Beware... cocky copywriter in Stoke on Trent!

Beware... cocky copywriter in Stoke on Trent!  And why it's important not to upset a professional copywriter who really knows her stuff...

To my amusement, I received a rather arrogantly worded email this morning from a ‘wannabe copywriter’ based in Stoke-on-Trent, who strongly believes his dubious and inaccurate opinion of the English language is correct.

In his very brief, but somewhat dogmatic message, he proceeded to ask me with great conviction what was wrong with some of the sentences on my website, including:

“I write powerful, hard working, and highly creative copy for companies across the UK and Europe” and “I’m an expert at what I do: it’s how I pay the bills. I also know how to sell too. So you can be safe in the knowledge that I’ll do a fantastic job and you’ll receive hard hitting, persuasive, and uniquely creative copy”.

I felt my heart fall into the pit of my stomach with an enormous thud because, let’s face it, copywriting and proofreading is my life and I pride myself on knowing almost everything there is to know about the English language. So I scratched my head a few times, read and reread his email, and promptly came to the conclusion that the ‘mistake’ he was referring to was the well-known and widely accepted Oxford comma.

But how can a supposedly professional copywriter take umbrage to the poor, defenseless, and extremely useful little Oxford comma? It’s such a superb grammatical road sign that even the Oxford Dictionary promotes its use, by saying:

“The 'Oxford comma' is an optional comma before the word 'and' at the end of a list: We sell books, videos, and magazines. It's known as the Oxford comma because it was traditionally used by printers, readers, and editors at Oxford University Press. Not all writers and publishers use it, but it can clarify the meaning of a sentence when the items in a list are not single words.”

I couldn’t have worded it better myself. Thank you, Oxford Dictionary.

And whilst I’m having my little rant about a certain cocky ‘wannabe copywriter’ in Stoke-on-Trent, it seems appropriate to also highlight that this chap is offering a proofreading service too.  Scary!

After my heart had sprung back into its rightful place, I started to giggle with the hilarity of the situation. Not only has he launched a ‘one man mission against bad grammar’ by saying: “Recently I have concluded that the quality of work doesn't really matter. I have come to this conclusion after seeing the quality of content displayed on the websites of some of my local, successful competitors. Yet they still get work! Like to see how bad they are, or find out if you use them?” But his own website is riddled with a number of glaring grammatical inaccuracies and inconsistencies, which I find pretty shocking.

Needless to say, I pointed out with as much grace and dignity as I could possibly muster after having been so ruthlessly and inaccurately ‘told off’, that he should stop making pompous, slanderous and unsubstantiated claims until his own English language skills were 100% perfect.

Rant over.

So if you would like to see a proper copywriter in action… one with years of knowledge and experience, a multitude of professional and academic qualifications, and a commitment to continuing professional development… then why not contact The WordNurse today by emailing imogen@thewordnurse.co.uk or calling 07974 003605 for a chat.