Little things mean a lot

Mar 19, 2012 | Better Writing

We all make mistakes. We make them in our lives and we make them when we write. Those typos and misspellings and grammatical errors may seem like little mistakes, but they can have big consequences.

Sometimes those little mistakes stop readers in their tracks.

Errors break up the reading flow and that’s not a good thing. Instead of paying attention to what you’re saying, your reader is thinking about your mistake.

Sometimes people judge you by your little mistakes.

Call it the Fundamental Attribution Error if you like, the fact is that people sometimes judge you by your typos and misspellings. “What an idiot,” they think, “She can’t even spell …”

Edit yourself

If you write your own blog, you have to edit it, too. Give your post some time to rest before you edit it. Print it out and read it aloud. You’ll catch more problems that way. Use all the spell and grammar checks at your disposal.

Watch each other’s backs

Even with careful editing, we all wind up with mistakes in our posts. When you catch one in a fellow blogger’s post, send them a private heads-up. And be gracious when someone does that for you, even if you disagree with what they say.