Today use of grammar may be more flexible; breaking the rules has become a bit trendy for many forms of writing and it’s caused the thought that anything goes and that we can say goodbye to our style guides, dictionaries and thesauruses. This has also lead to an increase of grammar disputes between those who both feel that they’re the ones that understand the rules correctly.
As a writer, or even as a copyeditor, that leads to big challenges. What do you do when someone perceives your writing or your editing changes as being grammatically incorrect, especially when that person is a client? As a writer or editor, depending on which hat I’m wearing at the time, it can be hard to stomach. I don’t want to have to say to a client that their ideas are wrong, but I also don’t want them to perceive me as being sloppy with my work because they think I’m the one who’s dropped the ball. I also don’t want work that I’ve had my hands on to be anything less than the best it can be – I do owe that to my clients after all, right? So what’s the best way to handle it then? Here are some tips that I find can help to resolve the issue in the simplest manner possible:
1. Check a style guide – I don’t care who you are, writer or copy editor, we can all make mistakes, so before you go telling a client that they’re wrong, make sure you really are right. Also ensure that you are looking at a guide that is relevant to your client geographically ; after all, even within North America there are fairly substantial differences in rules between the US and Canada.
2. Make sure the grammatical object of debate isn’t “optional” – There are some rules of grammar that truly can go more than one direction, so what you use comes down to personal preference. I am personally a big fan of using a comma AND “and” in a sentence; some people would rather go with one or the other. Sometimes I even like to get a little bit crazy and use “but” at the beginning of a sentence. If it’s a rule that depends on preference, drop your default style and go with what your client wants.
3. Be gentle – while I do feel it’s important to ensure the best possible work appears on a client’s site or blog; I would never in a million years say “oh hey client, you know, you’re completely wrong and I’m right”. Instead, I would simply point out that “according to XYZ style guide (or whatever else you’re using to confirm your understanding) the correct form of the word is…”
Where it does get tricky is if your client still insists on the “incorrect” use of a word or phrase. I’m not comfortable producing something I know is wrong, but also don’t want to let my client down so it really depends on the context. If you really believe the incorrect grammar is going to make readers take less stock in an article, you may need to gently discuss the issue again; if it’s use that contextually is not so bad and won’t take away from the final message, then sometimes you’ve got to go with “the customer is always right”. But, you’ve got to use your judgement because after all, you’re the professional that they’re hiring for a specific service.
What would you do?