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Pointing out typos: Your duty? Or not your job?

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Ah, typos. I don’t know how you infect my writing. But you do.

I’ve published several blog posts about proofreading. Like this 4-stage strategy to error-proof your copywriting, how to catch typos and the impact poor spelling is having on your business.

If you look carefully, you’ll notice that I didn’t write any of them.

I once wrote a post about commonly misspelled words… and misspelled words. That was me, DONE!

Changing tactics

After a copywriter I respect was regularly pointing out typos on this blog, I admitted that I needed help. So now, my copywriting gets proofread. Client work. Blogs. Email marketing. If more than one person (me) is going to read it, it gets proofread.

But then I start fiddling about (usually with my own marketing). I’m a copywriter. I can’t help it.

A new sentence here, a few adjustments there and BOOM, typos.

I think my fingers have a mind of their own. And they don’t like me.

Is it nice up there?

I know what it’s like seeing typos in other people’s work; our shoulders straighten a little as the corners of our mouth lift into a smirk.

Hmph. Incorrectly placed apostrophe. LOSER.

The moral high ground is secure.

But what’s your responsibility here? Should you point typos out?

Some people feel it’s inappropriate to point out typos. Like pointing out someone else’s shit parenting.

I love the Polish saying that translates to, “Not my circus, not my monkeys”. In other words, not my problem. But that’s not how I feel about typos.

I want to be told but there are ways to point out typos and ways NOT to point out typos.

I’ve been told that as a copywriter I should be ashamed of any typos I allow to be published. That as a copywriter, my work should be flawless.

Comments like that make me feel like shit.

On the flip side of that scenario, a blog subscriber recently contacted me to let me know about two errors in the presentation slides for one of the bonus videos. (That’s right, when you subscribe you get my copywriting cheat sheet and three videos explaining my top three tips… but I digress.)

It was a wonderful email. It was polite and friendly. The overall content was praised, the production was praised and the specifics of the typos pointed out. Sure, I was cringing but I didn’t need to sit in my car and cry about it.

I’ll let you in on a secret. I am not perfect. When I write I am a flurry of ideas and words, scrunched-up paper and Post-it notes. I type so fast that keys have actually sprung off my keyboard in protest. I make mistakes but I do my best to minimise them.

How to point out typos

Be private

Calling out typos on social media is the equivalent of laughing and pointing like Nelson on The Simpsons. Even if you have the best intentions, it makes you look like a jerk.

Be gracious

Seriously. You’ve had a snicker at the blatantly wrong spelling, punctuation or grammar. You may have even shown it to someone close by so you could share a laugh. It’s okay. We’ve all done that.

But when you’re actually contacting the author, hop down from the moral high ground and be nice about it. They’ll appreciate it a lot more and you’ll feel like you’ve actually helped someone (rather than knocking them down a peg or two).

Be specific

Being told you have a typo is bad enough but not being able to find the typo is torture! Pointing the author towards the actual error is a great help.

Remember

People make mistakes. Forgive them.
Editing your own work is hard.

And you might not be right. We all make mistakes!!

How do you do it?

I polled my buddies on Facebook, Twitter and Google + and it seems that most people would let the author know, privately, and want to be told, privately.

So what say you, good reader?

Do you let people know they have typos? How do you do it?
Do you want to be told?

Let me know!

Belinda

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Comments

    • Wow. An insult and an apology. That’s a heady combination to take in on the first comment.

      I assume you’re not the empathic one in your group of friends Peter ‘Pro’ without an avatar. I suspect no one would feel safe sharing an admission of imperfection with you.

      Firstly, it’s my blog. I can ramble anytime I like. Secondly, I don’t quite understand how anything I’ve written makes me look unprofessional.

      Thanks for stopping by with your contribution though. Always appreciated.

      Reply

      • To some people, writing 2 instead of an extra 2 characters to write the whole word of ‘two’ would be considered a typo 🙂

        Reply

          • There’s a difference between a typo and an error in adhering to style. AP style advises to spell out numbers one through nine and use numerals for 10 and above. You probably knew that, but my journalism instructor taught me, and I wanted to share. Be well, everyone! Thank you, Belinda!

