This morning, I awoke to the type of email that always ruins my day. Someone replying to an email I wrote to correct my grammar.
When I write a blog post or send an email to my list, it’s because I have something that I want to say. I’m an incredibly passionate person, and when I’ve got something on my mind, I can barely keep the words in. I write because I believe my words can make a difference.
And when I write, I write as a person. Because that’s what I am. One person.
And when I write, I write as though I’m writing to a friend. Because that’s how I think of my readers. Even if I can’t connect with each of you directly, I try to write in a way that feels like I can. I like to write as if I’m talking directly to you, because I hope that I can.
That said, because I am one person who gets excited about her ideas and wants to get them to you as quickly as possible, occasionally, you might find a typo.
I’m human. It happens. I do my best to go through, re-read, and double check what I’ve written. But as one very excited person, sometimes I miss things.
I’m one person, and it’s not possible for me to hire a copy editor for every email and blog post. I’m not the Huffington Post, and I’m not trying to be. (Though I’m sure they, even with lots of editors, make the occasional mistake too.)
I think most of you reading this are willing to forgive me a little. I hope you’ll understand that when I have a little grammatical error, it’s not because I don’t understand grammar. (I was an A student in English, thank you very much.) It’s because in my enthusiasm to share with you, sometimes my fingers can’t keep up with my brain. Sometimes, despite all my best efforts, things fall through the cracks.
I hope that most of you reading this know that what I’m trying to share, what I’m trying to do, is more important than a little typo or grammatical slip here or there.
But if you can’t overlook that, then perhaps I’m not the right fit for you. If the only way that you’ll ever take me seriously or want to work with me is if I am 100% perfect all the time, then maybe it’s time we part ways.
I am not perfect 100% of the time (because no one is), and frankly, I’m not bothered by that. But if that’s important to you, it’s time to move on.
But if you’re willing to forgive an occasional (and believe me, unintentional) slip of grammar, I’d love to keep sharing with you.
And I just want you to know how much your support means to me. Thanks for understanding that the message is the most important thing.
Some of the best writers have been less than perfect at grammar and punctuation. It happens to the best of us and as much as we may read and re-read a piece, when you’ve been focused on the message and the telling it’s so easy to simply “not see” a mistake or a misspelling.
I was a journalist for years and even with a couple of copy writers and an editor ready copy before publication, things were still missed.
Don’t let one criticism ruin your morning/day. Shrug and go, ah well!
Oops, that should be “reading” not ready.
I’m a former newspaper editor and I’m constantly making spelling and grammar mistakes in my writing. But I’m getting my point across – and you do too 🙂 I’ve always enjoyed your writing and have never had an issue with what you’re saying or how you’re saying it. And that should be the most important thing.
As for people who send emails correcting the spelling and grammar of others… if that’s all they’ve got to say, well, I feel sorry for them.
“To err is human; to forgive, divine.” – Alexander Pope
As always, a great post, Megan 🙂
Hi, I thought I was going nutty. The same thing happens to me when I am writing, I check and double check. I do all that I can, and still I find the odd mistake or three lol. I am relieved to know that I am not the only human out there.
Megan,get on with your morning breath in, out and release this from your thoughts. Don’t take to long to write your next blog post. I really look forward to reading them.xx
I’m a blogger and avid tweeter, and in the speed of the medium, I know I make grammatical and spelling mistakes. I try to fix them when I can, but worrying about the correctness of the every single word and phrase makes it impossible to write anything (the great being the enemy of the good and all that). Ironically enough, I’m a copyeditor and proofreader in my spare time so I’m used to reading to look specifically for mistakes, though I try to turn off that part of my brain when reading blogs. I would never correct someone’s grammar unless that person specifically asked me to do so.
But I think there is a line. My first grader’s teacher this year was terribly prone to spelling and grammatical errors in her communication with parents. As an enthusiastic person, she eagerly made books out of stories her students wrote this year, but in her haste, she spelled my son’s name wrong on the cover of his book. Maybe a better person looks at the book and sees a young, passionate teacher trying to do something very sweet. But whenever I look at the book, what I see first is a misspelled name.
Jacquie – I do think there’s a line, and I believe that adding an errant apostrophe to its is not in the same league as spelling someone’s name wrong. (That’s actually a big pet peeve of mine.) I think we have to recognize the difference between excitable fingers and not taking the time to check on something important.
I am married to a Greek man, and with English being his second language, and not formally schooled, his grammar, frankly, sucks. I have learned to speak English to him in the way that he understands….(and I am a grammar freak). I use all first tense verbs, use the simplest form of adjectives and some words I just use totally incorrectly, as I know that is how he understands it. A friend of mine once remarked that I wasn’t doing him a favor, as I wasn’t teaching him proper English. My answer to this friend was that I wasn’t trying to teach him proper English, I was trying to communicate. To communicate well, you must speak in the way the person you are speaking to can best understand…if you are speaking to many, the best you can do is speak in your best voice.
I hope I didn’t offend when I asked about the date of the class, I was just trying to figure out if I could attend or not.
I am the worst at grammar and spelling but I don’t care I write like I create my jewelry full speed ahead and full of passion and drive. You are awesome so keep doing what you do!!
My guess is that the person correcting your grammar allows her own fear of making a mistake to get in her way. Producing the shear volume of content that you do, how could you not make the occasional mistake? I’m surprised you make as few errors as you do! Seems to me a much better choice than not sharing things that aren’t perfect. That email says far more about the person who sent it than it does about you.
Your blog is such a great inspiration. Personally I am more interested in ideas than grammar. Thanks for all the great posts and ideas.