Did you know back in the 17th century, two men, who made a simple writing boo-boo, were fined £300 (equivalent today to £53,144 or about $66,224)? To make matters worse, they also lost their printing license.
They had published a Bible, which was to become known as the “Wicked Bible.” This edition omitted one teeny, tiny, three-letter word in one of God’s commandments.
“Not.”
Thus ”Thou shall not commit adultery” became “Thou shall commit adultery.”
Oops!
What a difference in meaning one teeny, tiny, three-letter word can make.
Luckily, today, with all our tools available for proofing text, we don’t have to worry too much about making mistakes. Yet, they still happen … even when you hire a professional like me.
Recently, I was chagrined to find a piece of content that had been used for some time with a spelling error. It was not on the same level as our wicked-Bible example, but it was highly annoying just the same.
It’s really important to review content before it’s published, whether it’s written by a staffer, an outside writer, or an agency. Even if you hire a professional proofreading company, still check it yourself.
After all that, please understand that an occasional error will inevitably creep into your content. In this world, it’s truly difficult to get writing perfection.
EASY WEB TIP 353: Proofread, then proofread again, again, and again.
P.S. My other articles on proofreading: 3 Proofreading Secrets for Mostly Error Free Pages and An Easy Proofreading Tip: Use Text-to-Talk.
P.P.S. To read more about the Wicked Bible.
