Common Writing Mistakes

Sometimes we make mistakes because, well, they’re mistakes. Something we didn’t learn, something we didn’t think about...

Self-editing covers the other kind of mistake, the ones where you knew better but just had an “oops” moment. Or two. Or 20.

Did someone ever read something you wrote and point out a dumb mistake that just made you go, “How’d I miss that?”
Did you ever click "send" on an email or a text and then see typos?
Did you ever write a timed essay, perhaps in a classroom, then leave the room, then think five minutes later, “Oh wait, how did I forget to mention that?”
Did you ever work with an editor, look at all the corrections, and think, “I know that. How did I miss it?”

If your reader sees a whole lot of that, he’ll wonder, “Doesn’t this author even care?” An editor could be so overwhelmed with those surface things that they can’t even think about the in-depth editing that makes a good manuscript great.

If an acquisitions editor has several manuscripts that are similar, he’s probably going to choose the one that requires the least amount of work to send it to the readers. We want that manuscript to be yours.

So how do we teach you to self-edit your own work, as a proofreader, and clean up all the stuff that you know how to clean up?

After you finish writing your masterpiece, put it away for a while. This could be weeks or even months. You want to look at it with “fresh eyes.” Instead of seeing what you meant to write, you want to see what you actually did write. This is why it’s so much easier to edit someone else’s manuscript than your own.
Print your manuscript and proofread it on paper. Away from the computer. You’ll see more. I mark the printout with a pen, then go back to the computer to tinker, then print and repeat as needed. (If you already edit on paper, try a different font and see if that helps.)
Read it aloud. You’ll hear things that you’re not seeing, things that are just “wrong” somehow, and find a way to fix them.
Use the spelling and grammar features in your word processor. They aren’t perfect, but if you know the rules, you can decide which suggestions to accept and which to ignore.
If there are certain mistakes you know you make often, you can look for them. Too many dialogue tags, perhaps, or overuse of certain words. (I overuse “that.” Hello, Search feature in Word.)
Print it again. You missed something. You don’t have to use new paper for this. You can print on the back. Save your money and some trees. Ink cartridges are a racket, aren’t they?

Professional Proofreading Service

Contact michaeledits3@gmail.com