Writing a book is tough. You’ve poured your heart and soul into the project, but it’s not finished until someone else reads it. This is where editors come in—as readers, proofreaders, and editors. Even if you’re a novelist or memoirist who doesn’t want to pay an editor for their services (and we understand why!), there are still ways that you can learn how to be a better proofreader and editor yourself. And if you are afraid of proofreading and editing, try hiring professional book writers.
Here are our top 7 tips:
7 Proofreading Tips
Read your work aloud.
This is an essential step because it will help you spot grammar, word choice, and spelling mistakes. Reading your book backward also allows you to hear how it sounds when a professional editor or reader reads it out loud before submitting the manuscript for publication.
Read your book backward.
While this may sound counterintuitive at first, it can be beneficial if you don’t know what’s coming next in a scene or chapter; instead of waiting until after everything has been written before reading through again with fresh eyes, flip through pages from back-to-front so that every turn of phrase or dialogue exchange appears on its page when read out loud later.* Read each line three times: once quickly for comprehension; then again slowly with careful attention paid to each word choice; finally again quickly for accuracy.* If working with someone else editing their work (rather than hiring an outside editor), make sure they read correctly too!
Get a Second Opinion
The second opinion might be unnecessary, but it’s usually a good idea. The person who reads your manuscript will be able to see things you missed in the first round of revisions and give you some perspective on what other writers might have done when they wrote similar books (or if there’s something weird about your plot or characters).
If you want to get two different opinions, it helps to choose two people who are familiar with the same genre as your novel but don’t know much about it. This way, both people can look at their work with fresh eyes and spot any potential problems before they get too far along in their work—which could save them from making embarrassing mistakes!
Editing for Grammar
Grammar is the part of your writing that makes it sound like you know what you’re talking about, and there are some simple tricks to help you avoid mistakes.
- Use a grammar checker. Most programs will do this automatically, but if not, there are many apps available for free that can help catch any errors in your work before it’s sent out for publication.
- Use a thesaurus and dictionary when needed (and write about something new!). This will ensure that readers will understand what you mean when they read what’s on their screens or papers; also, look up words from time to time so as not to sound repetitive when speaking or writing (i.e., don’t say “you should” every other sentence).
- Try out different books about grammar; some authors have written entire books dedicated solely to explaining how best one should use specific constructions within sentences/paragraphs, etcetera.
Take Breaks
- Rest your eyes with a good book, video game, or Netflix marathon.
- Put on some music you like and get lost in it for a while.
- Take a nap! Or sit down somewhere quiet and relax for 10 minutes before getting back to work on the second draft of your manuscript (or whatever other project you’re working on).
Ask Someone to Look Through Your Work
One of the best things to do is ask someone unfamiliar with your work to read it. This will help you see your work from a different perspective, and it may even surprise you! If you want to ensure they don’t understand everything, say, “I’m worried that it’s too technical. Can you look at this part first?”
You can also ask anyone—a friend or family member might be willing to give their opinion when they know what they’re working on.
Use Online Programs
There are many online programs that you can use to proofread your book. They will provide you with the same benefits as a human proofreader, but they don’t cost anything, and they usually have a free trial version so you can see how it works before buying it. These programs include Grammarly and StyleWriter 2.0 (available for both Macs and PCs).
These programs are great for checking for grammar errors as well as spelling mistakes and punctuation errors such as missing commas or using the wrong kind of quotation marks around dialogue or thoughts from characters in your story. If you’re also interested in checking for plagiarism, try Find Plagiarism, which does this automatically without requiring any additional steps!
Use Your Eyes and Ears
- Read the text out loud.
- Find a word in your text that you don’t know how to spell or pronounce and look it up in a dictionary or thesaurus.
- If you don’t have access to these resources, use Google Image Search to find an image similar to what you’re looking for (e.g., “the word” instead of “the word”). This will help give context when reading aloud, so everyone understands what they’re reading!
In a nutshell
If you want to learn how to proofread and edit your work, here are some steps that can help:
- Follow the rules of the English language.
- Read the whole text carefully before making any corrections or changes.
- Reread it differently—this time focusing on what might be wrong for someone else (who has read the book) to understand what’s happening quickly.
Conclusion:
This article has looked at what it takes to become a better proofreader and editor. We’ve covered the basic steps of proofreading your work and editing it for grammar mistakes. We also discussed the importance of getting multiple opinions on your work before submitting it, taking breaks when you need them most, and using online resources like Grammarly for Microsoft Word to help you improve your writing skills over time.
