#!@$... a spelling mistake! Thank you for letting me know. - Graham🐝 Edwards - Canada

Graham🐝 Edwards

7 years ago · 2 min. reading time · ~10 ·

Blogging

Graham🐝 blog

#!@$... a spelling mistake! Thank you for letting me know.

I have been blogging in earnest for about two years now and my reasons are simple; articulate my expertise as someone who can solve Sales & Marketing problems and become a better writer.

I will be the first to say I will never be a great writer, but I do believe I can be a good writer and maybe even a very good story teller; I've been encouraged to this end because when I look back at my body of work I can see improvement, and I've also been told by people I respect that I am getting better.

With all of this said, the bane of my writing experience so far is proof reading, and by extension, spelling mistakes!

This point was illustrated in glorious fashion with a recent "re-post" on beBee entitled Never lose your sense of wonder, or in other words... where a misspelled word slipped through... and worse still, the error was in the "title". It seems that the word "lose", which means "to no longer have", changes to something completely different when you add an extra "o" and the word becomes "loose".

This is exactly what happened when I published the original post, and in effect asked people to Never "fasten tightly" your sense of wonder; I suppose the title would work if the subject matter was about never committing to a sense of wonder, but it wasn't... and worse still, I was oblivious to all of it.

That was until two people let me know about my error. It was then I simply said to myself, "Ugh... I better fix this".

I have come a long way from internalizing this sort of thing, and using it to identify ability and self worth; I now just see it as a problem that needs to be rectified. I will admit it was really irritating and a glaring reminder to improve my proof reading ability, but three minutes later, with the rogue "o" removed and the proper meaning restored, I was happily back to my oblivious self.

With the mistake behind me, I could not help but turn to the fact that someone, more than one someone in fact, took the time to let me know that I had made a mistake. They did it with respect, and even a little concern that I may be upset that they had pointed it out; I was not, more to the contrary, I really appreciated it.

Is there a point here regarding getting better at proofing when you write or the value in learning from your mistakes... there sure is. However, what this experience has offered me was the opportunity to pause and appreciate those people who not only read what I write but take the time to engage, and help me become better at what I am doing.

Maybe it is an aspect of beBee (the social media site I am on), or that people generally want to help, or possibly the "luck of the universe" was on my side that day... whatever the reason, I want to simply say,"Thank you".

And one last thing, until the end of my days, I will never confuse "Lose" and "Loose" again.

iamgpe www.gpestragagem.com

PS: Please let there be no spelling mistakes.

#Loose #Marketing #iamgpe #PS #Sales

Comments

Sarah Elkins

7 years ago #26

#33
You are the most gracious provider of feedback and corrections, Charles David Upchurch, and I'm grateful to be a recipient!

Graham🐝 Edwards

7 years ago #25

#33
It's greatly appreciate Charles David Upchurch

Graham🐝 Edwards

7 years ago #24

#19
Thanks for reading Mark Anthony!

Graham🐝 Edwards

7 years ago #23

#18
Thanks for the note Pascal Derrien... I am in awe for those who post in english as a second language. You are totally right about discarding the desire to be "perfect".

Graham🐝 Edwards

7 years ago #22

#17
Thanks for the note Laura Mikolaitis

Graham🐝 Edwards

7 years ago #21

#16
Thanks for the comment Brian McKenzie

Graham🐝 Edwards

7 years ago #20

#11
Thanks for the comment Susan Rooks... you are my "word writing" hero !

Graham🐝 Edwards

7 years ago #19

#10
Thanks for the comment Paul Walters... I will pass on anything I find... that is, if I find anything... lol

Graham🐝 Edwards

7 years ago #18

#9
Thanks for the comment Paul \. Ya... autocorrect can be a bunch of fun !

Graham🐝 Edwards

7 years ago #17

#8
Thanks for the comment . It is appreciated!

Graham🐝 Edwards

7 years ago #16

#7
Thanks for the note Sarah Elkins is a grammar hero for me!

Graham🐝 Edwards

7 years ago #15

#5
Thanks for reading Franci Eugenia Hoffman

Graham🐝 Edwards

7 years ago #14

#4
Thanks for the comment Alexa Steele. I totally agree!

Graham🐝 Edwards

7 years ago #13

#3
Thans for still reading Ren\u00e9e Cormier... it is greatly appreciated.

