Shirley McShane Sillars

Recently I met a young man busy developing a computer program that aims to do the job of copy editors — but, I suppose, without the attached personality quirks and neurotic tendencies of folks engaged in my line of work.

It was a pleasure to meet him, although a little awkward,  since we were at a networking event. His work, it seems, would cancel out mine.

This so-called robot copy editor program promises to search your written work for spelling, grammar and punctuation errors. It also seeks to fix improper word usage, the wrong noun-verb tense and use of passive voice. It aims to go above and beyond the average spell checker.

Like all good robots, it will work tirelessly for you at the push of a button. It will not need a coffee break or a week in the tropics to refresh its psyche. It won’t demand health care benefits or request an ergonomically correct desk chair. Sounds perfect, right?

Spell checker and advanced editing software have a place. They are a good beginning. But your Web site or professional blog should always have the human touch as the last defense. Humans cost money. Many industries have decided it’s an expense they can do without. News of outsourcing copy editing to India or of advanced technology that replaces the work of humans never bodes well for the humans struggling to feed themselves on the wages of their threatened craft.

I promised the young programmer I’d give it a try. After using his program for several months, I’m satisfied with it as a step up from the basic spell checker. There are things I like about it, mainly, the extra pair of eyes — even if they are robotic —  to review my work.

Listed below are examples of things this and other program extensions did not catch, things that are best left to a human copy editor:

• Duel citizenship will slip past spell check but humanitarian organizations may take issue with such challenging residency requirements.
• A woman on the run is wearing high heals. I’m guessing her need for a podiatrist rather than her fancy footwear will aid in her capture.
• Is the Lake Shore Drive in your city written the same way as the famous one in Chicago? It pays to have someone fact-check these details.
• Robots do not understand slang and will skip over industry buzz words, regional colloquialisms, and esoteric references.
• Even though the program offers some explanation for flagging a particular word or phrase, the explanatory text is boiler plate material and not customized for the context.
• In some cases, a plural noun is offered as the correction for a singular noun spelled correctly.
• As far as I know, robots have not yet mastered the art of the follow-up e-mail or phone call.

Everyone is entitled to making a living, whether it’s using her own eyes and training to read copy or to develop a program to do the same. I believe it will be a while before robots fully replace the work of the human copy editor.

As for outsourcing to India, well, that is an argument for another blog and another day.

There are some things I need to do every day.
I need several cups of freshly brewed coffee with cream.
I need to eat.
I need a certain amount of exercise.
I need to make time to read and to write.

When I was a working journalist, I wrote every day to earn my paycheck. Then, I read other writers’ work to pay the bills. I wrote columns and features on the side more for my own satisfaction than for the pay.

Each news organization has its own quota system or minimum daily requirements. Now that I’m on my own, it’s up to me to find the work. Between jobs, I discipline myself to write. Some of this is on a personal blog, some of  it is written in a personal journal. Sometimes, I just need to scribble ideas on one of the many little notepads I keep stashed throughout my daily travels. I have one in my purse. There’s another book in the console of my car.

Sometimes I’m out of ideas. This is where the Internet provides help. Here is a list of writing prompts I’ve bookmarked for days when the creative energy is running on fumes:

http://www.squidoo.com/journalwritingprompts

http://www.creativewritingprompts.com/

http://www.writersdigest.com/WritingPrompts This site offers ideas and the chance to compete against other writers for most creative answer.

NaBloPoMo – National Blog Posting Month. Join this Ning community and take up the challenge of Web log posting every day for a month. Each month offers a theme. If you reach your goal, you get a nice widget to display.

NaNoWriMo — National Novel Writing Month. This community helps you write a 50,000 word novel in 30 days. That’s discipline.

Writer’s Digest list of the Top 101 Web sites for writers

No more excuses. Ignite the fire and keep it burning.

No matter how high-tech writing and publishing gets, I’ll never pitch my collection of dog-eared reference books.