    • Naw, someone kick you out of the pub and you decided to rumble in cyberspace instead, love?

      How about you back up the truck and make an exit back to Ignorantville where you belong?

      Reply

    • What on earth is wrong with you? This young woman is doing her best to share her experiences and you think it’s okay to insult her opinion?! Shame on you! It is her opinion, if she wants it to be wordy… WHO CARES, AND IT’S HER OPINION!

      I had no intention of leaving comments, but after scrolling down and stumbling onto this insult, I could not help myself.
      Ms Belinda, I respect your opinion and anyone else’s too. We as human beings are free to feel any which way we want.
      I read this article because I was on a website reading rules and regulations for a contest. This company hosting the contest is pretty big in the Midwest. I found a few typos though in the article. I got to thinking of this company was mine, I wouldn’t want typos on my website. I feel it undermines the legitimacy of the contest.
      Thanks for posting this post.

      Reply

      • Firstly, thank you for calling me YOUNG Sarah. You are officially my new favourite person.

        Haters gonna hate and I don’t let people like that bother me.

        I do like to be told about errors and typos and I always virtually hug the person who does it privately… because they do undermine us! And yes, we’re human and we make mistakes.

        Thanks for wading in and not helping yourself.

        Reply

  2. Hi Belinda, I really appreciate that you have posted this. Thank you. As a proofreader (not the sniggering type), I sometimes struggle with telling the author just so they can correct it before it heads out too far into the world.

    I don’t usually point out every typo – only the really important ones – like someone’s name spelt incorrectly or it’s on promo material. I am so glad that you have posted this as I have wondered about etiquette. And was very glad to read your tips as I think I am already doing that. Phew! It’s a real balance between helping the person out without sounding mean. I try to get it right and definitely privately is the way to go. Thanks again for a very useful post 🙂

    Reply

    • I absolutely agree. I think my life rule of “Don’t be a jerk” applies to giving feedback about *anything*.

      I like your idea about only pointing about important ones. I mean, you don’t want to be appear like a snooty nit picker.

      Thanks for adding your perspective as a proofreader Kym!

      Reply

  3. As an editor who blogs and posts on a number of social media platforms, I’ve always appreciated a short email from someone who’s spotted a typo in my writing. I’m grateful for their professionalism which has helped my professionalism. Discreet, encouraging and non-judgemental is the only way to approach the author if the typo really is likely to be detrimental.
    Thanks, Belinda, for raising the question – and for giving such clear answers.
    Looking forward to your next post.

    Reply

  4. Great article as always Belinda. I regularly point out typos privately to people. I do it with no smugness though, but more because I would prefer people to let me know in that way, rather than discover a typo myself months later that others must have noticed.

    Reply

    • Thanks Mel!

      I laugh at the grammar jokes but I don’t feel any smugness pointing out errors – because I know mine do slip through the net! Sometimes they are due to that pesky autocorrect. Sometimes I’m not 100% concentrating that Facebook update I’m about to post. Thank heavens for the ability to edit posts and comments!

      I’m glad I’m not alone 🙂

      Reply

  5. Proofreading is a great idea that more people should consider. Even if you’re quite good at spotting errors in other people’s work, you’re still likely to miss it in your own content. You know what you’re trying to say so your brain doesn’t always look at the whole word, it just registers what you meant and you end up missing the little mistakes.

    Reply

  6. I’m feeling guilty now because I often notice typos and don’t do anything about them! I’ve noticed that us copywriters are often the worst offenders, which makes me laugh (not snigger) for some reason! It’s so true that you can’t see your own mistakes, my daughter once spotted a typo within seconds when I’d been poring over the copy for HOURS! And we are on the same wavelength this week, when my blog gremlins get fixed, my next blog is about typos! 🙂

    Reply

    • I suspect it’s because we’re often editing our ideas rather than our words. We’re checking our messages against – the target audience – the brand – the media. We’re checking the rhythm, flow and power of our words…

      Even when we think we’re proofing, we’re too close to it all.

      Reply

  7. Hmm, this isn’t about typos but disqus…I just signed in with Twitter and now it’s showing my facebook (personal account) profile pic?? Disqus has always hated me…!

