You are not a bad writer if you find mistakes in your edited, proofread, and published book. Think about the last book you read. Did you find mistakes? I just finished a wonderful book that is an INTERNATIONAL best-seller. I found one typo and one subject-verb agreement error. This author has benefited from multiple rounds of editing in multiple countries with multiple publishers. Why are those two mistakes there?
Humans, y'all.
We are flawed people. Computers may cause us to expect perfection, but computers are run by humans. Human error is normal, should be expected, and should be FORGIVEN. We aren't immortal, and we aren't superheroes.
Writers are often taken aback when they spot errors in the first printing of their books. Stop writer-shaming and editor-shaming and start using methods to error-proof your work to the best of your human abilities. While professional editing is the best investment you can make, you can cut the cost and speed up the timeline by using simple proofreading methods to identify and correct errors long before your pages open on an editor's screen.
I work on several book projects each year. In those projects, I budget time and dollars for proofreaders at different stages but always on screen after I line edit and on paper with physical proof copies). I've yet to reach perfection. Authors tend to memorize their own work. Think I'm crazy? Grab your latest project and choose a paragraph. I bet you can recite that paragraph or at least begin it and finish the point aloud without looking at the screen or page.
I also work on many small projects a year (web content, marketing content, freelance articles, curriculum). Those clients may not have the time or budgets for proofreading at multiple points in the project. Sometimes, I have just two or three days to complete a project. Obviously, I want to provide high-quality work, so I use a few funky tricks and techniques to spot and hear errors. Give these a shot and let me know what you think.
Jody's easy, strange, and $$$ FREE proofreading methods:
- Have your computer read aloud. LISTEN for repetition, unclear writing, and mistakes.
- Read your work aloud.
- Read your work aloud to someone else. Get that ego involved and you'll hear imperfections and opportunities for improvement that you may never see.
- Print your work on paper and read it aloud.
- Spell check as a last step. Remember that when you make changes you may also make new mistakes.
There you go! I hope that helps you find, hear, and see mistakes so you can write your way toward perfection. But don't be hard on yourself. You are only human, after all.
xoxoxo
Jody
