Good Grammar Makes Self-Published Books Stick out
Recently, Dictionary.com ran an interesting article titled, "Does Grammar Matter in the office?" The article known as Kyle Wiens, CEO of iFixit and founder of Dozuki, who wrote a piece of writing called "I Won't Hire Individuals who Use Poor Grammar" in the "Harvard Business Review." Wiens states, "I've learned that people who make fewer mistakes on a grammar test also make fewer mistakes when they are doing something completely unrelated to writing-like stocking shelves or labeling parts." In reaction, John McWhorter argued in the "New York Times" essay that grammar is not indicative of intelligence or awareness of detail, and in many professions, isn't an essential skill. - Grammarly Review
While, obviously, grammar matters more in jobs in connection with writing than in other jobs, like a factory assembly line, I disagree that grammar has nothing to do with attention to detail. As being a book reviewer, I have seen countless poorly written books when the grammar is atrocious. We've also seen many of these books completely without any sort of attention to detail.
The entire world now has countless aspiring authors well as over a million books are published each year. If an author will probably compete against other authors to make his / her book stand out, having a well-written book with proper grammar, and having it proofread meticulously, will make a huge difference.
Believe it or not, even among authors, bad grammar exists. Traditionally published books tend to be better than many self-published books because publishers have editors to fix grammar, spelling, along with other errors. But not all publishers, editors, or authors have the same caliber, whether or not the book is traditionally or independently published. And many an intelligent self-published author knows enough to possess his book edited and proofread to stop errors.
I see certain grammatical mistakes being made across the board in books; frequently, I have discovered split infinitives in books produced even by major publishing houses. The most effective known example of a split infinitive originates from the television show "Star Trek" rolling around in its famous opening "to boldly go." Here, "to go" could be the infinitive of the verb, so it should not be split, however frequently insert adverbs into the infinitive, thereby splitting it). Furthermore, i frequently see subject-pronoun agreement issues. By way of example, "Everyone should decide what they want for supper before they get to the deli counter." In such cases, "everyone" is singular so the pronouns should also be singular. As an alternative to "they" should be used "he," "she," or "he or she." Or "everyone" ought to be replaced with a plural word like "people" that may then match with the plural pronoun "they."
Like i said, such errors are frequent even just in traditionally published books, and well-educated people still constantly make these errors. Many individuals who complain about bad grammar won't even notice that these examples are bad grammar. I was amused in reading this article at Dictionary.com that one of the comments readers made-both from people that felt grammar is important in the workplace, and those who didn't agree-many were full of bad grammar, and at least one person pointed this fact outside in her comment.
Also i disagree with John McWhorter that grammar has nothing to do with being detail-oriented. I'll expand a lttle bit here from grammar itself to incorporate spelling, pronunciation, and other matters related to writing and communication. I cringe after i see commercials where people use bad grammar; commercials have writers who ought to know better. Poor pronunciation also causes me to cringe; a single commercial I've seen, the business enterprise owner tells customers that his technique is "guaranteed"-only he can't pronounce "guaranteed." He thinks the beginning of the word rhymes with "car" rather than "care." Then a jingle turns on in which the word is pronounced properly. Marketing ebay has made numerous commercials and every time it is the same "guaranteed" line as well as the same problem with pronunciation. I will be amazed that the television station producing the ad hasn't ever told the business owner that he is mispronouncing the word, and I also am amazed that this business owner has never picked up on how the word is pronounced differently inside the jingle. Obviously, attention to detail is lacking here. I realize a little room for alteration in pronunciations exists, so I went on the internet and listened to the word pronounced at four different dictionaries and not one pronounces it the way he does. And even if there are two ways to pronounce it, shouldn't the pronunciation remain consistent in the commercial? Do I want to buy a product from a man who for many years has been unaware of the best way to pronounce a word properly that he uses over and over to advertise his business which he's heard from other's lips dozens of times, but he can't recognize his mistake? How guaranteed is his product, really?
Such deficiency of attention to detail is more serious when it's in a book. Here's among just one of countless books I am given to review where bad grammar and bad writing also reflected lack of attention to detail. First, this specific book was filled up with typos and misspellings. One which really irritated me was the writer continually referring to how he was previously an "alter boy." Like a good Catholic, he must have known how to spell "altar." Worse, through the book, he couldn't constitute his mind how to do much of anything. Whenever he described a book or film, however have it italicized on one page, then in bold on another page, then underlined on another, then italicized and underlined with a third. In one case, I saw him italicize, bold, and underline all in the same sentence, never getting more popualr that the three mentions with the book did not match. I wonder whether he would paint a gate like that-black post, green post, some pink stripes, then some blue polka dots-and not understand it looked terrible as he was done. His book sure looked terrible, plus it read horribly. A great author pays attention to the details and makes sure everything is as consistent as you possibly can.
I also know authors who, unbelievably, do not think good grammar matters. They tell me "That's why I have an editor." And that i know editors who figure out writers without good grammar are terrible writers, and no matter how hard they, as editors, work, with no matter how great the theory for the book may be, a book can only be improved a lot by someone apart from the author, and it will never be completely up to par if it were not well-written to begin with.
If you are an author, a salesperson, or perhaps a factory worker, people do judge your body on its use of grammar. If you haven't seen the movie "My Fair Lady," it's worth watching as one example of how grammar you can get ahead or hold you last life. Perhaps transforming yourself from the flower girl all the time to part of English high society, as Eliza Doolittle does within the film, is rather extreme on your situation, but it demonstrates how people view you based on what comes out of one's mouth. And they also judge your self on what comes from your pen.
Bad grammar, bad writing, and not enough attention to detail are the primary reasons why self-publishing has received a bad reputation. Perhaps you can get away with bad grammar on the job, but you can't get away with it when you write a book. Trust me; there are readers out there who delight in finding errors and pointing them out just so they can feel superior to authors.
If you are an aspiring writer, You need to brush up on your grammar. It wouldn't hurt to take a category or to read a grammar book. And also by all means, find a good editor. But don't just let your editor fix your grammar; focus on what the editor changes and discover from him or her (not them). Good and heavy writers pay attention to detail. They notice what their editors change, they discover why, and they do not repeat the identical mistakes going forward.
Whatever the rest of the world might say concerning the need for good grammar, an author should be an aspiring expert on grammar and punctuation and turn into detail-oriented. You may not need to know the category of every part of speech, but you should write and rewrite using a dictionary and a grammar book nearby for quick reference. Do your very best to produce a consistent, well-written quality product and you will be ahead of the crowd to make your book be noticeable. - Grammarly Review