Recently I’ve become active on LinkeIn and am astonished by the number of people claiming to be writers who make the most basic of spelling and grammar mistakes. It does make me wonder though, how people needing assistance know that the writer they are hiring to process their message is competent. Anyone can sell themselves as a writer just as anyone can establish themselves as a Virtual Assistant – or counsellor or therapist for that matter. This is where proven experience and testimonials are important I guess. It is perfectly reasonable for anyone hiring a writer or editor to ask what training and qualifications they have and what professional associations they belong to. Be aware that membership of relevant organisations often require payment of a membership fee only and that the term ‘published author’ is used alike by both Di Morrissey and an anonymous self-published author of an e-book collection of erotic poems about a Schnauzer named Buster. At the very least, a writer should know the difference between ‘your’ and ‘you’re’, ‘loose’ and ‘lose’ and that proofreading is one word.
Here are the top ten words everybody needs to stop misspelling. (Incidentally, this is an American-English poster, haemorrhoids is spelt with ae in Australian-English.)