The Proof Fairy » tips http://www.theprooffairy.com working magic with words Mon, 30 Jan 2012 18:20:55 +0000 en hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v= 5 Tips to help you with proofreading http://www.theprooffairy.com/proofreading/proofreading-tips/ http://www.theprooffairy.com/proofreading/proofreading-tips/#comments Wed, 30 Mar 2011 09:44:14 +0000 Alison http://theprooffairy.wordpress.com/?p=320 Almost all businesses use the written word to promote themselves and most people rely on their spellchecker … but that can be a big mistake!

See, spell checkers are okay, but they’re not infallible. Much of the language we use is based on context, so a spell checker will not know if you’ve used . . . → Read More: 5 Tips to help you with proofreading]]> Almost all businesses use the written word to promote themselves and most people rely on their spellchecker … but that can be a big mistake!

See, spell checkers are okay, but they’re not infallible. Much of the language we use is based on context, so a spell checker will not know if you’ve used “compliment” when you meant “complement”. It won’t be able to tell that you’ve missed the “d” off the end of “and”, or that there’s a word missing from a sentence. And it will often throw up odd grammatical suggestions that will turn your paragraph into nonsense.

And you can’t guarantee that YOU will be able to spot your own mistakes either! It’s true – when you’ve thought of the words, researched the words, written the words and proofread the words, you will see what you expect to see, not what is actually on the page. Here are five tips to help you spot those annoying typos and errors in your writing:

1. Read the text out loud. This forces you to read every word on the page; it’s much easier to skip over things if you read in your head.

2. Don’t proofread a document as soon as you finish writing it. Take some time away so the words are not as fresh in your mind.

3. If you’re checking a string of numbers, check them backwards as well as forwards. Or get someone else to read them out while you check them.

4. Print out documents rather than proofreading on-screen – it’s much easier to spot errors on paper.

5. Use the dictionary! Don’t be ashamed to look up a word up if you’re not sure of its spelling.


However, my most important tip would be to get someone else to proofread for you. A second pair of eyes is essential to prevent you letting typos go out unchecked. If you don’t have anyone around, consider using a professional proofreader; my Pay As You Go Proofreading Service will help make your life typo free for a very small price!

]]> http://www.theprooffairy.com/proofreading/proofreading-tips/feed/ 0 Make proofreading part of the process, not an afterthought! http://www.theprooffairy.com/proofreading/proofreading-vitalpart-of-the-process/ http://www.theprooffairy.com/proofreading/proofreading-vitalpart-of-the-process/#comments Tue, 05 Oct 2010 11:39:11 +0000 Alison http://www.theprooffairy.com/?p=546 I know I probably bang on about the importance of proofreading a little too much but it really should be a vital part of the process whenever you create marketing materials – and not just an afterthought. Time and time again I find evidence that proofreading after the event can be an expensive exercise!

. . . → Read More: Make proofreading part of the process, not an afterthought!]]> I know I probably bang on about the importance of proofreading a little too much but it really should be a vital part of the process whenever you create marketing materials – and not just an afterthought. Time and time again I find evidence that proofreading after the event can be an expensive exercise!

The latest high profile case of this was featured in The Guardian on Saturday. The story led like this:

The American author Jonathan Franzen might justly be called a perfectionist: his latest opus, Freedom, took nine years of painstaking effort to complete inside a spartan writing studio – and is now being widely acclaimed as a modern masterpiece.

So it is particularly unfortunate that, thanks to an apparent mistake by his typesetters, the version published in Britain has been found to be littered with errors.

In a highly embarrassing move, publishers HarperCollins were today forced to offer to exchange thousands of copies after Franzen revealed that the UK edition of a novel dubbed “the book of the century” is based on an early draft manuscript, and contains hundreds of mistakes in spelling, grammar and characterisation.

The publishers are alleging that the copy of the book that went to print was in fact an early draft, not the final version. Incredible really – it only takes a simple numerical renaming of every draft to see easily which the latest one is – but then, mistakes do happen.

So how will this impact on HarperCollins? It could prove very expensive for them if they are to recall all 80,000 copies. Fellow publisher Jonathan Blake comments:

HarperCollins is not planning a full scale recall of the 80,000 hardback copies in bookshops for logistical reasons. Such a print run would have cost the publisher around £70,000, with distribution and other costs ramping the amount up to around £100,000.

In other words, unless purchasers specifically request a replacement, the incorrect books will remain on the shelves! Before you rush out to stock up and sell them on eBay, there’s little chance that they will become valuable or collectible though, with such a high print run.

(Full article here)

Clkoser to home, I have dealt with clients who made similar mistakes – and it has cost them dearly. One company asked me to proofread the copy for a new website – but not till after the site had gone live. The site was littered with mistakes so not only did they have to pay me for the proofreading, they also had to recall the web designer, whose bill for editing the site wasn’t small.

And I’ve lost count of the number of people I meet who have errors in their marketing materials. They know they’re there, but they didn’t get them properly checked before the artwork went to print. And with most businesses running on tight budgets, there’s not a lot you can do with 5,000 incorrect leaflets other than hand them out despite the typos!

So okay, this is a business plug, but it’s also a very inexpensive tip too. Before you send anything off to print, get it checked first!

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