It’s not a spelling error, it’s a typo…
November 16th 2006 01:11
Have you ever noticed how, when you are a journalist or editor, people just love pointing out typos?
At the magazines I have worked for, few things titilate staff not on the editorial team more than finding an error in the magazine. In my experience these comments fall into two categories:
1. Pure joy
In any publication there are people who literally delight in finding a mistake. Literally. They come bounding over to your desk, magazine in hand, and smiles on their faces. “Have you read this paragraph?” they laugh. Ha ha ha, you laugh back, oh silly editors, whoops, look at what I did!
Why would you do that? Why would someone else’s error make some people so happy? How would you like it if every single thing you did was held up for scrutiny and every error held up as entertainment, you want to ask. I have given this one a lot of thought, because it happens everywhere and all the time.
The only thing I can put this down to is evening up the score. Editors and journalists have their names attached to their work and when things go great – a fabulous looking magazine, an interesting article – accolades flow. This is not the case for your accountant or advertising rep. No one ever says, “Hey, great ROI spreadsheet!” or “Congratulations on filling all the advertising slots!” We get the happiness, so I guess, consciously or subconsciously, they figure we should cop the saddness as well.
2. Faux sympathy
“I’m sorry about that article,” one woman said, shaking her head, as I walked past her desk. “Why? It’s not dead!” I snapped back. No, it wasn’t dead, it wasn’t even ill - there was a typo. This group of people really feel very sorry for you – how embarrassing it must be, how horrible for everyone to see your mistake. But they understand – you’re so busy, it’s so easy to make a spelling error, especially when your life is so shit. OK, so they don’t say that exactly, but that’s what they mean.
This one’s easier to work out. No matter what you do for your job, there are always going to be people who make themselves feel good by making you feel like a loser. The key here, is not to act like a loser. Smile sweetly and don’t participate in their misery-feast. And resist the urge to yell back, “It’s not a spelling error, it’s a typo!”
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Comment by Judy
Ex-Hostie
Comment by Margaret
Comment by Bulamakanka
Anyway, good article.
George