Proofreaders: A Necessity For Writers

If perhaps you have produced a novel - or any other kind of book - and consequently are now trying to figure out the simplest way to go about having it published, stop! Did you even re-read your work, straightening errors and enhancing any weak areas in your novel? Your reply to this is probably "of course". But have you gone through it more than once? Just as before, you'll probably say "of course". But have you employed someone who specialises in proofreading to look at your writing with a fine-toothed comb? The answer to this particular question for the majority of authors is no. If you're one of those writers and have up to now did not have any luck with your work, it may be just where you're making a mistake.

The truth is, you may well be the best novelist in the world, but since you authored the draft, you're not likely able to point out all the weaknesses contained in the manuscript. You shouldn't simply rely on word processing software either; it will recognise spelling errors, however it really doesn't know when you've overlooked a word, or position ideas in the inappropriate sequence, or inadvertently deleted an entire sentence. The difficult idea that many writers find challenging to deal with is that they also can't count on their own sight to find these kinds of plain errors: as a book writer, you simply are too close to your work to stand back and analyse your book without bias. You could read a sentence through while not being aware of that omitted word, since your mind knows what ought to be there and supplies the blanks for you. It's quite frustrating, but it surely happens.

Then there's the massive, nasty, novel-destroying mistakes that you might not see - or not like to acknowledge you've seen: the cavernous plot holes, the wooden dialogue, the reality that your antagonist is extremely out of character for almost all of chapter five without having any justification. Having someone else to review your book and make a note of any part they don't fully understand - or anything they think doesn't make sense - will undoubtedly be indispensable for you.

A great many authors go with family and friends to 'proofread' their book, though what normally happens is that the relative or pal returns to the author pouring out about how good it is, without really dealing with some of the problems in the book or giving any type of helpful critique. This could be basically because they don't like to hurt you, but usually it's because they don't understand what they're in the hunt for - if they have never edited anything before, how would they know how to proceed?

The solution to this is to use an established proofreader to examine your manuscript for you - sure, they will command money, yet that investment won't be going to waste. In fact, it might be the best money you ever invest in your book, including whatever you pay for your marketing strategy. An expert should be able to evaluate your work fairly, be honest in their opinions, and - even more importantly - they'll know what is required of manuscripts in the publishing industry. They will are aware of the grammar conventions you should be sticking with, they will have an understanding of plot as well as structure work, and they'll be capable to suggest where you can improve that you can never have thought of all by yourself.

Shop on the web for competent proofreaders as well as editors - many will offer you different services for different degrees of editing, and you're likely to find one that's affordable.

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