Hi, Mary here, wondering when you are researching a website to write content for, do you tell the webmaster of mistakes that you see while you are surfing the site? The natural editor in me wants to have them corrected right away. I sometimes just go ahead and open an email with a few editing notes and then when I finish writing the content I just attach the file to that email. Does anyone else ever have this issue? I certainly wouldn't want to offend anyone, I am just looking to help them out, and for that matter, I really don't like to see mistakes on websites that I will be associated with. Comments pleeease...
I've seen one pretty successful freelance writer say she wrote to FOX (or something big like that) to say that there was an error in their credits. She got a message back from them thanking her and they made the correction. I sometimes want to contact websites and point out the errors. Who knows, the webmaster could be looking for a writer or editor at the exact time they read your message pointing out the error.
I have the philosophy that if it was my site I would want to know so I’ve been known to give a heads up on mistakes that I’ve seen on someone else’s site – in all cases they were appreciative – I do question if I’m just being a perfectionist sometimes though. Heidi
I have seen quite a few mistakes in big sites ( not fox , but sites big enough in the webmaster world). It depends on my mood at that moment. I do dash off an email most of the times, but on certain occasions, I just get back to work.
Haha...Thats funny My wife - who actually writes, tells me story's like that all the time. She wrote a guy the other day and he sent a her a 25% discount of the jewelery shop that she saw the mistake on, because she pointed of the spelling mistakes. I was like sweet man,
I've told people and always been thanked for it. I don't know what I'd do if I were writing for a site with a lot of errors, though. I'd be tempted to tell them and offer to edit it or review things for them for a fee. "I know you are busy expanding your site, adding content, and marketing. I could ...." But I've never seen anything that pervasive.
I once pointed out a minor typo on the wordtracker site and they gave me a free one week subscription. Cool. Must point out: In my mail, I actually ended by saying, "so, do I get a free weekly subscription for pointing this out." Really
I have a colleague who does this kind of thing regularly, and she's gotten some incredible (and long-term) gigs out of it. I've had some success with it earlier last year, but haven't gone that route in a while simply b/c of time. However, it's not a bad idea, so maybe I'll shoot one off to the next error-ridden site I see.
Thanks go out to everyone for their words of advice! It's good to know that I'm not the only one dealing with this issue of what to do in the case of errors on websites. So If it were you that I sent editing notes to along with the content that you had purchased from me, you wouldn't be offended but happy that I had told you about it? Mary
I asked this same question at another forum I belong to, and I think all of the members who responded were against it. Their point was that you don't want to offend anyone. However, I know a woman who makes well over $100K a year proofreading who uses that as one of her main marketing methods. She ends the e-mail with something like "the first one's free, but for the next one, here's my resume" and pastes her resume at the end of the e-mail so the recipient isn't dealing with attachments. This woman has had two books published in the past two years, so this technique is definitely not hurting her.
I would certainly be appreciative of receiving such advise on my site. I can only see it as being a positive thing.
Hi MaryMary! I'm not a natural writer and English isn't my primary language. I do want my articles/posts not just grammatically correct but cohesive as well. I do spot some mistakes on some articles that I read but thinking that I'm not an authority on the matter I tend not to correct them. But if ever you stumble in my site/s and notice mistakes on my articles, pls. let me know. I assure you I won't get offended and will even appreciate your comment.
I think you should. I am personally an honest person and if i see some mistakes even if it isnt my job i would tell that person. Its just the poliet thing to do like letting some one know that their zipped is undone or letting them know their tag/ slip are sticking out. When i see that i tell that person in a quiet and nice fashion. I think that this would fall into that catagory. Its like um hey i see a mistake right here or so. Im sure people would appreciate it more then they would take offence. I mean i dont think people take an offence to when you tell them there is somthing in their teeth before a big speech or act. And putting up a website is kind of like that. You get shoved out into the spotlight and you pray you dont forget your lines. Im sure the last thing someone would want would be a silly mistake to be noticed by people surfiing the sight and then getting heckled for it. So in short i would tell them.
I don't mind at all. Editing and writing are two different tasks. A person is rarely solid in both, because they use opposite sides of the brain. Editing goes well beyond simple misspellings and grammar. And if you try to do your own editing, there will be issues when you're done 99% of the time. I've been paid to edit stuff that millions were being spent on and that have been written and reviewed by pros up and down the line. Yet, I've still found issues. Heck, go get a job at a newspaper and look at the copy the journalists turn into the editors. It's usually not pretty. Writers write. Editors edit.
Proofreading and editing your own writing is very difficult beacause you see what you meant to type, and understand what you meant to say. Setting the article aside for a time helps, but fresh eyes are always a help.
Related but I think you guys already know about the book, The Elements of Style. I highly recommend this book especially if you're serious with writing. BTW, there's no referral code embedded on the link so don't hesitate to click. LOL!
The Elements of Style is usually the first or one of the first books writers who are serious about their work pick up. It's a classic.
It's a very good thing if you pinpoint the mistakes out. This will give the site owners the chance to correct them, right? Nobody wants spelling, grammar or other kind of mistakes on his site. The response to that could be either appreciative or depreciative. People that will probably appreciate this thing think like - thank God I fixed the errors; while others may say like - well, who are you to tell me what's right or wrong? This, though, shouldn't bring you down and if you write content you should also make sure that the quality of your work fully matches the already existing one. Keep doing that!
I would be grateful it if someone comes to point out mistakes that I have made on a personal/corporate website I have worked on. As refers to letting some other person know they have made a mistake on their own website, I have written such emails once in a blue moon and normally the webmasters' responses were appreciative. So I don't find it offensive at all Hope others don't take it that way either.