Friday, March 11, 2016

Basic Errors That Could Keep Your Writing From Being Published

by Vonda Skelton @VondaSkelton

A few years ago my 12-year-old granddaughter and I were behind a van with this slogan painted on the back window: 

"Customer Service at It's Best." 

Being the good grandmother that I am, I pointed out the mistake and proceeded to explain why the slogan was incorrect. She didn't want to hear my wise counsel...until I said that little apostrophe could be the difference between getting a job and not getting one, whether she wanted to be a writer, a teacher, or a CEO.

She didn't believe me, but it's true...especially in writing.
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If you've been reading my blog any length of time, you've heard me say that editors are becoming more and more discriminating. When I first started writing, instructors told us we had a chapter to get the editors' attention. Then it became five pages. Then one page. Then one paragraph.

Now, many editors say we have one sentence. Ugh.http://www.vondaskelton.com/wp-includes/js/tinymce/plugins/wordpress/img/trans.gif

We have a short amount of time to hook an editor.
Of course, it's different with every editor, but the bottom line is, we have a very short amount of time to hook an editor. I was teaching at a writing conference a few years ago where an editor said, "When I read your manuscript, I'm not looking for a reason to publish it. I'm looking for a reason to reject it."

Another editor said, "I'll read the first sentence. If there aren't any errors and if it's interesting, I'll go to the second sentence. If I don't see a problem, I'll go to the third. And on and on. The key is, don't make any mistakes."

No mistakes? None? Now THAT'S a big order!

No mistakes might be a big order, but that must be the goal. Correct word choice and spelling is a good place to start. 

Here are some of the frequent word choice/spelling mistakes that can doom your submission to the rejection pile.

Stay out of the rejection pile
Your/You're
  1. I love your shirt. (Possessive pronoun)
  2. You're going to wear that shirt? (Contraction--must be able to substitute "you are")

Its/It's
  1. The cat jumped out of its skin. (Possessive pronoun)
  2. It's too bad the cat used his last life. (Contraction--must be able to substitute "it is")

Their/There/They're/There're
  1. I wish their list had my name on it. (Possessive pronoun)
  2. Did you see that skunk over there? (Adverb)
  3. They're too young to be my children. (Contraction--must be able to substitute "they are")
  4. There're too many confusing words here. (I know you don't see this one often, but it's a contraction--must be able to substitute "there are"

Whose/Who's
  1. Do you know whose house this is? (Possessive pronoun)
  2. Who's going to take this box of books to the post office? (Contraction--must be able to substitute "who is")

I admit I've made--and continue to make--my share of mistakes. But we must recognize that each time we let one slip through, we're decreasing our chances of seeing our efforts in print. So let's do everything we can to make our work as good as it can be. It doesn't mean we'll be perfect. After all, that won't happen until we see Glory, but it does mean we must not be slack. We must do everything we can to present the best work possible.

It could be the difference in getting an acceptance...or a rejection.

Now, it’s your turn. Can you find the 16 mistakes in this poorly-written paragraph? (Note: not all errors were addressed in this post.)

I wish I new who’s responsibility it is to name this flower. Is it your’s? Its petals are so lovely, but their not as lovely as a rose petal. And it’s scent is lovely, to. I use to argue that the red rose was the prettiest, but not anymore. After all, whose to say weather I’m write or wrong? There lots of reasons I think your wrong. But lets not make a big deal over it. As the saying go’s, you can give wrong answer’s if you won’t to be wrong!

Did you find them all? Post in the comments today (Friday) if you were successful and I’ll use Random.org to select a winner of one of my writing workshop downloads! (Please don’t give the answers in your comments!)

TWEETABLES
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Vonda Skelton is a speaker and the author of four books: Seeing Through the Lies: Unmasking the Myths Women Believe and the 3-book Bitsy Burroughs mysteries for children 8-12 yo. She’s the founder and co-director of Christian Communicators Conference, offering speakers’ training and community for Christian women called to ministry. Vonda is a frequent instructor at writer’s conferences and keynotes at business, women’s, and associational events. You can find out more about Vonda, as well as writing opportunities and instruction at her writer’s blog, The Christian Writer’s Den at VondaSkelton.com.

28 comments:

  1. Vonda, This is great information. YES I found all 16. I had to read it twice. Thank you for investing your time to help us.

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    1. Glad you found them, Cherrilynn. It was fun putting them in! Thanks for participating. Blessings on your day!

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  2. Vonda. Thank you for sitting down with an guiding hand to point us in the right direction. Perfection is attainable? I don't think so, but eyes trained to see can make a difference.

    Editors are not our enemies - they're our friends. We walk together for a greater purpose.

    I confess I was fearful to hear these words:"When I read your manuscript, I'm not looking for a reason to publish it. I'm looking for a reason to reject it." but was encouraged too in a strange sort of way.

    If I'm called to write then I will write right. Error writing distorts the message. A writer tells the next generation - a good editor makes sure it gets through. Editors are gifted just like writers. Hand in hand we do the will of God. We sweat together, lean in to learn, express the truth and then celebrate when the job's done - done right.

