S.L. Stacker's Blog, page 8
February 26, 2015
Guest Blogger - Dane Cobain
The Impotence of Proofreading
I mean, you can see it right there in the headline – proofreading isn’t impotent, it’s important, but the spellchecker built into your word processor doesn’t know the difference.
Spellcheckers can’t proofread a document anywhere near as well as a human can – there, I said it. In fact, they often fail to pick up on things if your typo is still a dictionary word (i.e. ‘rap’ instead of ‘trap’), and they can often get things wrong. Here’s a pro tip – turn off the automatic grammar suggestions on your word processor, and use your common sense instead. You’ll usually find that you were right, and you’ll also get better and better at doing it, over time.
I’m a writer, and so proofreading is of paramount importance, especially because I’m a blogger as well – I review books and speak to authors on a site called SocialBookshelves.com , and while my default rating for a professional book is a seven, my default rating for a book with one or more typos is a six.
You could argue that I’m so passionate about proofreading and the correct usage of the written word because I’m a writer, and that probably does have something to do with it, but it’s not just me – just look at the ‘grammar police’, the nameless, faceless people who pop up every now and then as you browse the internet with comments like this one:
It turns out that there are other people out there like us, like the members of the writing community, who get just as pissed off when they spot a typo as Stephen Fry surely does. Perhaps it’s because we’re educated to follow the strict set of rules that we call grammar, and so witnessing a flagrant misuse of them feels just as wrong as seeing someone throwing litter on the floor.
So far the evidence has been anecdotal, and you could argue that the correct use of spelling and grammar is a matter of personal preference. I’m here to blow that argument out of the water.
Simply put, spelling mistakes and grammar fails cost money, to people, to businesses and to the government. According to the BBC , poor spelling is costing the UK millions of pounds in lost revenue for internet businesses, with analyses of website figures showing that a single spelling mistake can cut online sales in half. Meanwhile, a 2006 report found that top retail websites lose an average of $6.7 million every year due to mistyped e-mail addresses – imagine how much more they must be losing in 2015!
There are stories of typos which destroyed rockets , cost an eBay user over $500,000 , and caused Penguin to destroy $20,000 worth of inadvertently racist recipe books . And it’s not a new problem, either – back in 1872, a misplaced comma in a tariff law cost American taxpayers more than $2 million, which equates to $38,350,000 in today’s money. Begrudgingly, I’ll admit that spellcheck might’ve picked that one up.
And, because I’m a superhero whose special power is an ability to spell correctly, I have to proofread when I’m working my 9-5. I’m a social media specialist at an integrated creative agency, which basically means I spend my days writing status updates, blog posts and pitch documents for international and national clients. If you’re lucky, you’ll get away with a typo in an e-mail – if you send over a typo in some of your creative work, you’re in trouble.
So it’s pretty important to try to avoid spelling and grammar fails, and that’s why I’m proud to be a proofreader. Hopefully, if I do my job properly, you won’t even know that I’m there.
I just hope there aren’t any typos in this article. Tweet me at @DaneCobain or let me know through my website if you find one, and I’ll give you a biscuit.
I mean, you can see it right there in the headline – proofreading isn’t impotent, it’s important, but the spellchecker built into your word processor doesn’t know the difference.
Spellcheckers can’t proofread a document anywhere near as well as a human can – there, I said it. In fact, they often fail to pick up on things if your typo is still a dictionary word (i.e. ‘rap’ instead of ‘trap’), and they can often get things wrong. Here’s a pro tip – turn off the automatic grammar suggestions on your word processor, and use your common sense instead. You’ll usually find that you were right, and you’ll also get better and better at doing it, over time.
I’m a writer, and so proofreading is of paramount importance, especially because I’m a blogger as well – I review books and speak to authors on a site called SocialBookshelves.com , and while my default rating for a professional book is a seven, my default rating for a book with one or more typos is a six.
