GOOFBUSTER

You go back and forth with your client about copy, and finally it's right. You proof the last round of changes, but you've seen this same copy a dozen times. So has the writer. You send it to two more people just to be sure. It looks fine to them-until your client calls with bad news: a typo in paragraph 2 and the job has to be reprinted... Spell-checkers can't catch everything. And it's not just typos you should be looking for. You need to be sure you've got your facts straight. You need to know that your copy is in clear, easy-to-understand English, using correct grammar, punctuation, and spelling. And it all needs to be right before you send your ad, brochure, or letter to the printer. If it isn't, it can cost you money, time, and effort. At worst, it can cost you a client... John (Goofbuster) Maybury is a freelance copy editor, proofreader, writer, and teacher offering classes in copy editing and proofreading at community colleges around the San Francisco Bay Area.