More Mistakes After Editing

United Kingdom
September 6, 2017 3:41am CST
For the past four months, I have been writing for a site called Vocal. There are lots of things I like about it. It has a wide range of topics, it is easy to submit, and there is feedback (plus a chance to resubmit) for articles which don't quite cut it. I don't like that the editing process seems to consist of someone using a US spell checker, changing things which don't need to be changed, and not being given the opportunity to approve or decline the edits. For the most part, it doesn't matter too much about the US/UK spellings as long as it's consistent. I did, however, have a problem with an obviously UK-specific article about UK education being changed from a perfectly good article to an article which looked unprofessional because of the editor either not actually reading the article or not taking the subject into account. I did have word about that. They didn't change it back, despite saying that they would, but they did assure me that they'd make a point of using UK English when editing my work. That's all very well but it was specifically the education article where it mattered. It seems they have stuck to that promise. However, I've recently written a couple of other articles in which there have been mistakes. Now, it is possible that they were my own mistakes but surely that's what an editor is supposed to be checking. Apart from that, one recent mistake was a 'then' where there should be a 'than'. It is something I would have noticed in my own work because it annoys me in other people's! I know it is a common mistake but you'd think someone getting paid to be an editor would know the difference. The rare mistakes I make tend to be a result of editing software autocorrecting things because the software thinks I want a different word. I usually find them during my proof-reading and correct them, though. I have made more spelling errors since the invention of spell-check than I ever did before! Anyway, my point is that it does not give the site a good name if they have editors who make changes without proof-reading, and end up with mistakes in what was previously a perfect piece of writing. It reflects poorly on the writers. I certainly don't want people to peruse my work and assume I can't spell or that I've made a mistake when, in fact, it was another person's mistake. I like writing for the site but I am being put off by their editors' lack of editing skills. If all they're going to do is run it through Copyscape and spell-check, there seems little point in having human editors.
10 people like this
10 responses
@hereandthere (45651)
• Philippines
6 Sep 17
i agree. actually reading and comprehending a piece from beginning to end is different. i also think it's better not to correct uk spelling, if it can be gleaned from context clues what a word means.
3 people like this
• United Kingdom
6 Sep 17
If it's the same word but spelt slightly differently then, provided it is spelt correctly and is consistent with the spellings in the rest of the article, it shouldn't be corrected unless it's specifically required for a certain audience. If it is a completely different word then I can understand it being changed. Although I have never really understood why UK words get changed to US ones with the entire English-speaking world expected to know the meaning but not changing a US word for a UK audience because we're, apparently, supposed to know what they mean!
2 people like this
• United Kingdom
6 Sep 17
@hereandthere I've had a few articles published (I can't remember how many but I think it's about 12). They pay per views at around $1 per 500 views so you have to do a lot of leg-work getting traffic to your work. I'm only at $2 so far but it's the closest site I've found to my old favourite which ceased to be several years ago.
3 people like this
• Philippines
6 Sep 17
@pumpkinjam for me that's how you learn new words. i even try my hand at word games and word puzzles in uk and au english. so how are you doing at that site? have you or anyone else reached payout already?
2 people like this
@innertalks (21026)
• Australia
29 Jan 18
I just joined this vocal writing platform, and looked here at mylot to see if anyone else had mentioned it. Interesting discussion. The editing of that sort would be a put-off for me too. The payout threshold seems high, and I am wondering too, if it's worth creating a stripe account.
• United Kingdom
30 Jan 18
I haven't had any editing issues since I wrote this discussion. I wonder if there is a Vocal editor in our midst on myLot! It could be that they've replaced one or two of their editors. I do like the platform. I don't know how many articles I've written so far. I keep seeing other places that pay one-off fees for content, but I know what I'm doing with Vocal so I've stuck with it! I particularly like the fact that you're not limited to certain topics, and you have control over how often you write.
2 people like this
• United Kingdom
30 Jan 18
@innertalks I like the fact that it's not automatically submitted. Along with its minimum word count (which is only 600), it stops anyone and everyone from spamming or adding articles of no substance. Sometimes, the accepted submissions are on in a matter of minutes, other times it can be a day or so. I don't think I've had to wait more than a day.
