On the Importance of Copy Editing, part 3
I came across this sign at the Borders on Broad St. in Philadelphia. The thing that makes it such a strange error is that there’s a shelf full of books with the word spelled correctly - in big type, no less - right above it.
On the Importance of Copy Editing, Part 2
Another installment of the occasional series on the necessity of good copy editing and the use of spellcheck.
I came across this sign in an alley in Providence recently. It’s not an alley that many would walk down and I didn’t even know this organization was there previously. At least not many people will see the spelling error. I wonder if the sign went up in this alley because of it?
On the Importance of Copy Editing
A lot of people don’t think copy editing is that important, or that it’s only important for professional publications. Not surprisingly, as a copy editor, I disagree. For instance, check out this sign at a local tailor’s shop on the way to my gym:
See if you can find all the grammar and spelling errors (there are three, though one’s pretty hard to see in this photo; sorry - took the photo from my car as I waited at a stop light).
Someone must have pointed them out to the shop, because the sign was up one day and down maybe two or three days later. Still, it doesn’t reflect well on the tailor or the sign shop that no one knew enough grammar or spelling to catch these mistakes - they would have taken but a minute to fix.
When Taglines Attack!
I write a lot of taglines. Many, many more than ever see the light of day, as you might expect. To get to a suite of 3-4 taglines that get presented to a client, I write anywhere from 20-35 taglines. As a result, I spent a decent amount of my time thinking about what makes a good tagline and what doesn’t. So, when I see a really, truly bad tagline, it sticks in my memory.
In the last month or two, I’ve seen a couple really poor ones. Poor because they’re so funny and conjure the wrong association right away. Though I’d share them in case you enjoy them.
A local restaurant - “We advertise in your mouth.”
A plumber - “We do it right in your house.”
Glad I didn’t write either of those!
