Be a Better Writer

If you leave this blog only learning one thing, let it be that people really do judge you by the way you speak and write.

Really; they do.

But if you're honest with yourself, you'll realize that it's actually fair. What else do your contacts have to judge you by? Your website might be impressive, but if you can't form a proper sentence when you post to social networking sites, or you send emails riddled with typos and grammatical errors, what are they supposed to think? You appear to be either careless or an incompetent idiot.

Okay, maybe the latter was a bit harsh, but so are most people. It's a harsh, unforgiving world out there, so you want to be sure that your correspondence reflects your intelligence and your attention to detail. This is especially important if you are a writer!

If you want people to pay you to write for them, it would behoove you to pay more careful attention to your spelling and grammar when you communicate, both formally and informally. We're all human, and we all make mistakes from time to time, but the reality is that those who make more mistakes make them more often because of poor habits. Not paying attention to detail, writing off the cuff and then just clicking "send", fooling themselves into believing that "It's just XYZ Forum; it doesn't make a difference."

Yes, it does.

Clients tell me all the time how glad they are to find a writer who actually presents themselves and their portfolio with class and polish. Most of the people contending for writing gigs these days are either substandard writers, or they simply present themselves like substandard writers.

So, if you want people to think you ARE a complete idiot and not a competent writer or business person, be sure to do the following:

* DON'T proofread every correspondence, every time; let the chips fall where they may.

* DON'T choose every word carefully; go ahead and talk out of the side of your neck. You can just double back later and tell people, "What I meant to say was..."

* DO engage in flame wars, especially when they don't actually enhance your image (like for a political commentator). You can afford to be a jerk; people like that.

* DO use slang and vernacular without being 100% sure that it is acceptable among the constituency of a particular forum. You're too cool to be appropriate.

* Spell check, spell check, spell check - FORGET IT! Spell check is for losers anyway.


Now, if you want to save your reputation and actually make money online, do the exact opposite :-)


To your continued success,

I.C. Jackson