What's up with the Spelling?

So These Dogs are Possessed? Call a Priest!

Don't Believe What You Read...Or Recipe Mayhem

This a page from one of my favorite cookbooks. I have many and I use almost all of them frequently. I never noticed this recipe before and up until recently I'd never made it because of the big mistake in the title of the recipe. It is titled "Polenta and Hominy Stew", which would be very redundant as they are both corn. This mistake caused the recipe to be placed in the wrong area of the cookbook as well.

If you look closely at the rest of the recipe, its actually a Pork and Hominy Stew, which is also known as Posole. Which happens to be a favorite of mine. Once I read it and noticed what it was really supposed to be, I cooked the recipe and it was great! The important thing here is why no one at the company publishing this cookbook noticed that it is in fact a Pork recipe. 

If you or someone you know needs copy editing or proofreading please contact me at: caleary@spiraln.com

Have a Pleasant Week and as Jacques Pepin says "Happy Cooking."

Titles Make All the Difference

It's always amazes me the amount of products that you can come across when you start looking, that contain odd or funny text, typos or just bad grammar. Then, there are those products that you wonder to yourself - why? Who on earth thought this was a good idea? For example the following photo of a current cookbook.

The title is “Dump Meals.” Don't get me wrong, I understand the purpose - that it is supposed to be fast and easy for busy people that don't want to deal with a lot of prep. However I can't be the only one who doesn't want the word “Dump” anywhere near something I'm going to eat.

Can you imagine listening in to that pitch meeting? Publisher asks: “So, what is the title for your new cookbook?” “Dump Meals” the author replies, smiling. “Are you sure?” the bewildered publisher asks. “Yep.” she says, and since he had no idea how to talk her out of it, that is what the title became.

If you look at the bottom of the cover, the book even gives you a suggestion as to how to spend the rest of your evening. “Just Dump and Slow Cook” it says.

There is even a dessert version of this cookbook called “Dump Cakes” in case you aren't completely satisfied at the end of your “Dump” dinner.

I hope you are having a productive week. Please remember me if you need something edited or proofed and Thanks for visiting!

You Can Find it Everywhere

I recently went to a toy train show with my husband and when I saw this, I couldn't resist snapping a photo of a sign on one of the tiny buildings.  As you can see it is advertising Bergerman's Better Burgers. Its a cute sign, but I couldn't help focusing on the big error in the sign. It says "All Are Made with Fresh Ground And Meat." Do I even want to know what "And Meat" is? The gentleman who owned the layout was very nice and seemed to just consider us great toy train enthusiasts, so I politely kept quiet about the sign. My comment here is: Always ask someone to check whatever you are writing before you hit print. (Feel free to contact me for any copy editing services. What.. you didn't know there would be a pitch at the end?)  Happy Tuesday!

 Here is the photo:

If You Need Help, Ask

Greetings,
I recently received an FM Transmitter for the car as a gift. But this is not about that, it is about the user manual that came with the product. It contains the usual directions for set up and is in several languages. When you come to the page called "Precautions" it has the usual bulleted list such as "Never use in moist or underwater conditions," I thought Oh darn! I can't use this in my submarine..
It continues with "Never use in direct sunlight." That one's understandable, but the second to last on the list is where the writer runs into trouble. Its obvious that they needed more help translating what they were trying to say in English. You wonder, did the translator go to lunch and the typist decided to try and continue without them? How hard could it be, this writing in English thing? Here's what they came up with: "Never fall it down to floor."

That isn't even remotely close to being correct, but it certainly made my day! I'll make sure I "never fall it down to floor."  LOL.  :D
Have a Happy Week!

P.S. If you or someone you know needs proofreading or copy editing services, feel free to e-mail me and I'll be glad to help.

Welcome and A little About Me

Welcome! I'm glad you decided to check me out. I wanted to share a little bit of my experience with you. I worked for a non-profit for nearly a decade running the Communications Department. I wore several hats as many people have found themselves doing these days. I wrote articles for the quarterly newsletter and direct mail items requesting donations from our constituents and of course, I was also in charge of proofreading and editing those materials before they went to print. I have also worked privately for family and friends editing their writing. I have always had a knack for finding flaws in most anything  that I am reading even best selling books, which one would assume are finely scrutinized, but believe it or not some of these books still contain grammar errors or typos. (Even books about copy editing.)

I am excited to be launching Final Touch Editing Services and I hope to hear from you! If you are self publishing a book, a short story, or you want someone to go over a direct mail piece before it goes to print - or even your blog, I would be happy to help you. I am in Kerrville, Texas but can work with clients in any location. I take pride in doing quality work, offer reasonable rates and a quick turn around time. Please contact me with questions or for a quote and have a great week!