Make no mistake, it’s Proofreading Day today

‘EVERYONE makes mistakes,’ is my motto. I’m the sub-editor for Highway Mail, Northglen News, Berea Mail and Queensburgh News. I read through the articles to check for any errors – I pretty much proofread them, although it goes deeper than that. My boss, Corrinne Louw, the group editor, then checks the work – among many other things.

Today, March 8, is Proofreading Day, a day to consider the importance of proofreading written work and appreciating those who work in the editing and proofreading business.

What is proofreading, and why is it so important? Proofreading is checking written material for grammatical errors, wording issues, spelling mistakes or typos. It’s vital for published material to be proofread to make it easily readable and understood. Mistakes can make reading the material confusing and also takes the reader out of the story or news and makes them lose interest. And, of course, it causes those grammar nerds out there to get a bit peeved, and you don’t want your readers to hate your work.

Before I started at the newspaper, I worked in the book-publishing industry, and I’ve come to realise two important things: Firstly, a well-edited article/book does much better than one where an author thinks they can do their own proofreading. Yes, even professional, best-selling authors who are brilliant at grammar need a proofreader. When you write, you don’t see your own mistakes as easily. It’s a weird phenomenon. I’ve edited work by people with English degrees and higher qualifications. Everyone makes mistakes, and their work needs to be proofread.

Secondly, it is impossible to get the proofreading right 100 percent of the time. As I say, ‘Everyone makes mistakes,’ and that includes the proofreader. Many books have been through multiple editors and still get published with typos and errors. I’ve seen errors in the Harry Potter books. Our brains automatically correct the mistakes in a line that we read. Have you ever been given one of those weird teasers riddled with mistakes and you can still make out what it’s saying? Well, as proofreaders, we have to somehow circumvent that part of our brains. We’re also busy, and well, we’re kind of human, too. And with the multiple layers and rounds of edits, where things get changed back and forth by different people, things get ‘lost in translation’.

Ways to make your written work shine

How can you ensure that your college essay, poem, article or book is proofread sufficiently to make it enjoyable to read and professional? Here are some tips:

1. Download Grammarly or some similar software onto your computer – Grammarly even has a free version. Don’t use Word’s spell and grammar check – please! It’s not good. Make sure you set the dictionary to your version of English – UK or US English. In South Africa, we use UK English. You get versions of Grammarly that work online and in documents. Use both. Yes, it’s not perfect and will sometimes give you some weird suggestions, but it’s better than nothing. I’m guessing the professional paid version is even better, but I haven’t tried it.

2. Get someone to proofread your work – preferably a professional. Getting your mom or friend to do it may not be the best even if they are good at English. Being good at English does not mean you know how to proofread something. But if that’s all you can afford, then it’s better than nothing – you always need another eye on your work.

3. If you can afford it, pay an editor and a proofreader. Having more than one eye see your work helps because what one editor doesn’t pick up, another will most likely find.

4. Once edited, read through your work one more time on a different device than what you usually use. If you usually work on Word, email it to your phone or Kindle and read it there. For some reason, that makes you see things you wouldn’t normally see.

5. If you’ve done the tips above and published your work, don’t let negative reviews and comments get you down. You will always have those Grammar Nazis who will pick something to pieces. For some reason, people enjoy showing writers that they know better than them. Yes, they may pick up valid mistakes, and you should do your best to fix them, but they also haven’t gone through the long and intricate journey of creating your work. They are sitting there on the outside looking in. Appreciate all that you have achieved! And learn from your mistakes. Another thing is that some editors have different grammar preferences from others. For example, one editor may prefer to use commas after adverbial phrases and another may not. There is no definite right or wrong unless your publisher or college has a style guide – then stick to their rules. Yes, grammar is a science, but it’s also an art. So, enjoy the process.

A final note: The good old days were old

Yes, there were the good, old days when apparently English wasn’t corrupted and written material was perfect. Not so fast! Remember that English is an evolving language, and as a writer, you should try your best to keep up with the times. Some online dictionaries show you the latest words that have been added to their database every year – check out Merriam-Webster‘s online. Another place I like to check things is in Urban Dictionary online. Yes, it’s not an official dictionary – you will find all sorts there, even cuss words – but it gives you a feel for colloquial phrases, especially from different English cultures. Follow Grammar Girl’s Quick and Dirty Tips as they’re filled with contemporary grammar insight. Some people think that the old newspapers were better, but that is not always true. Yes, they had some wonderful information and used interesting wording that we could all learn from, but I have found some old articles from the 50s, 60s and 70s papers that had several errors.

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