Proofread Your Writing Professionally!

by Janis Butler Holm

It's no secret: editors want perfect copy. In the publishing business, time is money, and no editor wants to spend time correcting an author's careless mistakes. Consequently, the impatient writer--the one who submits material before subjecting it to a rigorous search for errors--can expect rejection after rejection.

Effective proofreading requires a substantial commitment of time, and many writers find it hard to make that commitment. But when we do, and when we use our time wisely, the result is professional-looking copy that demands serious consideration.

If you feel it's time to give your work the chance it deserves, consider these tried-and-true proofreading strategies.

1) Put the document in a readable, generously spaced font.

Many editors require Courier 10 or 12, as the characters in this font are roughly the same size and so easier to isolate during reading. When reading fonts with characters of different widths, the eye tends to skip over the thinner forms.

When your editor does not specify a particular font, it still makes sense to choose reader-friendly characters. If you don't like Courier but aren't sure which of your favorite fonts to use, type the word "minimum" in each one. Choose the font where the letter "i" is clearest in relation to the letters around it.

2) If your work is in a word-processing program, check for hidden commands.

In the process of composing, we sometimes insert invisible extra spaces at the end of a sentence, or we tap in other hidden characters that can later become a problem, especially in electronically transmitted work. To make sure that your manuscript will not hold future formatting surprises, click on the word-processing tool that makes invisible commands visible. Scrutinize your text and delete potential troublemakers.

3) Make a print copy of your work.

Computer screens can be hard on the eyes, and some screens distort the characters on the page. A hard copy will make viewing easier, and its portability is a plus.

4) Use a ruler (or finger) to limit the eye's scope.

Wonderfully receptive organs, our eyes can absorb an astonishing amount of information in a single glance. In proofreading, however, they must focus on a very small field, and, over time, that focus becomes hard to maintain. Keep your eyes from wandering by covering the text below the line to be read.

5) After a general reading, read the document once for each likely mistake.

Because it's hard to see all writing errors at once, it pays to break proofreading down into discrete steps. For example, read once to check only the spellings of compound words; read again to test only pronoun agreement; read again to determine only whether you've used quotation marks correctly.

Though this process may seem time-consuming, it usually proves more efficient and more effective than repeated general readings. When you read for particulars, you're less likely to be distracted by the content of your work.

6) Make clear marks when correcting, and signal these in the margin.

Many writers do a careful job of proofreading--only to miss the mark (literally) at the point of correction. Margin signals make it much more difficult to skip over marked copy.

First, make changes to your text in contrasting ink or pencil; then put "reminder" dots (or checks, or whatever you choose) in the margin, one for each correction to be made to each line. When typing in corrections, cross through each margin dot as you go. (To keep things simple, put all your margin signals in either the right margin or the left.)

7) Space your readings.

Your chances of proofreading attentively increase when you rest between readings. Try to plan your schedule so that you have time for several shorter reading sessions instead of one grueling marathon.

8) Read the document aloud--letter by letter, space by space, comma by comma--preferably with another person.

This process is tedious, and it may be hard to find someone who's willing to suffer through it with you. But when copy must be correct, reading aloud is the best method. Purists even advise reading backward, from the end of the manuscript to the beginning.

9) Have one or more other persons proofread your final copy.

Hand your work over to a knowledgeable friend with an eye for detail. When it comes to proofreading, two or more heads are always better than one. But learn to distinguish between matters of taste and matters of correctness. Your friend, who is only human, may confuse personal preference and stylistic necessity.

10) Proofread your correspondence with the same care you've taken with your manuscript.

Because proofreading is hard work, we're elated when we think we've finally come to the end of our labor. But elation can make for recklessness and haste.

Resist the temptation to whip out a cover letter--take the time to compose it carefully and to proofread it attentively. Editors make judgments based on presentation, and an immaculate letter is far more persuasive than a sloppy one. Like an immaculate manuscript, it signals your ability to deliver.

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