Grammar...Yuck!

I chose the topic of grammar and spelling because I suck at them. Really. I have a mind that often sees what it wants to see, not what is actually on the page. My manuscripts are filled with typos and spelling errors. Anyone who has read one will tell you I speak the truth.

How then, you ask, did I get published? I wonder that myself sometimes.
The truth is that a wonderful friend who was an English major proofread my first manuscripts. With her help, I polished those pieces to within an inch of their lives. I do not believe I would have sold those stories otherwise.

Editors are busy, busy people. It’s their job to make sure a manuscript is clean and ready to be published when it leaves his or her desk for the printers office. Editors don’t want to do extra work. They want the author to make their job easier. Would they pass over your good story because it was full of typos and misspelling? If it was a choice between two good stories and yours was the one with mistakes, they might. Why take that chance?

I still have errors that slip into my work, but my editor knows I’ll fix those when I do revisions. Even with both our eyes on the manuscript, I’ve had a few slip into the actual book.

Do readers notice? YES.
Do they write and point out the page and line? YES.
Do they say they won’t buy another book by you? YES.
Is grammar and spelling important? YES.

Are you uncertain when choosing between "who" and "whom," "affect" and "effect," "lay" and "lie"? Your use of language tells people a great deal about how you think, and how you communicate. Making simple errors in writing can make you seem less sophisticated, even less intelligent, than you are.

So get a friend, co-worker or family member to read your stuff. Two is better than one. They’ll each catch different things.
Invest in a good book on self-editing and grammar and study it.
Polish that story and send it out.
Your dream is waiting to come true.
Pat