Being a Writer Is Simple, But Not Easy

Nothing helps you find typos and grammar flubs faster than publishing a fresh, new post. It's maddening.

Nobody sets out to publish their typos or writing mistakes. Most writers try to string words together that inform, educate, or enlighten. The last thing a writer wants is to overlook a typo or a misspelled word. Nothing says “novice” like a published piece with a conspicuous error.

Typos and grammar missteps in published articles are not only distracting, they stand out like a chunk of spinach in a supermodel’s dazzling smile.

Most readers will tolerate an occasional error. Nobody is perfect. But, they will click away if what they get is a minefield of mistakes.

Back in my corporate-communication days, I worked as a copy editor and proofreader. In that capacity, I read a lot of articles written by a team of excellent writers.

One nugget of wisdom I garnered from my tenure in that position is this: Every writer needs a proofreader. Even the best, brightest, and most prolific scribes among us need a fresh set of eyes to review a draft before it is pushed into the spotlight.

Unfortunately, writing is a solitary practice for most people. And finding a proofreader willing to pore over a draft to find errors is a luxury most writers only dream about.

So rather than take the time to self-edit, many eager writers ship the product before giving it a final review. The problem is, when you refuse to do a final typo check, you do a disservice to your readers--the very people you write for.

There's a solution to this conundrum that's is simple. But, be prepared because it's not easy. Before you publish, you have to take the time to pause and carefully proofread your drafts. Simple. Not easy.

Below are a few pointers to help to help you give your draft a final once-over before you share it with the masses:

Give it a rest.

Before you proofread a draft, let it sit and stew for a couple hours. A day is even better. You need distance and time away from it to clear your head so you can see what you've written clearly.

Time away gives you fresh eyes and a clear perspective for the final read-through to see your ideas in a new light.

The best way to give a draft a rest is to do something mindless to distract your creative monkey mind. Step away from the draft and take a walk, binge-watch a new Netflix series, or better yet, take a nap.

After a break, come back to your draft and read it through at least two times. Fix your mistakes, then send it on its way.

Do at least two comprehensive read-throughs

Begin by reading with an eagle’s point of view. Look for structural errors, formatting problems, or misspelled words in the headline and subheads.

Next, get down in the weeds to get a mouse’s point of view. Review every punctuation mark and consider every word choice. Is your draft as clear and concise as it can be? Were you choosy about every word you used, every comma?

Read the draft backward

Start at the end and look at each word individually, out of context. When you read your own piece from beginning to end, your mind fills in the blanks. That’s how details and mistakes slip through.

Read the piece out loud

This is by far the best way to find any errors that you’ve overlooked. Reading aloud to yourself also allows you to hear the rhythm of your writing. Your ear will know immediately if you need to make a quick fix to improve a sentence.

Ask someone else to read your draft

It almost never fails: Fresh eyes find the errors. Consider joining a writing group or finding a partner writer and swapping drafts for quick read-throughs. It’s a win-win: You each get a clean draft with very little time and effort invested.

Use technology

Yes, you should also run your draft through a spell-check program or a writing assistant like Grammarly; however, don’t solely rely on technology to proofread your draft.

A cautionary tale

I once worked with a writer back in my corporate communications days who mistakenly typed the word “pubic” instead of the word “public” in a marketing piece that was a big component of an ad campaign that was targeted to the company’s customers.

The writer was on deadline and cutting corners to get the draft finished. He decided to skip the proofreading part of our publishing process. He chose instead to just do a quick spell-check before he sent the piece to the printing company. Bad decision.

Spell-check didn’t catch his error because pubic was, in fact, spelled correctly. (Grammarly wasn’t available back then, but if it had been, it’s doubtful it would have caught the error, either.)

When the beautifully designed product arrived from the print shop ready to be distributed to customers, a proofreader just happened to pick it up and read it. She caught the glaring error immediately. (Proofreaders are worth their weight in gold!)

Unfortunately, the expensive piece had to be scrapped and tossed in the trash can. One missing letter. One typo. That mistake cost the company a lot of money and time. It was not a good day.

Don’t be that guy. Proofread your work before you send it out (especially if you ever end up writing a fancy marketing piece).

Every missed typo in published pieces sullies your credibility as a writer.

Nathaniel Hawthorne said it best: “Easy reading is damn hard writing.”

Writers who want to be taken seriously know that self-editing and proofreading are part of the writing process. A piece isn’t truly finished until it's reviewed.

No one said writing was supposed to be easy. It's simple, but not easy.