able to do 400 words error-free on something that we KNOW may be our only shot.
I forgive a few typo errors on a blog. I’m just as guilty as the next. I’ve seen it on author blogs, too. It’s inevitable that someone is going to make a typo error or grammar mistake at some point, after all, no one is editing your blog. Particular readers will see mistakes and make a huge fuss which is fine. In that case they should just move on to the next blog. There are some out there who think they are better writers and get annoyed with those who are perhaps, getting somewhere. In the case of a manuscript, beta readers are a godsend!
Thank you for your stimulating post.
Tamika–Crit partners can be worth their weight in gold!
Margot–Oh, my dad does it all the time. :) I think teachers really *can’t* stop.
Diane–It’s hard enough to find an agent or editor without shooting ourselves in the foot, isn’t it?
Teresa–I would think it would be tough for an editor to stop editing and read for content.
Jane–I think we all probably do. I see one in this blog post right now that I need to fix!
Janice–Titles are tricky! When I’m loading tweets into Twitter, that’s where I see most of the typos..you’re right, it’s the lack of spell-check there.
There’s clearly a point where it distracts from the message. I think that threshold is probably different for different people.
Anne–Exactly. Too much competition out there.
Alan–Amen to that! Ha!
The Old Silly–The perfect example of why we can’t rely on spell check! Ha!
Good point about the published content–if it’s in a published book, I’m expecting the copy to be really, really clean. Because the writer proofread, the copyeditor proofread, and the editor (should have) proofread.
Karen–That’s exactly what I think. I’m a lot more interested in the content of the post. Besides, I can be just as careless some days…we’re all in a rush, after all.
Terry–And you’re probably wearing two totally different hats when you’re reading! Funny that you and I are in sync again.
Colene–I know what you mean. I think the mistake that leaps out at me is an “its/it’s” type problem…and not when it’s a typo, but when it’s over and over again. That does usually make me wonder.
Hart–Maybe these tweeters are people who spend forever on their blog posts? Who has time to do that?! Most people don’t, for sure.
Oh a query should be immaculate! You’re so right about that.
Elspeth–Well, right now I see a period that I left off at the end of a quotation mark. :) So after I make this comment, I think I’ll fix it…and mess up everyone’s Google Readers again!
A Certain Book–I think you’re right, that there are some readers who like the “gotcha” type moment that they get when they catch an error. They’ll have a tough time finding perfection on blogs, for sure.
Typos doesn’t look good, but I think they’re damn hard to find in my own manuscripts.
Sometimes I do typos because I’m too fast. Sometimes I make errors because I’m 2nd-language English writer (with degrees only in science) and not aware of all variations and details in the English language >:)
Cold As Heaven
I’m generally aware of typos I come across – but I don’t get all that stressed about them. Most blogs are more casual. I agree we need to put our best feet forward, but if the content is good, the typos don’t bother me.
I think typos in blogs aren’t that big of a deal. Blogs aren’t something we edit multiple times. I read through my blog once before hitting submit and that’s that. I don’t mind if a commenter points out a typo because it allows me to fix it.
Dorte–No, I’d be shocked if an editor turned down great content solely on the basis of a few typos. They’re human, too…at least…well, I haven’t noticed any typos in my editors’ emails to me. :)
Cold As Heaven–I think you should be completely forgiven for any English typos! Dorte, too. Not that I’ve noticed any. Heck, I probably have more typos than y’all do, and I’m a native speaker.
Patricia–That’s usually my approach to blogging, too. I was sort of surprised by the reaction of others…but I think mistakes bother some more than others.
I notice typos frequently, but in in blogging and status updates, I’m pretty tolerant as long as I can readily understand. Only leet speak really annoys me when it’s outside of instant chat messages. Since I frequently type the wrong homonym for the most common used words because my fingers and brain grab the first one that comes to mind for the sound (making me go back and change it when I notice), I forgive other people’s wrongness easier. Many times I’m sure they know the correct word; they just typed the wrong one and overlooked it when it came to fixing mistakes.
But when it comes to books, I expect fewer typos.
Hi Elizabeth .. they certainly irritate me, and I do them myself, but it is our work & if we let the grammar bugs through – well that’s our responsibility, not the readers, however much they may ‘hate’ the mistake.
I think if I was submitting something I’d get it right .. but thanks to the link to Janice’s blog post going there now .. cheers Hilary
I’ve heard that we shouldn’t be concerned about typos in blog postings, but I confess they irk me. Some folks even use them to judge the writer’s intelligence. It isn’t fair, but it happens. And yet, content should count a lot more.
Jemi–Exactly. To me, blogs are more casual. Of course, though…I know there are industry folks reading our blogs, so I guess we should keep anything too blatant off. If I *see* something, I definitely do correct it.
Jaleh–I’ve definitely gotten more forgiving with it and I think a lot of my forgiveness is because I’m blogging each day and I see these folks blog each day…and I know how easy it is to make a mistake.
Hilary–Janice’s site is one of my favorite writing sites. You could spend hours there…and I’m not just saying that.
Kathy–That’s a good point to bring up. There is *definitely* a first-impression aspect to it. Like anything, if you’re meeting someone for the first time, you want to make a good impression. And if someone sees a bunch of typos (and with so many blogs out there) we might lose a potential follower/reader.