To all budding freelancers (the unsung gunslingers of the publishing game), here’s an important rule: Never trust press releases to be completely accurate. Here’s a case example to illustrate why:

Some time ago, I came across a press release for a National Geographic Channel program called The Legacy of LSB Leaky, a profile of British archeologist Louis Seymour Bazett Leakey. The important thing to notice: the ‘e’ at the end of Leakey (the proper spelling of the archeologist’s last name). The release had used the word leaky (without an ‘e’ at the end), which is an adjective meaning having a leak or leaks, as well as given to disclosing secrets. So the way the press release stood, the program sounded like a profile of someone who either went around telling secrets or might have a bladder control problem. So unless you want to cause people to perhaps lose control of theirs by causing laughter, keep a critical eye on press releases. Good writing keeps us all dry.