You would think in today’s computer environment, every document would be spell checked. Automatically. And yet, time and time again we find author submissions which contain spelling errors throughout the manuscript.
Of course, if the work is actually a word, then spell check is not going to save you. If you type there when you mean their, spell check is not going to catch it. Recently, an author submitted a change in his manuscript when he discovered he had used the word knock when he really mean knot. Both are legitimate words. In this case, the author wrote, “If you loosen the knock” when he really meant, “If you loosen the knot.” That is an understandable error. But what would you think if he wrote “If you loosen the not.” Same case as far as legitimate words, just not the right words.
As a writer, your obligation is to your craft…and your craft consists of a bunch of words…a series of letters. If you do not pay attention to how you use your words and spelling, you should not be surprised at the number of rejection letters you receive from publishers.
And before you protest too much, my version of Microsoft Word often corrects automatically my typing miscues. Many times, I see a squiggly line underneath a word shouting to me, “Hey dummy, this is not a word, at least not spelled the way you typed it.” I try to pay attention to those criticisms.
And if that is not bad enough, my version of Word may show me another squiggly line underneath a phrase—or heaven forbid a complete sentence or what I thought was a sentence. Those lines are there when I typed Automatically (it just told me that A should not be capitalized) and then a period in the first paragraph. And it did not like my last sentence of the first paragraph. Hover over those cues when you see them with your cursor. You will find a friendly reminder that may say “Fragment (consider revising).” In Word 2007, go to the Review ribbon. The first section on the left should say ABC Spelling & Grammar. Click on it and explore the possibilities.
Of course, I decided to ignore the promptings and leave the phrase. After all, isn’t that what editors and publishers do?
If I keep ignoring all these clues, I may never make it to the editor and publisher stage as a writer. The choice is mine. As it is yours. (there it goes again)
John Paul Owles, Publisher