PROOFREADING- NEVER SKIP THIS STEP
MORGAN ST. JAMES
Proof reading is one of the most important things a writer can do. Submitting work with multiple errors is like going out of the house with your shirt buttoned wrong, wearing two different shoes or simply looking like a slob. Did you really think no one would notice?
P ublishers want compelling, well written work and the content represents the bones of your creation, so it is extremely important. However, like it or not, the way a paper looks definitely affects the way others judge it and you as a writer. Let’ s face it. You ' ve worked hard to develop and present your book or article. Why risk letting careless errors distract from what you have labored so hard to create. Shouldn’ t you dedicate a reasonable amount of time to paying attention to the details that help you to make a good impression?
WORDS TO THE WISE
The late Carolyn Hayes Uber, who was CEO of Stephens Press, wisely said: " AMEN. As I review submissions, a terribly sloppy manuscript gives rise to the thought that
1) It would be too much work to fix this MS and
2) What would it be like to work with such a negligent author?
Is that the first impression you want?"
In my opinion, now that the art of texting has spawned“ creative spelling,” it is even more important to make sure that pieces submitted for the net or print have been proofed. Imagine how easily that could have read“ been proffed” if I hadn’ t checked. Would I have seemed like a competent writer?
I DIDN’ T SEE ANY ERRORS
Believe me. Those errors are all lurking there, just waiting to detract from your work: the misspelled, extra or missing letters, actual missing or extra words, sentences that go nowhere, paragraphs created in the middle of a sentence. Yep. They hope you’ ll just slide by them and if you do, the person you submit your masterpiece to might also slide by the whole thing.
WRITERS’ TRICKS OF THE TRADE
PAGE
23
FALL 2018