For Better or For Worse by Lynn Johnston for May 27, 2024

Judging from what I read in the news, a disappointing number of journalists need a good editor, copy editor and proofreader desperately.

Grammar overcorrection is a pet peeve of mine. It’s fine to point it out but you don’t have to be smug about it

Fix it all, Michael. Listen to the English major. If you’re going to be a writer, in most cases good grammar is a valuable tool.

If it is a REALLY GOOD story about some guy’s garage, you could sell it to even more distant papers than the local paper.

Consider this, Frank Zappa wrote about Joe’s Garage, and it sold around the world!

I’m grateful for suggestions like these, because grammar is one of my weaknesses. Pay attention, Michael…

…truth there… but for some reason I think AI is involved…

Mike’s Letter, February 2007:

Throughout the years I’ve been hammering away at outlines and bad ideas, reworking, changing, and throwing away hours of work. I’ve also had the constant support of my family. My mom is a great editor. She catches grammatical errors, storyline inconsistencies and tells me to call it quits when I’m writing garbage! She’s more of a mentor than a mom. Having owned a bookstore, she’s read more than her share of the proffered paperbacks and serious tomes. She has a feel for what flows, what works and what doesn’t. She’s available when I need her and gets back to me post-haste. We’ve formed a real working partnership.

This is where it starts

No, Mike—within every “reader” is a snobbish English teacher trying to get out!

Boy, that’s how Moms are, they always correct their children’s everything, because they know more!

Here’s a suggestion for Gordon: Contact the producers of COLLECTOR’S CALL, and have your “treasures” shown on MeTV. Betcha some big-time collector would pay you a fortune for them—which you could use to update the garage and for your honeymoon with Tracy.

From Lynn’s Comments: I confess. I do this to my partner who is writing a series of short stories about being a musician in the Yukon.

Unfortunately, a lot could stand to ‘go back to school’ and RELEARN what they were taught about good journalism. I went to a journalism school and my instructors would flunk most the ‘reporters’ on today’s newspapers (or what they call ’newspapers, today) ! ! ! !

She’s got an English degree, or did Michael forget. LOL

“This Week In Milborough: Local journalism student Michael Patterson showcases his mediocrity with a rambling tome describing his goofball friend’s junk hoard. Fiancé remains silent”.

I once had a job as a proofreader for an advertising agency. Sometimes my husband would ask me to look at something he wanted to post or an email he wanted to send. File this under, “Be careful what you wish for.” I’ve had to tone down my editing prowess for him. LOL

From what I read on MSN news, a number of journalist need a copy editor reviewer before they post articles. Their spelling is horrendous and they start writing about a car and then call it a truck; refer to a female as a him; refer to a person that isn’t fully named; etc.

The editors only get out if you let them, Mike.

Mike would make a fantastic journalist in these times. It is amazing the number of grammatical and spelling mistakes one reads in news stories these days and it can no longer be blamed on the type setter.

but good thing you asked her

Ooga Farley

Booga Farley

Googa Farley

Mooga Farley!

Elly is able to read with her eyes closed.

Impressive.

Ironically, Lynn created a comma splice by not putting a semicolon between Elly’s first statement (“you’ve got a run-on sentence there”) and the second. But no one asked me. ;-)

You asked an English major for input on your story.

Editors are like spouses. Sometimes it feels like they’re nit-picking us to death but truth be told, we’d be lost without them!

Bad grammar is one thing on news articles that you throw away, it’s another thing when its on instructions on how to build or fix something

Any writer who doesn’t think they need an editor is only a vainglory monger with too much pride they won’t be able to write for the common man.

Everyone of my kids had me proofread their writing, even in college. They’d email it to me and I would make suggestions and point out errors. I hated it because I felt like it was turning into my paper. I couldn’t stand writing for myself, because after reading it, I would make revisions, endlessly, never being completely satisfied. It was a good thing that there was a due date otherwise I’d be revising it forever.

I always have a mental red pencil. He is right about that! I am always amazed at the number of typos I find in books though. They have a longer, more rigorous process, but it is the rare book I see without a typo. If they are self-published it is almost guaranteed to have a number of mistakes. Copy editing seems to be a lost art

AI is the new AP – and it’s all “fake news”

First address the content. If content is no good, don’t bother with the mechanics.

Hey stupid Cru-Elly, you were supposed too READ the article, not PROOF-READ it. You just can’t stop getting off on criticizing people, can you?

Now, 30 years later, everyone on an internet chatroom is a critic, even of 2 dimensional characters. Keep writing, it’s a great story!

How sad that she couldn’t have begun with a few words of praise about the story itself before launching into the editorial criticism.

The Ellyhaters are at it again. As any mother can attest, Elly would be happy if Michael was doing well in school. It’s a jungle out there. If you are not first, you’re worst. The sooner Michael realizes that the farther he will go in life.

What did Mike want her to say, it’s great as it is? He should be grateful he’s got a willing proofreader. There’s no shame in making the mistakes she mentions in a first draft, but if he sent something like that off for publication he’d look silly—which, at this point in his career, is not something he can easily afford!

Wait a second. You ASKED her.

I think that Elly could have made an encouraging comment or two about the content of the article, before offering some proofreading tips – that way, Michael would have been more willing to accept the criticism.

Just tell her it’s a first draft, Mike. And by the way, does your local paper pay free-lance writers? If not, you’re gonna be out of luck.

When he asked “what do you think” he left it wide open for her to respond and give suggestions for it to be considered to be published. Sounds like he can learn a lot from his mom during his summer break along with his college professors next school year!!!

i was recently asked by our librarian what i thought of the novel i had just returned. i told her that the authors were in dire need of an editor. Could say the same for many other books.

Who needs spell check when you have a mom?