I can say with absolute certainty that a “Public Information Officer” is not the same thing as a “Pubic Information Officer” — no matter what my statewide press release back in 2003 may have told you. If some things, like an appreciation for a second set of eyes on your draft, may only be learned through shockingly horrific error, I’m a scholar.

Regardless of our skill-level, or years of experience, we all can use a good peer review. This eternal truth is why I’m so freaking nervous every time I post something on this blog.

Blogging violates my first rule of public relations writing: never let anything go out the door without a peer review. I don’t care who reads it, just be sure someone does.

I love having my work edited, especially by someone with an eye for AP Style and typos, and the guts to tell me when I’m making absolutely no sense.  A second, third or fourth review not only makes my work better, it allows for a test-run of how my words (and implications) read to the outside world.

Penelope Trunk‘s copy editor does this for her blog posts. I’ve got a fabulous editor over at Her Nashville, but there is no one to do that for me here at FlackRabbit.com.

My fear of publishing something stupid or patently offensive drives me batty, but it also forces me to read and re-read each post until I’m sick of it.  Still, no matter how many times I “self-edit,” errors wiggle their way into pixels from time to time–ever confirming my passion for peer peepers.

Loyal FlackRabbit-ers: if you see a typo in this or any other post, please tell me. In the mean time, how essential to you is peer review?

Related articles by Zemanta
Reblog this post [with Zemanta]
Share
This work, unless otherwise expressly stated, is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 United States License.