Who Needs a Professional Writer?!
By Steve Willis
WORDPro Writing Services
I don’t fix leaky heart valves, track down far-distant stars or reconstruct the likeness of a long-dead person using only the middle joint of his left pinky finger. The wow factor in my job as a professional writer is pretty low. Let’s just say I’m not expecting to be cast in a reality show competition in my field of work anytime soon. (Just imagine it: An hour of people clicking away at laptops in a silent room!)
There’s not a lot of specialized skill required to string together a handful of words. Every Facebook-obsessed soccer mom, tweeting and texting tween—even Koko the signing gorilla—can do it. So why would anyone ever need to hire another person to write for him or her?
By way of explanation, let me offer an example. Say you’re expounding on your family’s love of hiking in the Rockies as a way to warm up the website for your business. How do you correctly write the plural of your family name? It’s hard enough with most surnames, but those—like mine—that end in an “s” are a total puzzle for most people.
Here are a few of the attempts I’ve seen at forming the plural of my surname:
The Willis
Sorry … no. That’s straight-up singular. One Willis, not two. This form works only for people with big egos, like The Donald.
The Willis'
Oooooh! Thanks for playing, but you’re going be hearing about your parting gifts right about now. That’s the very popular singular possessive, which people have a tendency to use to form the plurals of all surnames, whether or not they end in “s.” But it’s so, so wrong. (And not the good kind of wrong, as in “Baby, if lovin’ you is wrong, I don’t want to be right.”)
I cringe whenever I see The Smith’s or The Smiths' painted on a mailbox or carved into one of those intricate—and expensive—wood sculptures some people have in their yards. (I apologize if you’re one of those people. They look nice—they really do. And I know you probably didn’t want to argue with the nice man wielding the chainsaw when he immortalized your family name in wood. I’ll just squint the next time I drive past your house.)
The correct answer is (cue the little drum roll in your head): The Willises. Looks weird, doesn’t it? That’s because most people don’t know how to make the plural of surnames. Even my spell-check fired off an angry little squiggly red line when I typed the word just now. (Bullied as a child, the squiggly red line has developed an annoying tendency toward false bravado now that it has teamed up with Microsoft.)
The truth is, surnames form plurals just like any other noun. Would you write “I had to put on my glass’ to read the address’ on the list”? Please tell me you wouldn’t. No, you’d be a right proper chap (or chapette) and write it as “glasses” and “addresses.” So don’t be afraid to proudly—and correctly—declare your family to be the Smiths, the Joneses, the Martins, the Weisses, the Thompsons or whoever else you are.
I’ve belabored a small point in the wide and wonderful world of professional writing, but all to say this: Yes, the vast majority of people who have had even a few years of education can write a coherent sentence. And most of the time, that’s all that’s important—just to be understood. But whenever you put yourself out there as a business or a professional, you’re held to a higher standard.
That’s where a professional writer can make you shine. He or she can help you make decisions about how to communicate—website, brochure, newsletter and so forth—what to communicate, when to communicate and to whom to communicate. And when it’s time, a good writer can provide the strategic, concise and grammatically flawless text you need to look as good as possible in print.
Contact Steve Willis at 573-234-1623, stevewillis@wordpro.biz or www.wordpro.biz.
WORDPro Writing Services
I don’t fix leaky heart valves, track down far-distant stars or reconstruct the likeness of a long-dead person using only the middle joint of his left pinky finger. The wow factor in my job as a professional writer is pretty low. Let’s just say I’m not expecting to be cast in a reality show competition in my field of work anytime soon. (Just imagine it: An hour of people clicking away at laptops in a silent room!)
There’s not a lot of specialized skill required to string together a handful of words. Every Facebook-obsessed soccer mom, tweeting and texting tween—even Koko the signing gorilla—can do it. So why would anyone ever need to hire another person to write for him or her?
By way of explanation, let me offer an example. Say you’re expounding on your family’s love of hiking in the Rockies as a way to warm up the website for your business. How do you correctly write the plural of your family name? It’s hard enough with most surnames, but those—like mine—that end in an “s” are a total puzzle for most people.
Here are a few of the attempts I’ve seen at forming the plural of my surname:
The Willis
Sorry … no. That’s straight-up singular. One Willis, not two. This form works only for people with big egos, like The Donald.
The Willis'
Oooooh! Thanks for playing, but you’re going be hearing about your parting gifts right about now. That’s the very popular singular possessive, which people have a tendency to use to form the plurals of all surnames, whether or not they end in “s.” But it’s so, so wrong. (And not the good kind of wrong, as in “Baby, if lovin’ you is wrong, I don’t want to be right.”)
I cringe whenever I see The Smith’s or The Smiths' painted on a mailbox or carved into one of those intricate—and expensive—wood sculptures some people have in their yards. (I apologize if you’re one of those people. They look nice—they really do. And I know you probably didn’t want to argue with the nice man wielding the chainsaw when he immortalized your family name in wood. I’ll just squint the next time I drive past your house.)
The correct answer is (cue the little drum roll in your head): The Willises. Looks weird, doesn’t it? That’s because most people don’t know how to make the plural of surnames. Even my spell-check fired off an angry little squiggly red line when I typed the word just now. (Bullied as a child, the squiggly red line has developed an annoying tendency toward false bravado now that it has teamed up with Microsoft.)
The truth is, surnames form plurals just like any other noun. Would you write “I had to put on my glass’ to read the address’ on the list”? Please tell me you wouldn’t. No, you’d be a right proper chap (or chapette) and write it as “glasses” and “addresses.” So don’t be afraid to proudly—and correctly—declare your family to be the Smiths, the Joneses, the Martins, the Weisses, the Thompsons or whoever else you are.
I’ve belabored a small point in the wide and wonderful world of professional writing, but all to say this: Yes, the vast majority of people who have had even a few years of education can write a coherent sentence. And most of the time, that’s all that’s important—just to be understood. But whenever you put yourself out there as a business or a professional, you’re held to a higher standard.
That’s where a professional writer can make you shine. He or she can help you make decisions about how to communicate—website, brochure, newsletter and so forth—what to communicate, when to communicate and to whom to communicate. And when it’s time, a good writer can provide the strategic, concise and grammatically flawless text you need to look as good as possible in print.
Contact Steve Willis at 573-234-1623, stevewillis@wordpro.biz or www.wordpro.biz.