    Reply

  8. The amazing thing about typos and professional writers is…we’ve all been there! Even if you have a system for catching them, like reading your work backward, they slip through. It does leave me scratching my head when five people have proofed my work and I’ve proofed my work, then I click to publish something and a sixth person finds an error that was missed in the first paragraph!
    Thanks for the lovely reminder that none of us are perfect.

    Reply

    • I love the quote that goes around that says something like, I do my best proofreading after I hit send. I hate that for being true!

      Thanks for commenting Elizabeth. I’m so glad I’m not alone.

      Reply

  9. Great post Belinda.

    We often don’t see our own typos because our brain supplies an inner dialogue. It overrides what our eyes see.

    For my blog, I don’t care as much as I should, but for client stuff, I always find writing, leaving it to pot overnight, and then editing from a paper copy helps enormously.

    Reply

  10. Hi Bill, I’m Jac…pleased to meet you! (yes I have read all about you so that does mean I can call you by your nickname right???). I am an ASPIRING content writer and came across your site while researching for a uni assignment – the topic of which is The Business of Content Writing. I never would have guessed that the subject of TYPOS would gain so much attention but I’m glad it has because I have something to add to the conversation….

    Now, I wouldn’t call myself a ‘nitpicker’ (and that doesn’t mean that I am not) but I would call myself a “typo spotter” and I’m not afraid to tell any writer about them when I do! As a fellow writer – it is the least I can do to help. Once I came across a cool website and emailed the author to tell him about a typo – he really appreciated it. He was advertising his content writing services so in that case it mattered.

    In response to Kym’s comment below about selectively pointing out only the really important typos – I’m not sure what she means by ‘important’, but if Kym was proofreading something for me I would be concerned because I would like to correct all typos in my work, not just the ones she considers important. In saying that, I think that making judgements in proofreading is more about considering the audience. For example, a typo in a blog such as this one really doesn’t matter. A typo in a job application or published book does.

    So as far as etiquette is concerned, I think it is best to let people know in a non-condescending ‘I found a few typos’…sort of way. Whether you are or are not good at typing, grammar, spelling or writing English in general typos look sloppy and threaten a writer’s credibility.

    Strangely I don’t always spot so well in my own work (and worse in my job applications) but in nearly everything I read…on websites, in publications everywhere I see typos – and when I do I think….eeeeekkkk…not professional – you should have done some buddy checks!

    YES, anyone who has every written anything is likely to have committed a typocrime and NO they don’t always matter but like a stain on a dress, they just don’t look good! Think about doing business with someone who doesn’t pay attention to detail – like your accountant for example!

    By the way, to whomever spots a typo in my blog…well done and good spotting!

    Reply

  11. Hi Bill, I’m Jac…pleased to meet you! (yes I have read all about you so that does mean I can call you by your nickname right???). I am an ASPIRING content writer and came across your site while researching for a uni assignment – the topic of which is The Business of Content Writing. I never would have guessed that the subject of TYPOS would gain so much attention but I’m glad it has because I have something to add to the conversation….

    Now, I wouldn’t call myself a ‘nitpicker’ (and that doesn’t mean that I am not) but I would call myself a “typo spotter” and I’m not afraid to tell any writer about them when I do! As a fellow writer – it is the least I can do to help. Once I came across a cool website and emailed the author to tell him about a typo – he really appreciated it. He was advertising his content writing services so in that case it mattered.

    In response to Kym’s comment below about selectively pointing out only the really important typos – I’m not sure what she means by ‘important’, but if Kym was proofreading something for me I would be concerned because I would like to correct all typos in my work, not just the ones she considers important. In saying that, I think that making judgements in proofreading is more about considering the audience. For example, a typo in a blog such as this one really doesn’t matter. A typo in a job application or published book does.

    So as far as etiquette is concerned, I think it is best to let people know in a non-condescending ‘I found a few typos’…sort of way. Whether you are or are not good at typing, grammar, spelling or writing English in general typos look sloppy and threaten a writer’s credibility.

