Writing, Writing Tips, Grammarly
When An Editor Leaves A Private Note Telling You To Use Grammarly
What the Heck is This?
Writer: so, you wrote your article and submitted it to your favorite publication. Waiting patiently for the editor to review, you are excited to see your masterpiece gracing the Medium platform- Ah, yes, it is exciting! Suddenly, you get a notification; here we go, showtime! 🥳
Wait a minute. Your article did not get published. Instead, an editor leaves a private note telling you to use Grammarly. 😱
What the Heck is this? 🤔
Really? 😡
“My article is perfect,” you mutter to yourself. 🤬
Well, apparently not because your editor just told you they picked up many mistakes and need you to install FREE GRAMMARLY to make the appropriate edits.
“It’s a great writing tool,” the editor concludes.
“Ugh, what nerve,” you think to yourself.
Yes, I understand your frustration, but the editors only try to help.
Sound familiar, writers?
Don’t worry. I will try to rationalize the situation making everyone happy. 😃
First things first, About Editors
Editors are not grammar Nazis or the word police trying to make your life miserable. 👮♂️
On the contrary, they want nothing more than to publish every draft submission easily. There is nothing more remarkable to an editor than hitting “Publish” after reading a well-formatted and grammatically correct story. 😃
However, the reality is that there WILL be mistakes needing the author’s attention. Hence, editors are necessary to provide a second set of eyes. I assure you there is no ulterior motive. It’s simple; editors want to help writers create polished pieces, and sometimes this involves giving direction, pointing out errors, and requesting necessary changes.
How do I know so much about editors, you ask?
Well, because I am one, of course! 😜
Yes, I am an editor in two publications, New Writers Welcome and What is Love to You, and today, I will show you the benefits of using the free Grammarly tool.
Are you perhaps annoyed by a recent editor’s request to install Grammarly?
Maybe I am the one who sent you a private note making the request. 😉
Yeah, yeah, I already know. You were expecting a publication notification, not a mini picture of me popping up in your feed alerting you of punctuation errors, the wrong verb tense, and so on — SORRY!
My intentions were honorable; please believe me!
So, what the Heck is this Grammarly thing?
Great question.
San Francisco-based Grammarly is an English writing assistance technology founded in 2009 by Max Lytvyn, Alex Shevchenko, and Dmytro Lider. Evolving from the early days focused on students’ grammar and spelling, Grammarly has expanded, aiding everyone from the daily affairs of the average person to job seekers, writers, and other professionals.
By flagging prospective in-text issues, Grammarly goes beyond word recognition, analyzing the complexities of communication and grammar. Its algorithm makes specific suggestions regarding wordiness, spelling, punctuation, tone, grammar, and style.
Grammarly offers a FREE version: desktop app, Chrome extension, and others.
Grammarly Premium is an upgrade offering style, tone, and clarity improvements. Additionally, premium offers advanced suggestions regarding word choice, formality, fluency, and plagiarism detection.
As an editor, I opt for the Premium version and enjoy the detailed suggestions. I paid for a year subscription that averages about $12 monthly. This is cheaper than the month-to-month or quarterly option.
Is Grammarly worth it?
In my opinion, The free version of Grammarly is a good idea. It is easy to install and helpful for new and seasoned writers.
We are human beings, and humans make errors. Grammarly writing assistant is your tech-partnered friend helping you avoid potential costly boo-boos.
For example, Job seekers write resumes trying to land their dream job. A well-formatted cohesive CV is not only eye-catching but what employers seek. No amount of college degrees, certificates, and job-related experience matters if a resume is sloppy with punctuation, spelling, and grammatical errors.
Grammarly catches mistakes preventing possible embarrassment and can make the difference between a likely future employer placing a resume in the rejection pile and reading further, giving one a fair shot at landing a much sought-after job position.
Writers can apply the above ideology to their craft.
Think about it. Will it really hurt to have a supportive set of “tech eyes” by your side to catch your writing errors?
Of course not!
Hold on a second, though; Grammarly is not perfect! 😳
What the Heck is this?
While the Grammarly writing assistant is ideal for basic mistakes, there are some downsides.
📝 Detects in American English ONLY- When I edit, I often work with writers from Europe. American English words, like “realize,” are spelled differently by a writer from England. So, when I see “realise,” I get a red flag from Grammarly indicating a spelling error. Luckily, I am a British/American dual citizen, and I ignore the alert!
📝 Some of the alerts are confusing/annoying- All poets will agree with me here. Poetry is my first love of writing, and whenever I create a new poem, I get red flags often indicative of punctuation, word tense, or grammatical error. Since poetry is an art open to a broad interpretation of style and flow, one must rely on artistic perspective. Not everything in the world of writing revolves around formalities. There is a time and place for stricter rules like writing a report backed with facts. Other times, creativity is the focus, like poetry.
📝 Grammarly is not meant to replace education; it’s an aide. Budding writers should take the responsibility to hone their craft. This means learning proper formatting, verb tense, and punctuation. Likewise, technology is a guide and not meant to substitute a writer’s responsibility of continuing education. Practice, research, and hard work are the sole efforts required of any successful writer. The key here is not to become lazy and stay on top of your game!
In a perfect world, writers will not make mistakes, and writing assistant technology will be irrelevant. However, this notion is ridiculous; we are all human, and humans make errors.
As a writer, editor, and fellow human, I use Grammarly, keeping the word “advisor” in mind. Whenever I receive a red flag, I take the time to look over the text before making corrections. Sometimes, the alerts are straightforward, indicating a simple punctuation error. Other times, I need to look at my article as a whole and decide if the tech advising alert is appropriate for my work.
Something I strongly suggest: take your time; Discern! 😊
To all writers: now that you understand the basics behind Grammarly, hopefully, an editor’s private note won’t feel so daunting. We are not picking on you or downgrading your work. We simply want to help you publish an eye-pleasing story that readers will enjoy.
Heck, maybe you will consider installing the FREE Grammarly version, possibly avoiding the editor’s private note altogether. That is a fantastic idea! 👏👏👏
Don’t get me wrong; I thoroughly enjoy being an editor and working with writers worldwide. Helping others makes me happy, and nothing is more rewarding than seeing a newbie writer climb the ranks of published success. However, an editor’s job is time-consuming and a lot of work; Sometimes, all we ask is that you be a little more proactive in reviewing your skill.
So, if you chance a private note from me asking you to run a Grammarly check, know it is a request from a place of love! ❤️
Besides, an editor’s job would become null and void if we were all perfect. Hence you would not need me anymore. And that would be pretty sad. 😢
Right? 😁
PS: UPDATE: a couple of writers left comments informing me that it IS possible to adjust the setting for UK, AU, and Canadian English. This is good to know and proof that even an editor needs correcting sometimes! 😂😂😂