When I was in elementary school, I was one of those kids who got little notices on her report card that said, "follows directions well." I’m starting to wonder if I’m the only one.
This week, I’ve been working on a big project for a client that involves compiling company information that was submitted by various vendors for a buyer’s guide. The information is useful to folks in that industry and the listings are free to the vendors.
So I’ve been working on the roughly 120 submissions I’ve received over the last couple weeks. The solicitation for the free listing had five requirements. The listing had to be informative but limited to 100 words. It was supposed to be free of hype and jargon and include complete contact information (address, phone etc.)
It all seemed pretty clear-cut to me. You write something about your company along the lines of "Logical Expressions, Inc. offers writing, editing, and design services." Or for a product, "With the Logical Web Publisher, you can put your newsletter on the Web just by cutting and pasting."
But no, I got 700-word dissertations with laundry lists of bullets, endless arcane lingo, and bloated marketing speak. And NO contact information. It’s just plain sad. I have had to literally look up every single company Web site to find out what on earth some of these people are actually talking about. The product blurb didn’t require editing; they required full-scale rewriting.
This situation really makes me wonder about the reading comprehension skills out there in the big world. On the other hand, it means that editors like me will always be in demand. Can you say job security?