An interesting commentary on the booksandmedia.co.uk website is below. It highlights a general problem with everyone being an author on the net and the general absence of revision. Some of this is due to the fingers and one part of the brain not doing what another part of the brain intends, compounded with auto- spell and grammar correctors which often are not correct in the particular situation. But it also highlights a need for more people skilled in written English to look at what has been written with the intent of making things right or better. As we comment on our main website, authors often think that what they have written can't be improved by an experienced editor - and often they're wrong.
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"Mistakes seem to be everywhere these days. Hardly a week goes by without the appearance of a news story highlighting the problem of errors in written English. We learn that poor spelling and grammar on websites costs UK businesses millions of pounds every year in lost sales. A-level students are left befuddled by errors in exam papers. And when it comes to publishing - where the red pens were once considered a vital part of the process - ebooks are sometimes found to be so riddled with typos that readers demand their money back.
"So where are editors and proofreaders in all this? Shouldn’t they be upholding standards in the face of the changes taking place in the publishing and communication industries?
"Well, when given half a chance, they’re doing just that. But the fact is that the role of editorial professionals has changed dramatically over the past few years, and is likely to keep on doing so for the foreseeable future."
Read the rest
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