Growing up, I always had a great interest in reading, writing and editing. I actually looked forward to the days in school where we had to exchange papers/stories with other classmates for editing.
I know what you’re thinking…but who doesn’t enjoy doing something they’re good at?
December 17th, 1992 – Age 7, The Day I Became a Grammar Nazi
My mom and I were walking in a local mall and there was a book signing for the children’s book, Milo’s Friends in the Dark by Milwaukee natives Craig Ploetz and Rich Koslowski. So I’m reading the book, for the first time ever, while in line and stumble upon this page.
For those of you that don’t see it, “the place it the attic,” it being the error.
Seven year old me gets to the authors’ table and points out the mistake. They said that their editors hadn’t even picked it up! I receive mucho praise for noticing. This is how a Grammar Nazi is made!
A QUESTION TO FELLOW BLOGGERS
I’ve been noticing an increasing number of minor spelling errors on some well-known personal finance blogs that I follow. While I can generally silence my inner Grammar Nazi, should I be reaching out to these bloggers via personal message or comments to let them know? Would it be a courtesy or would I be flamed as the Grammer Nazi that I am?
I wouldn’t take it personally if someone ousted a spelling or grammatical error of my own (we’re all human) as I’m generally one who tries to improve upon critiques (so bring ’em on!), but how would you react if a reader pointed out a spelling error? Would you be offended? Or would you appreciate the heads up?
Anyone remember playing heads up seven up?
So, if anyone is interested, I would gladly (for a minimal fee) provide an extra pair of eyes to weed out any errors in your drafts before publishing! Or if you’re a student, I’d be happy to look over any essays or term papers! 😀
Debt Perception 
I’m old and cranky and grammatical mistakes set my teeth on edge!
When ever I read or hear “so fun” I want to scream. It seems to me that the adverb is dying from the English language–what a shame.
Uh oh, don’t go to PA, they have a frozen yogurt place called So Fun! 🙂
Haha. Since English is not my first language, I make some uncommon mistakes English speakers do not (ahem, in/on), but I am very sharp on other more blatant mistakes, like the one you pointed out. I normally don’t speak because people think “look at the pot calling the kettle black”.
As far as the blogging portion, I’d say you should email them instead of leaving a comment, depending how “professional” they try to make their blogs. A lot I follow are not huge into grammar and it’s more of a financial diary (mine included), so pointing out mistakes when there are plenty may not be well welcomed. I don’t mind being corrected, but I’ve seen some get a bit frustrated with it. Unless it’s a major error that changes the meaning of the post significantly (like “Hell World” when meaning “Hello World”–I’ve seen that happen).
I never would have known English was not your first language! I don’t mind the errors so much on diary-type blogs but when it’s more “professional” the errors stick out like a sore thumb. I think messaging them privately is the nicer way to let them know. Haha! “Hell World,” like Hellraiser! I’m sure that’s what they meant! 😉
I DO want to know if I make grammatical or spelling errors! Because maybe I don’t realize it’s wrong & I keep making the same mistake. Then I just look dumb! I’m the grammar Nazi in our house, but I’m not perfect – so feel free to let me know!
Grazie! That should be the official name of us Grammar Nazis, it sounds better! 🙂
I’m totally not offended if someone points out a grammar or spelling mistake (in the comments or elsewhere) we all make mistakes and I’d rather someone point them out so I can fix them. I try to tell other bloggers if I notice a glaring mistake (in the title or something) but otherwise I just read past them. I’m a Nazi about other things like organization 😉
I like organization too but I’m not a Nazi in that department (though it does irk me when my husband constantly doesn’t put things back where he found them). Helping families get organized would be a good way to make some side income, I’m kind of working on that now!
I usually don’t care this much about all being perfect. My English is not as good as if I was a native speaker and I’m also the queen of typos, as I like to call myself. As long as the article can be understood, I have no problems with small mistakes 😀
I actually catch a ton of my own errors when I’m rereading my posts and rarely correct them. I post from my phone all the time which accounts for my mistakes. Please don’t privately message me about my mistakes. I know they’re there.
Understood.
It bothers me when professional bloggers make them repeatedly, and I want to let them know, but I never send messages. I still read the blogs, so I suppose they are doing something right… umm correctly.
I suppose so 🙂