This new book could help you avoid silly mistakes when you talk and write
You’ve penned a pitch to a prospective client. You’ve hit the send button. It’s a week later and you are starting to think you’ve been ghosted. What if your pitch was spot on, but your choice of words or grammar made you come off less skilled or professional?
But what do you expect when there are 600 commonly confused words to trip you up?
The Little Book of Confusables, written by Gloucestershire copywriter Sarah Townsend, claims it exists to help smart people avoid stupid mistakes. The desktop essential contains memorable spelling tips and usage examples for almost 600 commonly confused words.
“These days, we all write emails and social posts – whether we consider ourselves to be confident writers or not. This book will help us avoid those embarrassing mistakes we all dread making – like asking someone to ‘BARE with me’ – as well as boosting vocabulary and increasing writing confidence,” says Townsend.
“However confident you are as a writer – and however good your grasp of the English language – we all have blind spots. Whether that’s LICENSE vs LICENCE, ACUTE vs CHRONIC, or YOUR vs YOU’RE,” she says.
The Little Book of Confusables also contains phrases that are often misspelled, such as DOGGY DOG WORLD, OFF YOUR OWN BACK and WHITE AS A SHEEP.
Learn while having fun
While some people choose to be outraged by ‘shocking falling standards of English’, Sarah says she prefers to see the growing number of mistakes as an opportunity for learning. On the basis that we learn best when we’re having fun, The Little Book of Confusables was designed to amuse, entertain and inform.
According to Leif Kendall, Director of ProCopywriters – the book promises to be “incredibly useful for anyone who reads, writes and speaks”.
WHAT PEOPLE ARE SAYING
“I’ve been working with words for 20+ years and I still get plenty of these mixed up. Now, with this great little book on my desk, everything is clear!”
Tom Albrighton, Author, How to Write Clearly
“Smart, witty, pithy, astute and informative. A great present for your line manager, who struggles with syntax and spelling.”
Guy Horne, Managing Director, H&A Media
“Every sub-editor should have a copy of The Little Book of Confusables on their desk.”
Rebecca Lowe, Poet, Journalist and Editor
“This book is amazing – no matter how many years you’ve been writing and no matter how much of a grammar nerd you are. The Little Book of Confusables will be one of those books you keep next to your computer at all times.”
Anna Gunning, Director, Gunning Marketing