She’s The Spelling Queen
It’s been a lovely Sunday here in Provincetown, center of (my) universe: just warm enough, a breeze coming from the harbor, the Cape Cod Times consumed with lunch at an outdoor café. Sitting there I perused a brochure from a yoga studio that I’m considering attending — a great brochure, nicely designed, and it noted that the studio features an “alter.”
Was it me, or did a cloud just pass in front of the sun?
Now my family, of course, was quick to point out that no-one else in their right mind would have noticed, much less cared that altar is not spelled with an “e.” My spouse quickly envisioned a world in which I’d be the Spelling Queen, sitting on a throne of semicolons and exclamation marks, sentencing to die those who make sloppy mistakes such as those. We all had a good laugh about it.
But the reality is that I’m probably not going to go do yoga at that particular studio, and, yeah, it’s because of the brochure. If someone’s that sloppy about writing/proofing, they may well be sloppy about other things as well. Probably not; but I’m not taking that chance.
When I approach companies about doing marketing communications for them, most people’s first reaction is along the lines of, “I can write; anybody can write; we don’t need you to write.” Well, respectfully, no: many of us have been taught to write (though I’ve seen some of the grammar used by my stepchildren’s teachers and hold out no hope that schools are doing anything to increase correct spelling, usage, and grammar); but that doesn’t mean that we can all do it well. Or even correctly.
That yoga studio just lost a potential client. Can all businesses afford that kind of loss? Paying someone like me to write — or even simply edit — marketing communications is, at the end of the day, a bargain at any price. Those saavy enough to know their limits are the ones who will continue to prosper, even in a recession. And they’ll be … beyond the elements of style!
(Oh, and if you hurry, you can probably still get that brochure out of the rubbish …)
Posted in Frustration, The Writing Life, About Writing, Words, copywriting on June 1st, 2008