My dog says it wrong. You should not.

© 2013 Christy K Robinson 

An automated spell-checker won't catch your correctly-spelled but badly worded phrases. A professional editor will. You may think this is a mute moot point, but it's not. Incorrectly phrasing a statement, whether in written or verbal communications, can reveal your grammar weaknesses to business competitors and clients, pupils, and others who you would prefer to respect your intelligence and talent.

The only foe paw faux pas I'll admit to is #18, "sorta," and that's intentionally, when I'm being casual in Facebook.

However, my Border collie, a sheep dog
with no sheep, is prone to #1, "nipping it in the butt."
Sorry I had to out my elderly, faithful dog that way.

If this were Facebook, I'd tag myself in this photo

I judge people in this way. So do many others. It's human nature. (And it's my job.)

 Are you willing to let your typos and grammar errors be the standard by which you, as a human being or as a business owner, author, or educator, are judged? Are you a great storyteller of history, romance, spirituality, or intrigue, but are not as skilled in proper language conventions?

You've sweated the hard work over weeks and months (maybe years) of writing a book, website copy, or classroom syllabus. Don't release or publish your work until a skilled, experienced editor has reviewed it and you've revised it based on professional recommendations. I'm a professional editor, and a darned good one if you believe my clients' recommendations, but I have always relied on that last set of eagle-eyes to alert me to what I missed when caught up in my own creative process.

There's far more to "editing" than proofreading. More on that in another post, another day.

Author, meet acquisitions editor