“Spelling is the least important part of writing” -—
Self serving but true.
I suck at spelling!
Sarah did well, but I do notice style.
Message is most important, but message is not a bunch of facts, a good message is one that compels us to do something, or think a certain way, based on relevant facts.
Style is next. Does anyone want to READ your message? Is it boring? Is it pedantic? Is it haughty? Is it sophomoric? -— Does it challenge us to remember that which we already should know? Does it bring out emotions and feelings and speak the words that we already believe, but had not crafted yet, in our own minds?
Does it have cadence, rhythm, is it fun, does it compel us to read every word, to the very end? Does it feel like poetry, even though the words do not rhyme and the sentences are different lengths? Palin did just fine.
I can find a mistake on any page of any newspaper, any day of the week.
... are you sitting down?
"momento."
Seeing as how I usually spend as much time crafting the first sentence as I do writing the rest of the story, and that particular lead (I reject the pretentious and arcane use of the word "lede," which is used by guys like Hugh Hewitt, 'nuff said) was pretty good and would have made for a GREAT clipping to send with a query, had it been usable ..... well, you can guess what I wanted to do to that editor. Death was too good for him.