My inspiration for this post came from my dear, longtime blogging friend, Debbie @ Musings by an ND Domer's Mom, who is not only a gifted...
Today I would like to talk about being corrected.
And the reason I’m sharing this is because a few months ago I read a blog post, in which the author expressed his feelings about how one of his readers caught a spelling mistake on one of his posts and then emailed him to make him aware of it. Well, he was quite upset about this and said that if his readers were only focusing on spelling errors, then they shouldn’t be reading his blog.
It was obvious the author was sensitive that someone caught his mistake and was having a hard time dealing with it. Since I don’t know HOW the email was worded, I can’t be sure as to why he reacted the way he did, but regardless, I don’t think writing a whole post about the correction was the smartest thing to do because it only seemed to MAGNIFY the mistake.
Let's face it, as bloggers, there will inevitably be times when we make errors on our posts, whether they are spelling, punctuation, word usage, or facts.
I myself have had it happen MANY times. I don’t care how much I proofread a post, an error will still slip past my eyes. Sometimes I will catch a mistake and correct it myself after I publish a post, or sometimes a reader will catch the error and either email me or share it in their comment.
And do you know what?
I’m glad they corrected me because it means they were looking out for my best interest.
When I first started blogging and would find a mistake, it used to make me feel so embarrassed and red in the face. Like, “OH MY GOD…..I MADE A BLOOPER AND THE ENTIRE INTERNET SAW IT!!!” However, over the past five years I’ve learned to accept it.
I once had a reader who left a comment on one of my posts that dated back two years ago, in which I improperly used the word, it’s. The comment they left was extremely well-expressed without any ridicule. They took the time to explain to me in detail the difference between using it’s versus its. And I was so grateful because up until that point I had been using them wrong. I sincerely thanked them for bringing it to my attention because they taught me something.
To be honest, anytime anyone has ever pointed out a mistake to me, they’ve never done it in a way that was condescending or nasty. They did it out of genuine care.
Besides reading personal blogs, I also read many professional blogs and will occasionally catch spelling errors; therefore I see that it can happen to anyone.
One of the most valuable things I’ve learned through blogging is how to be a better writer. I love to write and have a passion for words, but was never very good at English/Grammar in school. So through trial and error, blogging has been my teacher.
I will always do my best to publish mistake-free posts, but hey, I’m also realistic enough to know that sometimes it’s going to happen. And if a reader catches an oversight, and they wish to tell me in a caring manner, then I don’t have a problem with that.
I would rather someone tell me, than let it go uncorrected.
In fact, I say….
Wishing you a SUPA' weekend everyone!
X
*So tell me, has anyone ever corrected you on one of your posts. And how did you feel about it?
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