1. Utilize an editor.
The most common mistakes are minor, such as misspellings or incorrect use of punctuation. Other common errors are incorrect word use (their, they're, there; worse, worst, borscht; etc.). A professional editor is adept at noticing and correcting these kinds of mistakes. If your professional writing will be seen by many — a website or an emailed newsletter — do not make the mistake of relying solely upon a computerized spell-checker, which cannot tell if “worse” or “worst” is being used correctly, as both are properly spelled. Use a human editor.
2. Get a second and third set of eyes.
Since you are overly familiar with your own work, you are much more likely to miss obvious mistakes because your mind already knows what it is supposed to say, rather than what it actually says. Even if you do not wish to pay a professional, anyone who reviews your writing will invariably find mistakes that you will miss. When others read your work, they don’t have any preconceived notions about your writing. At the same time, human behavior will often motivate them to find fault. Use that to your advantage. In addition to finding mistakes, other people may offer helpful suggestions to make your business writing stronger.
3. Come back to it later.
How long do you wait after writing to begin editing? Many writers edit their work as they write it. Not only does this slow down the creative process, it increases the chance that your mind will ignore blatant errors in deference to your intentions. Once your brain thinks a paragraph is free from errors, it tends to overlook any new errors that are introduced during the rewriting process. Put your writing away for several hours, days, or weeks (depending on your deadlines) and revisit it later. After some time away from your work, you will be more likely to read the words as they appear on the page, not as you envisioned them in your mind. The mind may be error free, but the page is not.
4. Read your material backwards.
Fortunately, you are only familiar with your writing in one direction — forward. Reading your material backwards makes it seem entirely different and fools your mind into ignoring the intention and only concentrating on the reality. Furthermore, your critical view of the writing at its most technical level will not be corrupted by the flowing exposition you have massaged into sparkling prose. When you read your manuscript backwards, it becomes a collection of words without contextual meaning. The brain has nothing to focus on other than the words themselves, and so, any mistakes will literally jump off the page.
5. Read your material out loud.
When you read words aloud, your brain must slow down and concentrate on the material. How fast can you read the following sentence? The quick brown fox jumped over the lazy dogs. Now how fast can you read it out loud? It typically takes at least twice as long to read something out loud, and those precious milliseconds sometimes make all the
As a writer, what is your worst fear? Is it publishing something littered with mistakes? Don’t make good writing bad or bad writing worse by failing to catch errors before publication. Your writing career, your business, and your readers will thank you.
About the Author
Brent Sampson is the best-selling author of Sell Your Book on Amazon and the award-winning Self-Publishing Simplified. As the president & CEO of Outskirts Press, Brent offers turn-key, on-demand custom book publishing services to authors seeking a cost-effective, fast, and powerful way to publish and distribute their books worldwide. Outskirts Press has helped thousands of authors realize their dreams of publishing profitably, with affordable publishing, writing, editing, and marketing options. Call 888-672-6657 or visit www.outskirtspress.com.