Nestled between metal bookends on my desk are two dictionaries, a thesaurus, a book of synonyms and antonyms, The Associated Press Stylebook and Strunk & White’s The Elements of Style. I also keep a modest number of specialized resources such as Harper’s Dictionary of Music and a Dorling Kindersley Pocket Guide to World History.

I’ve been collecting these guides since college. They’ve stood guard over my work for 20 years. While the Internet is getting more of my attention these days, I still regard my books as the final word.

But sometimes my books fall short.  There are two places online I’ll check first before expanding my search. Both of these Web sites offer excellent information on spelling, grammar and word usage. Both will help you learn something new today.

Barbara Wallraff’s Word Court is a weekly syndicated column that answers readers’ questions and poses fun word challenges. She also has a blog on The Atlantic, where she has worked for 25 years.

Washington Post copy desk chief Bill Walsh keeps his eyes open and his ears tuned to style and usage violations in all manner of media. In addition to his longstanding Web site, The Slot, he’s also published two books on writing and word usage.

You don’t need to be a member of  the media elite  to appreciate his posts. In fact, for those outside the business, Walsh’s  Sharp Points may shed some light on a number of timeless subjects, such as the difference between “good ol’ boys” and “the old boy network”. Enjoy.

One thing about casting yourself as a copy editor and proofreader is that it sometimes challenges folks to look for your mistakes.

While having a reader point out a typo is embarrassing, it proves my point: We all need copy editors. No one is above correction.  Not us mere mortals. Not the mighty computer.

If I traveled around my neighborhood wielding a big red pen, I’d have plenty of places to use it, from misspellings “wheel alinements done here” on an auto shop sign, to improper punctuation “fresh apple’s, 99 cent’s a pound” painted on a produce market flier, to this doozy on a pharmacy sign: If your sick their quick minute service.

I think we’ve all grown accustomed to these typos. There are Web sites dedicated to finding and posting such gaffes. Check out this for some laughs.

Some folks may argue that it doesn’t matter if the signs are wrong, just as long as the idea still comes across. But at what point does your idea get lost in the translation?

We forgive these errors in English-as-a-second language situations,  just as we hope citizens of  non-English speaking countries excuse our spotty foreign language skills. Otherwise, we really have no excuse. Do you want your Web site, your work, featured as the latest post on a blog specializing in “what not to do?”

Probably not.

Relying upon your computer’s spell checking program is about a safe as employing an umbrella in a hurricane. Case in point — and this comes from a newspaper — unforgivable in my book:

The article expounded the changes to Michigan’s school funding structure. What the writer meant to distinguish was the funding disparities between rich school districts and poor school districts. I suspect an over-reliance on  the spell checker changed the struggle to one between rich districts and poop districts.

This elicited many laughs from readers and within the  newsroom (it wasn’t our paper) as we pondered what a poop district might look like and why state funding was lacking.

Copy editor. Proofreader.

What comes to mind when you read these words?

Do you envision an uptight spinster with reading glasses perched on a pinched face? Do you see a gnarled hand wielding a red pen? Do you imagine the kind of person who interrupts a great story, a joke — a movie — to point out an error in syntax or grammar?

Maybe in your mind’s eye  you see a bloated, worn former reporter parked behind a Mac, growling at the young writers who turn in their stories 30 seconds past deadline.

Maybe you draw a blank altogether. If so, you are not alone.

While being a copy editor and proofreader won’t dazzle the pretty people sipping martinis at a cocktail party — trust me, I know — it is a vital and necessary job.

Proofreading and editing make the pretty people look prettier. They make the smart folks read smarter. Think of us as the makeup artists, the lighting guys, the behind-the-scenesters who pull it all together. We don’t get the credit. But we get the satisfaction of knowing we helped you look your best.

If you’re looking for a snippy spinster with a red pen in her pocket, keep going. That’s not what I’m about. The aim here is to be efficient, helpful, quick, thorough and have fun.

We like to think of our pens as accessories.