1 person likes this
@innertalks (21026)
• Australia
30 Jan 18
@pumpkinjam Your article is not automatically submitted though. I am waiting for an editor to get around to checking my first effort over. Yes, it seems like that you can write to just about any subject. They have many categories. I read a bit in the help area. There was a suggestion there that if you do not create a Stripe account yet, your money will still accumulate, and that later on, they will probably add more paying platforms, like paypal, for example. It seems to be a fairly new site. I wonder how long it has been around.
@m_audrey6788 (58485)
• Germany
6 Sep 17
I can see your point..I agree..It`s really hard to see in one glance some error especially when you`re doing it more often..I`m not perfect, so maybe you might find something`s wrong with my grammar here and because of no screening and correction made here..I guess, I may not be aware which is which
2 people like this
• United Kingdom
6 Sep 17
It doesn't matter too much here. Lots of people just type and don't check at all or skim it and miss something. It can be difficult to spot errors at a glance but editors should be trained in such things.
2 people like this
@velvet53 (22528)
• Palisade, Colorado
8 Sep 17
I think it needs to be read by a person that knows what they are doing. Some of the checkers they have to correct someone's writing isn't always right.
2 people like this
• United Kingdom
8 Sep 17
Yes, definitely. Checkers are all well and good but they don't always spot things. It can take a human eye to notice.
2 people like this
@velvet53 (22528)
• Palisade, Colorado
9 Sep 17
@pumpkinjam Yes it does.
1 person likes this
@HazySue (39264)
• Gouverneur, New York
6 Sep 17
They need to take a little more care when using autocorrect. It needs to be read by a human before it is released.
3 people like this
• United Kingdom
6 Sep 17
Yes, I agree. Autocorrect has its place but a professional editor should know when it's appropriate and when to double check with their own eyes.
2 people like this
• United Kingdom
8 Sep 17
@HazySue I like it so far. I do understand having an editor to ensure the content fits (although I've been told that certain content doesn't fit when I thought it would) or to ensure that articles are clearly written and look professional. Otherwise, I think they should at least run the edits past the writers before making them (or give the writer the option to request/make a change to something they don't like).
3 people like this
@HazySue (39264)
• Gouverneur, New York
7 Sep 17
@pumpkinjam After I read this post I went to the site and read about it. I do wonder why they don't trust people to do their own editing. It does look like a good site to try, even with the auto edit.
2 people like this
@MissNikki (5237)
• Maple Ridge, British Columbia
22 Sep 17
What do you think of the service they use for payment, "Stripe"? I am wary of this, and have not posted anything there yet because I am not sure if it is truly secure. Have you heard from others who made the threshold and received payment? Can you connect your PayPal account to transfer payments from Stripe? Sorry for all the questions. Thank you
2 people like this
• United Kingdom
22 Sep 17
I haven't made payout yet so I don't know that answer to all your questions! I did do some research about Stripe beforehand, and that was all good. It is basically the same as PayPal. You can't transfer between the two though.
2 people like this
• United Kingdom
22 Sep 17
@MissNikki Yes. I don't know if you have to or if you can use Stripe to pay for stuff directly but it is just as secure as PayPal.
2 people like this
@MissNikki (5237)
• Maple Ridge, British Columbia
22 Sep 17
@pumpkinjam Ah so you have to connect it to your personal bank account then I guess?
2 people like this
@KrauseHome (36448)
• United States
22 Sep 17
Not sure what to think. Not sure what Stripe is. Wonder if there are people here who have Wrote here and get paid for being there, or is it like other sites and take forever?
1 person likes this
• United Kingdom
22 Sep 17
Stripe is like PayPal. I haven't reached payout from Vocal yet but I have had money into my Stripe account. Seems OK so far. I researched it before I signed up. It can take a while to reach payout on Vocal but it's calculated on number of views. Works out around $1 per 250 views.
1 person likes this
• Baguio, Philippines
6 Sep 17
Try to use Grammarly...
1 person likes this
• United Kingdom
6 Sep 17
No! I'm trying to work out how to get rid of Grammarly as it is everywhere and I actually find it really unhelpful. The problem is not anything I am doing but with someone else editing it when their edits are actually incorrect because they've used a grammar/spelling tool instead of reading the article.
2 people like this
• Baguio, Philippines
7 Sep 17
@pumpkinjam I got it, That's my experience also. They should update their system in correcting. I agree..
1 person likes this
@yecall (208)
• United States
27 Aug 18
I am quite interested to try it.
• United States
21 Sep 17
I'm trying to get a feel for it. Don't know if I will stick around, but we will see.
1 person likes this