diff --git a/smog.el b/smog.el
index 0a8d9cf..627a545 100644
--- a/smog.el
+++ b/smog.el
@@ -145,7 +145,8 @@ Further details can be found in the =style(1)= man page.\n"
 	  (smog-target (buffer-file-name (current-buffer))))
       ;; run the shell command. synchronously.
       (shell-command
-       (format "%s '%s'" smog-command smog-target) smog-output)
+       (mapconcat #'shell-quote-argument (list smog-command smog-target) " ")
+       smog-output)
       ;; output the results and add references (in org-mode if it's available)
       (with-current-buffer smog-output
 	(goto-char (point-min))