    An editor is worth their weight in gold.

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    1. Your statement that "editors are not our enemies" was a lesson I had to learn the hard way. Now, if someone hands me back a manuscript and just says "This is great!" I feel cheated. There's ALWAYS something we could do better. The problem is, that philosophy leads to an editor mindset every time I sit down to write...even a first draft! Ugh! There's a time to allow the internal editor out of the box, and the first draft is NOT the time! Thanks for joining in, Christine!

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  3. Laugh out loud funny! My first sentence has an error! Not "an" but "a". Thank you for you A guiding hand. I bet you could write about this: A writer without a sense of humor is downright dangerous - especially to an editor.

    How many editors do you know that have to wear a shield just do their job?

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    1. Oh, I love it, Christine! Just a couple of minutes ago, I posted a response to a reader/friend on my post at my blog and I had a typo in it!!! Thankfully, she responded back privately and pointed it out and I was able to edit it. But it just goes to show us how easily those mistakes can slip through! Thanks for joining in the conversation!

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  4. Thanks for the reminders, Vonda!

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    1. You're very welcome, Emme! Hope you have a blessed day!

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  5. Such "little" and obvious (to some people, but not so obvious to others) errors can easily become a peeve. Perhaps my pet peeve in this regard is the misuse of pronoun combinations. For example, how often have you heard someone (often an otherwise well-educated person) say something like, "She gave the apples to Steve and I"? That grates on my editorial nerves like fingernails on a chalkboard! There's a simple mantra to remind one of the correct usage: "She gave the apples to Steve. She gave the apples to ME. She gave the apples to Steve and ME." Thanks, Vonda, for the reminder of how important such "little" things are! Now if we writers would just apply the lesson to our writing, it would make a lot of editors happier and our publication efforts more successful.

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  6. Yes, Dennis, that's one of my pet peeves as well. And yes, it's one of those things that sounds educated, but isn't! Your mantra is my mantra. That's an easy way to keep things straight.

    Thanks for joining in!

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  7. I found them but had to look twice. Great information!

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    1. Glad you enjoyed it, Jennifer! I had to look twice when I went back, too--and I wrote it! :-)

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  8. Found them all! I did have to read it both silently and orally. I kept confusing myself by counting and looking for errors at the same time, so I wrote down the errors I found and counted them that way. That was a good exercise. Thanks!

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    1. That was a smart way to look at it, Angie! Yes, it was complicated as I found them and counted to see how many I had for you to find! It was a good exercise for me, too!

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  9. When I am reading a book, these errors stick out like a sore thumb; and they are my pet peeves. Thanks for pointing them out.

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    1. Yes, I have to admit, it's a lot more fun finding mistakes in others' writing than it is finding them in my own. :-( Thanks for joining in!

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  10. Great little exercise! I love to read and find mistakes ;)
    I found them all too.

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    1. Good for you! Yea, finding them in books are fun...unless I find them in MY books! Glad you enjoyed it!

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  11. Great little exercise! I love to read and find mistakes ;)
    I found them all too.

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  12. Love it! Thanks for these reminders. These kinds of errors jump off the page at me now that I'm more aware. Reading and watching movies will never be the same. :) Thanks for all you do to remind us to take the next step toward excellence.

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    1. Hi Sharron, I'm glad you enjoyed the little exercise. But you're right, it sure makes it harder to simply enjoy reading now. I can't help but notice others' errors, but why can't mine jump off the page for me BEFORE their published? Ugh!

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    2. Hahahaha!!! Or before THEY'RE published???? Either way, why can't I see them before I hit PUBLISH???

      Uh...yea...I meant to do that... :-/

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  13. I missed that first one the first time, but I did get them all. My husband and I try to ignore errors like that, but inevitably, one of us make a comment or starts to smirk. He's better at it than me, but I try to be diligent, especially when it's my own writing. Thanks for the fun...xoxox

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    1. Hi Nancy, thanks for joining in. My husband probably never noticed mistakes in books before I became a writer. But now, since he's heard me talk about them so long, he's finding them, too!

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  14. Vonda, Thanks. My teacher's eye caught all of the errors. These are such elementary errors but so very important. Clella

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    1. Elementary--yes, but my goodness, how easily those wrong words can fly off the tips of my fingers! I'm still cringing over my juvenile mistake above. And the funny thing is I wrote it while teaching about preventing mistakes in writing! Hahahaha! The joke's on me!

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  15. And the winner is...Angie Quantrell! Angie, just go to my website (www.VondaSkelton.com), check out my downloadable writing workshops in the Store, then use the Contact form to let me know which workshop you'd like. I'll send it right out to you! Don't order it through the Store or you'll be charged. I hope you enjoy it. :-)

    And thanks to each of you for joining in the fun! You're a smart bunch of writers!

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  16. Such good reminders, Vonda! Thank you! I am always having to look things like that up. The other day I got stuck on the ole "I was going" as opposed to "If I were going...." That rascally subjunctive doesn't fit my small logic box. Sigh.
    Thanks for keeping us sharp!
    Blessings! :)

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