Yesterday I finished writing, proofreading, and scheduling my first newsletter of the new year. I was pretty happy with it, and one of the things that excited me most about it was that I was going to share the first chapter of my memoir with readers. That first chapter has been posted online, but I haven’t drawn any attention to it before. This felt like a significant reveal.
Except the link didn’t work. Despite having carefully proofread the newsletter, I failed to check all the links. A friend and very helpful reader wrote this morning to tell me that the link didn’t work. She tactfully suggested that it was possible it was just her phone, but that it seemed that the .com was missing from the link. It was. I’d forgotten to type it in. Ouch!
I wanted to get a correction out right away. I quickly wrote a short note explaining the error, and even added some humor by embedding Taylor Mali’s fabulous spoken word piece, “The the impotence of proofreading.” Or so I thought. The code was there. I swear. I saw the video player in the window displaying the email. Because I was at work I was and hurrying, I failed to send out a test message before sending to the list. I just hit send, and imagine my dismay when, a moment later, I opened the message and saw no video. Compounding mistakes! I don’t know exactly how that happened. I don’t know if I failed to save properly or if the embedded code got stripped out somehow. I do know that if I’d taken the time and sent a test like I always do, I would have been the only one who saw the mistake.
So, what have I learned?
- Proofread links, not just text.
- Never rush when making a correction.
- Always send a test email!
- Always admit mistakes. If they can provide some comic relief, even better.
On that note, here is the Taylor Mali video I believed I’d shared in the correction to the newsletter. Enjoy!
Elizabeth Anne Wood, Ph.D. 