You could argue that I’m so passionate about proofreading and the correct usage of the written word because I’m a writer, and that probably does have something to do with it, but it’s not just me – just look at the ‘grammar police’, the nameless, faceless people who pop up every now and then as you browse the internet with comments like this one:
It turns out that there are other people out there like us, like the members of the writing community, who get just as pissed off when they spot a typo as Stephen Fry surely does. Perhaps it’s because we’re educated to follow the strict set of rules that we call grammar, and so witnessing a flagrant misuse of them feels just as wrong as seeing someone throwing litter on the floor.So far the evidence has been anecdotal, and you could argue that the correct use of spelling and grammar is a matter of personal preference. I’m here to blow that argument out of the water.
Simply put, spelling mistakes and grammar fails cost money, to people, to businesses and to the government. According to the BBC , poor spelling is costing the UK millions of pounds in lost revenue for internet businesses, with analyses of website figures showing that a single spelling mistake can cut online sales in half. Meanwhile, a 2006 report found that top retail websites lose an average of $6.7 million every year due to mistyped e-mail addresses – imagine how much more they must be losing in 2015!
There are stories of typos which destroyed rockets , cost an eBay user over $500,000 , and caused Penguin to destroy $20,000 worth of inadvertently racist recipe books . And it’s not a new problem, either – back in 1872, a misplaced comma in a tariff law cost American taxpayers more than $2 million, which equates to $38,350,000 in today’s money. Begrudgingly, I’ll admit that spellcheck might’ve picked that one up.
And, because I’m a superhero whose special power is an ability to spell correctly, I have to proofread when I’m working my 9-5. I’m a social media specialist at an integrated creative agency, which basically means I spend my days writing status updates, blog posts and pitch documents for international and national clients. If you’re lucky, you’ll get away with a typo in an e-mail – if you send over a typo in some of your creative work, you’re in trouble.So it’s pretty important to try to avoid spelling and grammar fails, and that’s why I’m proud to be a proofreader. Hopefully, if I do my job properly, you won’t even know that I’m there.
I just hope there aren’t any typos in this article. Tweet me at @DaneCobain or let me know through my website if you find one, and I’ll give you a biscuit.
February 19, 2015
Writing Don'ts...and don'ts...and don'ts
Woah! That’s all I know to say.
I’m working on my first round of revisions after having sent my manuscript to a professional editor, and I have to say my first reaction was ‘What the f#$%’.
I woke early on Sunday morning and rolled over to grab my phone. The first thing I did was check my email. When I saw I had a message from my editor, I was excited. I mean, this was the first time I had received professional feedback. Well, it didn’t take long for the message to burst my bubble. It was page upon page of suggestions (not really, but reading it without caffeine made it feel that way).
It didn’t take long for me to convince myself it wasn’t so bad. I got out of bed, walked to my computer, and looked at my returned manuscript. Ten hours later, I finally said enough is enough! Ten hours, you ask? Yes, ten hours. The manuscript wasn’t as bad as I had initially thought, but it was time consuming changing the 377 exclamation points to the proper punctuation, removing 263 ‘just’ usages, and reworking over 900 adverbs ending in ‘ly’ (still working on those adverbs). There were other things, but you can see those were the majority.
After mailing back and forth with my editor, we decided the best thing I could do would be start at the beginning and give it another round of revising. It needed it...bad!!!
Today, I’ve completed several chapters, and I’ll be starting the next chapter when I leave here, but I wanted to give some advice to my fellow authors/writers (I know I've used 'ly' adverbs, excessive exclamation points, etc):
Pay for a professional editor if at all possible. It is well worth it. I honestly felt I had a good book, but I was wrong. If you can’t afford to pay for a professional edit (they can be very expensive), ask around. There are a lot of well-educated people who are willing to help or point you in the right direction. If you still can’t find someone, I recommend downloading a free or low-cost editing software program.
