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Client: Editorial Eye newsletter

Assignment: Feature article about better proofreading in subscription newsletter for professional writers and editors.

Sometimes we get the opportunity to combine personal interests with paying work; this was one of those times. I had noticed several instances of typographical errors in "boilerplate" - standard, repeating text that is often several years old and so familiar to an editor or publication manager that it doesn't really get seen or read carefully. My editor at the Editorial Eye thought this was an intriguing topic for colleagues to consider, so my opinion about the value of an outside proofreader - like me! - had a chance to shine.

"Editing Matters - Boilerplate Isn't Bulletproof"

By Ruth E. Thaler-Carter

Publications professionals learn to take nothing for granted. We do "eyeball" proofing after using spellcheckers, and we proofread everything from colleagues and members. We know errors come from the most prestigious contributors and sneak past the most thorough review, and multiple reviews and revisions almost guarantee new mistakes. But surprise: Even boilerplate – page folios and other standing elements, mastheads, and that standard language at the end of every press release – isn't bulletproof.

• The boilerplate for a press release about award recipients said the award honored its namesake for "his many good deals."

The award was for philanthropy by attorneys. Rewarding "deals" seemed unlikely. When I asked whether it might have meant "good deeds," my client gasped and said, "We just copied-and-pasted it directly from the language of the resolution establishing the award."

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