Do you sometimes write something in English – even though English is not your first language?
I hate to break it to you, but chances are that you are overestimating your ability.
The world is full of badly written prose, things that may be correct by all means, but still not… you know, quite THERE.
Here is how I fix it: I get Sara Cleveland.
Sara is based in Connecticut in the United States. She is a bit of an allround renaissance person – she is a behavioral therapist, a music teacher, a copy editor and a language consultant. And she has got perfect pitch somehow.
I send her my pieces – my monthly newsletter, something I want to publish with an international audience in mind, guest blogs, or even dull presentation material – and she returns it within a day at a modest rate. She gave my new book it’s last brush-over, and is currently hard at work on another larger project for me.
She is absolutely ruthless, too. ”No, that sucks, that’s not your voice at all”, she says, and makes a few small changes to get it to… you know, be right THERE.
If you are a speaker, a writer, or simply someone who wants to make sure that whatever you send out there is on par with the rest of your abilities – get Sara Cleveland. Send her your best. It will come back better.
Just leave me a note, and I will forward it to her.