If you use Microsoft Word, always use the ‘Find’ option to search for words ending in ‘ly’. If you can replace those pesky adverbs and replace with solid action verbs, your work will flow and have more of an impact.
Most of all, have fun and continue writing!
February 14, 2015
Hello! I hope all of you have a wonderful Valentine's Day! My family and I don't really celebrate this day. The kids get a card and candy, but other than that, I don't see the point in celebrating. I'd prefer to go out with my husband on a random day, for no reason. That mean's more to me than a day that dictates what we should be doing..February 9, 2015
Questions and Opinions...
I'll have some time here and there to work on my next novel. However, I want to know what you, as readers, would like to see in a future novel. Be creative and have fun with this! If I choose something one of you suggests, you'll receive recognition in that particular book! GO!
February 8, 2015
Macyn's Letter
I recently signed a publishing agreement with Booktrope! Yesterday began the process of re-publishing my series through them. The first project is Macyn's Letter. We began the process yesterday, and that includes selecting an editor. I'm in the final stages of selection, and I hope to begin the editing process today or tomorrow. Macyn's Letter will be re-released in the near future, professionally edited. It may have a new cover, as well.
I will keep everyone updated throughout this process, and I hope you're as excited about this as I am!
Happy Reading,
Stephanie
I will keep everyone updated throughout this process, and I hope you're as excited about this as I am!
Happy Reading,
Stephanie
February 5, 2015
S.L. Stacker Updates
As you all know, Macyn McIntyre Series is now complete. I hope each of you enjoyed the series as much as I enjoyed writing it. I would truly appreciate if you can leave a review for each book on Amazon.
Something you may not know is I have recently entered into a publishing agreement with Booktrope. The Macyn McIntyre series will be re-published under them, and each book will soon be available again on various platforms! I'm looking forward to my partnership with this company and the team of people involved.
Once last thing...I will be working to get the books ready to publish with Booktrope, but I am also working on a new, stand-alone book (at least for now), Sisters of Summit Bay. It will be about four sisters and their adventures in their job as assassins. I have no release date as of yet, but I hope I will know something within the next couple of months.
In the meantime, please feel free to contact me with any questions you may have.
Until then....Happy Reading!!!!!
Stephanie
Something you may not know is I have recently entered into a publishing agreement with Booktrope. The Macyn McIntyre series will be re-published under them, and each book will soon be available again on various platforms! I'm looking forward to my partnership with this company and the team of people involved.
Once last thing...I will be working to get the books ready to publish with Booktrope, but I am also working on a new, stand-alone book (at least for now), Sisters of Summit Bay. It will be about four sisters and their adventures in their job as assassins. I have no release date as of yet, but I hope I will know something within the next couple of months.
In the meantime, please feel free to contact me with any questions you may have.
Until then....Happy Reading!!!!!
Stephanie
September 26, 2014
Macyn's Decision Update
The first draft of Macyn's Decision is now 30% complete!
I'm determined to have this book published no later than the beginning of November!
Thank all of you for being patient and taking the time to read my books!
Happy Reading!
Stephanie
I'm determined to have this book published no later than the beginning of November!
Thank all of you for being patient and taking the time to read my books!
Happy Reading!
Stephanie
September 22, 2014
September 17, 2014
September 16, 2014
Macyn's Decision
I hope to have Macyn's Decision ready for publishing late October / early November 2014. I apologize again for the delay, but sometimes you can't ignore life and writer's block.Also, if you would like updates and sneak peeks of my upcoming books, please join my mailing list. Send me an email with the subject - Mailing List. Be sure to include your first and last names in the body of the email.
On September 22, 2014, for those who are a part of my mailing list, you will be getting a surprise in your inbox! The first chapter in Macyn's Decision. Obviously, the content is subject to change prior to publication, due to editing, etc.
Don't forget to check your inbox on Monday!
Happy Reading,
Stephanie
stephaniestacker@gmail.com
