Grammar seems to be a hot topic for online writers. Some people are actually very picky and tetchy about grammar. If you mention the word in their presence they get very upset and angry about anyone who dares to get any of their grammar wrong.
How good is your grammar? Are you constantly going wrong - and would you even be aware of it?
To be honest I have never been brilliant at grammar. For example I couldn’t sit you down and explain to you the dos and don’ts of grammar. But that hasn’t stopped me from selling thousands of articles online, not to mention hundreds of blog posts and heaven alone knows how many eBooks to various clients. I’m not saying that to boast – I’m merely saying that I personally don’t think grammar is essential to having a successful online writing career.
Is this good news for beginning writers?
You bet it is. While some may baulk at the erosion of standards, others are quietly making lots of money writing for online markets. The point I’m making here is that great writing isn’t often the most important aspect of online articles.
It’s important to make the distinction between ‘great’ and ‘good’ here though. By ‘great’ I mean writing that has come from the minds of Dickens and Shakespeare and all the other greats. You don’t have to write like Emily Bronte or William Shakespeare to sell articles online. You just have to be able to write well.
It’s a fact of internet life that mediocre writers are getting published and paid at the same time as more finicky writers who are obsessed with grammar are still sweating over their first attempt at an article. If you are reasonable at writing you will probably find it quite easily to get work as an online writer. If you are good then you will be inundated with requests to write for different clients. If you are outstanding then the sky is the limit.
But the people you will be writing for are mainly concerned with getting traffic to their websites. They aren’t concerned with whether your grammar is 100% correct or not. They may not even notice. That might upset some people and it may indeed be wrong, but it’s the way it is.
Punctuation is perhaps a little more important. After all you cannot expect to write a whole article with no full stops and find a buyer who is willing to pay for it. But if you throw in a few more commas than are really needed, it won’t do your online writing career much harm at all.
So if you have published several articles, sold lots to various clients and things are definitely on the up, don’t get too hung up over grammar and punctuation. Provided your writing is good, it shouldn’t affect your writing career one bit.
Related posts:
- How positive are you about your writing skills?
- Would you rather write for online markets or for magazines?
Tags: grammar and punctuation, writing
I never learned grammar at school, and would struggle to label the parts of a sentence. But having read hundreds of books, articles, etc. I can spot a grammatical error a mile away.
Does it matter?
If it’s your blog, or something equally personal, I really don’t mind. It’s your patch, and you can do whatever you like in it.
But if you’r trying to come across as an authority on a topic, then you need to lift your game a little. If you can’t string a sentence together correctly, then you start losing credibility. If that happens, how can I trust you with the facts?
That being said, I’m willing to let the grammar slide if you’ve written something that sounds fantastic. As Gary Provost said, “Never choose good grammar over good writing”.
I definitely agree with that quote, “Never choose grammar over good writing.” This is what newbie writers need to bear in mind. Don’t be scared about whether your grammar is up to scratch or not. Write well, share good information and try to satisfy your audience. Those are the most important things to remember. Thanks for your comment Bill!