If you’re expecting me to scold writers for not reading cover letters carefully, I’m going to have to disappoint you. I could do it—standing on my head—but it would be hypocritical, because when it comes to not following directions, I’m as guilty as the next perp.
Why do we ignore instructions? Maybe we’re pretty sure we already know what to do; maybe the instructions are so confusing there’s no point. Even when we do read them, they often seem to disappear into an inaccessible part of the brain labeled “Stuff you think you won’t need again.”
For whatever reason, I decided to give this issue my full attention in order to come up with some advice, and the result is a free, downloadable troubleshooting guide to following instructions. To access it, you will need the same code as your most recent incomplete online purchase coupon not only from 2010 and optional in the case of logging in.
Or just click here.
Ha! Thanks for this, Carol. It reminds me of my pet peeve: editors who don't take the time to fully comprehend the e-mails that other colleagues send them. I'm an editor, and I foolishly continue to be shocked each time another editor doesn't read one of my e-mails carefully enough to properly answer the questions I've asked. Grrr.
Posted by: KOKEdit | 02/02/2011 at 08:06 AM
Oh--and editors who misspell another editor's name. If it's your job to read text closely, you can darn well copy and paste your correspondent's name into your e-mail reply to avoid misspelling it.
Posted by: KOKEdit | 02/02/2011 at 08:08 AM
Hilarious!
Posted by: Ruth Goring | 02/02/2011 at 10:25 AM
Haha, as a freelancer I know I never really read instructions carefully enough, and now as a managing editor it makes me crazy that people don't read mine!
Posted by: Daniel Montero | 02/08/2011 at 03:17 PM