Graham🐝 Edwards

7 years ago #12

#2
Thanks for the comment and perspective Kevin Pashuk! I can't believe it has taken me all these years to become mature... sort of. lol

Pascal Derrien

7 years ago #11

I sometimes forget to write words I think I do but sometimes they are only in my head and it makes funny sentences :-), it takes me always a few attempts to get it right I don't like editing that much either so I very often edit when already online not perfect but it works for me in the end writing is like a foreign language I think it is more important to try and slip that wanting to be perfect.... plus a few of us write in a language we were not educated with...... so sometimes we get confused :-) you win or you lo(o)se

Susan 🐝 Rooks, The Grammar Goddess

7 years ago #10

#7
And that's the reason I reach out, Sarah Elkins, especially to those whose thoughts and writing I value. An occasional error is fine; we all do that. But how much smarter do we look when there are none? I depend on sharp-eyed caring professionals to keep me on my toes, too!

Susan 🐝 Rooks, The Grammar Goddess

7 years ago #9

#8
Thanks for that, ! I always appreciate your support, and I wish I could find errors in your writing, but you do make it tough!

Susan 🐝 Rooks, The Grammar Goddess

7 years ago #8

#9
Ah, Paul \, I so seldom see anything to carp about in your writing -- it's refreshing when I can find one teensy goof to mention! And you now we're all guilty of an occasional error; we write, read it quickly, and then hit publish. If we're lucky, someone else sees a small goof and mentions it -- privately.

Susan 🐝 Rooks, The Grammar Goddess

7 years ago #7

#10
@Paul Walters, I promise that if I see something, I'll say something. OK? :-) Of course, I expect the same from you and all the others who keep me on my game.

Susan 🐝 Rooks, The Grammar Goddess

7 years ago #6

Ah, Graham Edwards, we all make mistakes! Yes. Over the last couple of years blogging regularly, I have had a few wonderful readers private message me to say . . . oops. I either left a word out, doubled-up on a word, or once in a while, actually wrote the wrong word (gotta love spellcheck!). Proofreading is an art and a science, and one that I am familiar with. What I learn from others, though, keeps me in the game! Everyone around me is brilliant in ways I could never imagine, and I learn constantly. I am constantly amazed at how much we all can learn and grow from reading others' posts! Keep on keeping on, Graham! And if you're lucky, one of us will pm you to mention a goof you might want to fix. I am always happy when others do that for me!

Paul Walters

7 years ago #5

Graham Edwards to you and other Bees...please please slap me about and correct my syntax, grammar and diction. I write for a living and unfortunately I am also an incredibly lazy proofreader. Mistakes irritate readers and sometimes they simply turn off one's work. I promise I will take the punishment handed out by Bees stoically and with as much dignity as I can muster

David B. Grinberg

7 years ago #4

Nice buzz, Graham. Bees are all about teamwork, thus I'm not completely surprised of your positive experience described above. That's the beBee spirit at work. I would also be remiss without giving a "shout out" to our resident "Grammar Goddess" Susan Rooks. Her blog post are full of excellent advice which all English language writers and speakers should take to heart. Buzz on, my friend!

Sarah Elkins

7 years ago #3

There are a handful of people, Graham, that I will reach out to let them know when I see a spelling or grammar error, simply because I care about how they are perceived. It's something Susan Rooks helped me better understand: I want them to be perceived as the smart, thoughtful writer I know them to be. I'm grateful to Susan and others who have graciously let me know of my own errors!

Kevin Pashuk

7 years ago #2

Thanks Graham, accepting feedback from others is a sign of maturity... especially when it comes to spelling and grammar. When I'm reading a post I have to admit that upon observing a misspelled word or grammatical error, my teeth clench to the point of pain... but at the same time, have regularly discovered a typing error in a message right after I hit 'Post' or 'Send'. That is doubly frustrating. Therefore, I do not judge others. I do appreciate honest feedback on my writing, but have to admit that my knickers do get knotted if the only purpose of the feedback is to point out that I made a mistake. The spirit that feedback is provided is as important as providing it. Just this morning Jim Murray gave me some editorial advice on a recent post. He did it via private message rather than posting out my rambling sentence out to the rest of the hive. THAT is the classy way to do it.

Graham🐝 Edwards

7 years ago #1

For Ren\u00e9e Cormier

Articles from Graham🐝 Edwards

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2 years ago · 2 min. reading time

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