Copy Edited SEO Book

"Grammer"? This is a joke, right? I think you should probably check our spelling too.

Hehehe. Was wondering how violent the first flame would be ;)

I changed it before the flames get too out of hand though.

Why? Do you plan to have it printed, or what? :)

Thanks for the efforts Aaron. I was thinking it's about time to give it another read. Haven't pulled it out in a while.

Mig, printing isn't the only time you need to worry about copyediting. If I were Aaron, I'd want my online material copyedited. I'd want to present as polished and consistent product as I could to my customers. I'd also ask the copyeditor for feedback, so that I could make my blog posts (where I would find potential customers) as professional as possible. Kudos Aaron for caring about this and having it done.

I'd back up Keri on that one even though I am the Lord of lousy grammar and run-on sentences. It would be worthwhile to find yourself a low-wage person w/ plenty of time (college english major, perhaps?) who could proof some of the current and old stuff.

I don't care much about grammar, and there are plenty of folks making 6 figures+ online who still can't figure out which version of their, they're, or there to use, but I bet hiring a college kid to proof old posts would reap you a positive ROI through some kind of deal you wouldn't have gotten before. Just a hunch... :)

I wrote a piece a little while ago about how a copy editor would handle Shakespeare. I hope it was funny, but you probably need some experience with copy editing to think so. I won't stick a link in your blog, but a search for "copyediting Shakespeare" sould probably find it.

"Sould?" I guess we do need editors.

Proofreaders anyway.

@ Peter Davis

I know, Peter. I was just curious whether Aaron is planning a hardcopy or not. :)

I havent checked it out, yet, but in my opinion checking for grammar mistakes is a good analogy to validating your site...

if it contains a couple of grammar mistakes/doesnt validate, it doesn't mean the content is any less valuable..not at all imho

but it can probably still sell a bit better or get linked to more easily, b/c some ppl appreciate it.

Reminds me of John Caples who wrote, that a strong appeal in copywriting (other than fear, fear of missing out on s.th. and so on) is taking pride in professionalism.

It's vital. If your grammar and spelling are poor it will taint the view of the message, no matter how intelligent and original your argument.

I did my MBA thesis about SEM and i did a deep research on topics, even I created a methodology on how to aboard from very first steps.

All my class have read it and they say that was one of the best thesis of this year graduation.

Guess what about grammar.

I had 2 professors (both german) one gave me an A, and the other... a C.

I have asked "why a C??"

"Because your grammar. " he said

I am not native english speaker and i learnt english basically reading reading reading....

What happen with the grammar?

After that i am reading the next book
"English Grammar for the Utterly Confused" in Amazon only 14 dls.

I don´t want to be evaluated again because of a bad grammar. In university or work neither.

PS: sorry for the grammar errors! :-P

Here are a couple of examples to show where grammar and punctuation can make a difference. Think of grammar as math -- all of the numbers can be correct, but if you use the wrong punctuation (decimal place, addition instead of subtraction, etc.) then the meaning of the equation is vastly changed.

1) The placement of one extra comma in a contract made a $2,130,000 USD difference in the cost of the contract. http://grammar.about.com/b/a/000012.htm

2) An oft-cited "Dear John" letter. The words are exactly the same, but placement of the punctuation changes the meaning entirely.

Dear John:

I want a man who knows what love is all about. You are generous, kind, thoughtful. People who are not like you admit to being useless and inferior. You have ruined me for other men. I yearn for you. I have no feelings whatsoever when we're apart. I can be forever happy -- will you let me be yours?
Gloria

Dear John:

I want a man who knows what love is. All about you are generous, kind, thoughtful people, who are not like you. Admit to being useless and inferior. You have ruined me. For other men, I yearn. For you, I have no feelings whatsoever. When we're apart, I can be happy forever. Will you let me be?

Yours,
Gloria

I emailed you a while back with some spelling/grammar corrections for your sales page and you took my hint by replying "thanks but sorry you can't have a free copy" lol.

Anyway, I'm glad you hired an editor, I had noticed a few mistakes when I finally bought it. :)

Thanks for the update!

Aloha, Aaron. This is trippy...I was one of the early purchasers of your SEO Book and returned it, partly because of the grammar. I provided (what I intended as) some constructive criticism that you pop over to Elance and hire an editor--since I thought the content was pretty good (great now), but you weren't very happy with my feedback. :-) So, just had to say "way to go" for taking your work up another level. Signed, "The Original Grammar Nazi." Best, Kirk Out.

I have a terrible grammar, sure need a copy editor, english isn't my native language. I believe proper grammar is an important factor at the professional level of Aaron Walls.