Untitled

I remember the day

I discovered

my gift for proofreading.

All my life I've been able to see errors overlooked by others. So, I figured out a way to make a few bucks finding typos and misprints. As an editor, I enjoy helping writers communicate with accuracy, passion and clarity.

Message Therapy is not merely scrutinizing punctuation and syntax. I believe the quest for personal expression transcends rigid adherence to the laws of grammar. My goal is meaningful, understandable communication.

Ha! The idiots spelled "surrender" with only one "r"!

Message Therapy cannot

be learned in school.

The flyer reprinted on the right proves my point.

Do you see what I mean?

Sure, spelling is taught in schools.

But, who is teaching the teachers?

I don't mean to be nasty, but do you think this
fine, upstanding university meant:

"r-e-c-r-u-i-t-i-n-g"?

I do.

The Message Therapist offers you:

Script Writing

Larry Burkett, co-founder of Crown Financial Ministries, personally hired me to write many of his How to Manage Your Money radio programs, aired on over 700 radio stations from Guam to South Africa. I chose the topics, did all the research, and provided him with ready-to-read scripts.

Leading The Way, the radio broadcast of Dr. Michael Youssef in Atlanta, GA, hired me to write scripts for the program's cohost, Jane Robelot. I completed this short-term project on time, and on budget.

My friend, Chris Fabry, and I collaborated on several scripts for a nationally prominent children's radio drama.
I suggested about 20 ideas for programs. Seven were chosen. I wrote the scripts, and revised them after review by the producers. Chris polished them for the final production of the half-hour broadcasts.

I can also provide you with captivating scripts, customized to your specific needs and style.

Radio Copy Writing

I know how to write "for the ear." Words have to be chosen carefully because they're only heard for a moment. There's no second chance. If the copy doesn't flow well, you lose your audience -- and someone's investment.

My copy writing skills were developed while working at six radio stations, from New York to California. What I wrote had to be succinct, memorable and easily grasped -- and it had to sell the products and services advertised.

I continue to hone my skills as a professional copywriter and voice-over artist today.

Editing/Proofreading/Writing

I proofread newsletters and books on many topics.

I was hired to write a book on Hurricane Katrina, based on the accounts of a non-profit group's early-response workers. My final draft was completed in two manic weeks, including a trek to New Orleans that was cut short when Hurricane Rita approached. (Yes, I can meet stringent deadlines.)

A major trade journal published three of my articles on radio management.

I created more than 110 characters for the "Left Behind" video game. For each "person" I invented, I wrote a
400-450 word biography. (This was my favorite gig of all.)

The Times newspaper in Gainesville, GA, published three feature stories I wrote about interesting people and places in the region.

I know how to write "for the eye." Readers have the luxury of going at their own pace, with time to reread portions that they find especially compelling. I use this knowledge to your advantage when I edit.

Editing copy on Web sites is my passion.

Or, would you rather trust your spell checker?

(Ha! I laugh at you! )

SEATTLE POST-INTELLIGENCER
http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/business/217802_grammar28.asp
Monday, March 28, 2005
By TODD BISHOP
excerpted

Microsoft the company should big improve Word grammar check.

That sentence is a confusing jumble. However, it is perfectly fine in the assessment of Microsoft Word's built-in grammar checker, which detects no problem with the prose.

Sandeep Krishnamurthy thinks Microsoft can do a lot better...He has crafted and posted for public download several documents containing awful grammar. Depending on the version and settings, the Word grammar checker sometimes detects a few of the problems. But it overlooks the majority of them -- skipping misplaced apostrophes, singular-plural inconsistencies, missing articles, sentence fragments, improper capitalization and other problems.

An excerpt: "Marketing are bad for brand big and small. You Know What I am Saying? It is no wondering that advertisings are bad for company in America, Chicago and Germany...McDonald's and Coca Cola are good brand...Gates do good marketing job in Microsoft."

[Microsoft] said [even a better spell checker]...still wouldn't be as good as a good human editor." Microsoft...said in a statement that the grammar checker "was created to be a guide and a tool, not a perfect proofreader."

...As it now stands, the tool helps good writers but "really doesn't help bad writers at all," [according to Krishnamurthy]. He doesn't suggest that anyone stop using the grammar-checking tool, but he wants people to fully understand its limitations and not consider it a substitute for good writing and editing.

© 1998-2005 Seattle Post-Intelligencer

Let me be your Message Therapist and I might let you visit my cottage!

0x01 graphic