Another meaningless phrase to avoid: "At the end of the day…"

Oh, another: "value proposition". In truth, I think the proper term would be "value proposal" but they're so busy bandying this about they don't bother to check.

I've been fortunate: no client has ever questioned my changes or challenged me to a grammar duel. My key to that success is working with "reputable," experienced clients who themselves are familiar with, e.g., the Chicago Manual of Style. And many of them have their own in-house style guidelines, we were are both, literally, on the same page.

If I did have to come up with a cheat sheet, I'd include:

– Use serial commas;

– Use a comma in compound sentence;

– It's okay to split infinitives

– Beware of "meaningless" and unnecessary words (for example, "very," "obviously," "that said," "this point in time");

and finally,

– Just because you or I say it's so doesn't always make it right. Language evolves. It's okay to break some rules sometimes. Be flexible.

Devon, that's exactly it. I now have a clause in my contract that voids it if I'm expected to work with people not named in that contract. It's only fair. If they want them involved, they'll pay for me to please more people. The idea being trust me or pay the price….

Eileen, exactly. If I'm writing blog posts or marketing copy, it's not going to be as formal as say a textbook. You don't want to sound stilted or like you're talking down to your audience. Love that phrase: " you're going to have to pry your clenched fingers off of Strunk and White." 🙂

Cathy, you are perfect. I think we've already discusse that, right? LOL I hate when my intentional fragments are edited, too. Sometimes the effect just begs for a fragment.

Sandra, you must have it tough. First, you have to teach them the rules verbatim, then you have to tell them they won't always be the best choice. I feel for you! Yes, I'm loving Rebecca. It's beautifully written!

Jake, around these parts my husband is the grammar cop. He's worse than I am, so he's upped my game a bit. And my daughter is now correcting everyone, too. Then she curses "Dammit! Look what he's turned me into!" 🙂

And don't knock auto transmissions – if you lived in this traffic, you'd not want to shift, either. Besides, mine's turbo. LOL

Ashley, that's a riot! I get a lot of "I went to a Marketing seminar and THIS guy says…." Then hire HIM, not me. If you hire me, I do it my way, which is usually just as good as whatever notion you've picked up in a workshop. Same goes for those who take recruiter advice on resumes – I'm certified to write them. Your recruiter is not.

Exactly, Paula! Passive voice drives me nuts. And I love the manual-related suggestion. Perfect!

Just this week an editor sent me feedback from a client who said they'd gone ahead and corrected a missing period. I scoured my original copy top to bottom and there was no missing terminal punctuation.

My dad (graphic artist by day, cartoonist by night) had a great approach to fussy clients. He would add tiny errors to jobs for clients that were never satisfied until they found something to complain about. Finding the flaw bolstered their egos. Dad quickly fixed the "mistake" and everyone was happy.

Here's another approach to dealing with the "I passed high school English, so I'm a writer" types who want to correct the pros: Talk over their heads. Ask if they're using MLA, AP or Chicago style books. Rattle on about subjunctives, gerunds and passive/active voices. Heck, make up some arcane rules and see if they pretend to know what you're talking about.

Anyone else notice that the people most likely to complain about proper usage tend to put everything into passive voice? Why? Because it's so stilted that they think it sounds more formal.

I'd love to provide a guest post if you're still in need, Lori. Have a great weekend everyone!

Re: the unspeakable tedium that is grammar checker…I was at lunch with a half-dozen freelancers yesterday, and several of them said they swear by it. I almost choked on my burger. Right after Annoying Mr. Paperclip, that's the first thing I shut off in Word. It's like driving a car with a crappy automatic transition — please, let me drive the stick!

LW, count me in as a relief pitcher if your bullpen isn't already full.