    Strangely I don’t always spot so well in my own work (and worse in my job applications) but in nearly everything I read…on websites, in publications everywhere I see typos – and when I do I think….eeeeekkkk…not professional – you should have done some buddy checks!

    YES, anyone who has every written anything is likely to have committed a typocrime and NO they don’t always matter but like a stain on a dress, they just don’t look good! Think about doing business with someone who doesn’t pay attention to detail – like your accountant for example!

    By the way, to whomever spots a typoo in my blog…well done and good spotting!

    Reply

    • Hi Jac – of course you can (use my nickname 🙂

      I think posts like this generate discussion because typos leave us writers feeling raw and exposed. They are flags pointing to our failure. Sob. But we’re human and sometimes, shit happens.

      I assume that Kym gets out her nit-picking comb when she’s proofreading work for clients but I suspect she means that when she spots a typo while cruising the interwebs, she won’t send a writer a list of errors with grammatical tweaks that (she would correct as a proofreader but) don’t alter the message being communicated. The “important” errors are super obvious and do change the message. Those errors also set off some alarm bells in the copywriter’s personal hell.

      Now I don’t *know* that’s what she meant but that’s my guess.

      I also don’t think it’s strange not to spot your own. That’s where we all go wrong and why professional proofreaders are so damn important.

      Thanks for stopping and joining the discussion. I hope you come back!

      Reply

  13. Hi Belinda,
    So, I’m a Chaplain in the military. I like to think that I’m a kind person at least 98.3% of the time. But the remainder of the time (you do the math), I get annoyed by mainly one thing–the misspelling of word chaplain. Many people not in this field will spell it chaplin, like the 1920’s actor Charlie Chaplin. I want to correct people, but I don’t want to come across as a grammar Nazi. I believe this mostly happens in more informal writing (e.g. email, texts). The formal writing that I see (e.g. memos, papers) are correct. Question 1: Should I care? Question 2: If I should care about it, what/how should I do/say/write about it?
    Thanks T

    Reply

    • Firstly, thanks for reading Tom!

      I don’t think it’s ever a bad thing to care about the little things 🙂 A better question might be – do the people you might point it out to care? If they aren’t going to care enough to correct it next time then you might be fighting an uphill battle and feeling all the frustration… while they happily get on with their lives.

      What you might do, is use chaplain with the correct spelling in your correspondence (where natural). You could also make a little joke like, Chaplain (not Chaplin. I’m not that funny). << or your own version 🙂

      Reply

  15. YESSS!! I’m sharing this! Great information and sharing on your part. Perfectionism keeps people from even trying or getting their story out. Even with so many digital tools, errors still slip through. Crazy. Thanks for sharing.

    Reply

  16. First off, I love your writing style, you have a great personality and it shines through in your writing! As we speak I am writing an email to an author whose blog post had a typo and an extra word.I attached some screenshots to let her know exactly where the errors are. I googled how to approach someone about a grammar error in their writing and BOOM this lovely post showed up and I am so thankful for it

    I will definitely be checking out more of your posts!! I would love to be a professional proofreader some day!

    Thanks again!

    Reply

  17. Thanks for this! New to the biz working as a communications specialist/copywriter in-house for a company. It was a nerve-wracking career change for me, and I am SO BAD at proofing my own stuff! It’s starting to weigh on me. I can proof other people’s work. But I will miss a major typo on my own stuff until AFTER I send it to my boss, the CEO, whoever. Ugh!!

    Any proofing tips you can share? After just sending something to the CEO (for the first time directly) with a typo, I’m done making a fool of myself!!!

    #maybeimnotgoodatthisafterall

    Reply

  18. SUCH a great article, thank you! I found your page because I am in the middle of reading a magazine’s online article, found a typo, and wanted to politely notify the author. I really appreciate your perspective!

    I have actually just started looking into proofreading as a career change. Even though I’ve been amazing at finding errors in legal descriptions for real estate, I’d much rather offer my services to clients and be engaged about their work (like proofreading a website for consciousness coaching or an article about paranormal research).

    Do you have any tips for a newb to find proofreading work for specific types of writing?

    Keep up the great blogging!

    Reply

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