June Casagrande, author of Grammar Snobs Are Great Big Meanies published
by Penguin (www.budurl.com/GrammarSnobs)
lets Mitt Romney off the hook for typos on his Web site. In her recent syndicated grammar
column, "A Word Please" she reiterates her premise that we all make
mistakes and that we're not always right ourselves and that, in fact, many of
the most avid grammar cops don't know the difference between a grammar rule and
a style choice. In this case, Romney (or his team) made at least three boo boos
in a week. Two are obvious typos, the other probably a brain lapse when the
text read "peak" for "peek." She also cops to her most
recent goof. It was a little scrap word left in a sentence after she had edited
it.
That only proves that none
of us is perfect. I would add that we're all in this together. So, we are as
careful as we can be. We enlist help from an editor (like my Mindy Philips
Lawrence for my Sharing with Writers newsletter). We let one another know when it is an error that
can be corrected. But in doing so, we don't take an official stance, for we,
too, may be wrong.
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Carolyn Howard-Johnson edits, consults. and speaks on issues of publishing. Find her The Frugal Editor: Put Your Best Book Forward to Avoid Humiliation and Ensure Success (How To Do It Frugally series of book for writers)
. Learn more about her other authors' aids at www.howtodoitfrugally.com/writers_books.htm , where writers will find lists and other helps including Great Little Last-Minute Editing Tips 
on the Resources for Writers page. She blogs on all things publishing (not just editing!) at her Sharing with Writers blog. She tweets writers' resources at www.twitter.com/frugalbookpromo . Please tweet this post to your followers. We all need a little help with editing. (-:
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