No, not proofreading my own stuff, because no one should ever proofread their own stuff. I mean being paid to proofread another's writing. The pressure I put on myself is rattling, which, of course, doesn't make a good environment for proofreading.
It's easy to get caught up in the minutiae of serial commas while missing the glaring misspelling in the title. It's happened. How about this one: I took the leap of creating a Facebook page for my writing and editing business only to have a huge grammatical gaffe in the About section of Orozco Ink - Writing & Editing. Yes, of course, people saw it. Thank goodness some of them pointed it out to me.
Plus, when proofreading, I get tripped up on elementary things, such as rein or reign. Lie versus lay. Is it effect or affect?
Yes, proofreading can be quite humbling. (Like my Facebook debut.) On the other hand, it can be quite fun and rewarding, too. I love it when I find something buried in the middle of document that could have been a real problem for a client.
Proofreading is hard! We tend to sometimes read it the way it should be written, rather than the way it is written -- particularly when it's our own writing. At least that's what I do! Getting paid to proofread must add a lot of pressure, and that isn't conducive to being able to do our best job. I love your honesty, Amy! It just makes you more human like the rest of us.
ReplyDeleteLinda
Thank you Linda. I'm keeping an eye out for some proofreading courses. I figure taking one will make me better at the task, which will help me relax.
ReplyDeleteProofreading your own work is its own challenge in and of itself. I never see my own mistakes because my brain just automatically corrects it to what I intended for it to say. I can only imagine how much pressure you feel when proofreading someone else's. But like you said, it is gratifying to find something someone else has overlooked.
ReplyDeleteLisa, thank you for your comment. I know what you mean about the brain automatically correcting. Sometimes I read from the last page as a way to combat that.
DeleteProofreading is an art. we had our book edited, and then edited and proofread and then again and again. still, we are finding new items that were missed. it takes a very discerning eye and talent to proofread in a way that leaves few errors undetected!
ReplyDeleteThank you for your comment, Michelle. I'm not sure what type of undetected error bothers me most -- the flat out typo, the misuse of a word, a missing word ...
DeleteWith blogging being so popular nowadays, proofreading has become a real struggle at times. Like it was mentioned in other comments proofreading your own work can be a challenge because you read it how it should've been written without ever realizing that we left a word out. I know this has happened to me before.
ReplyDeleteIt has happened to all of us! Must be a law of nature, one of those they don't teach us in school ... like Murphy's Law.
DeleteOh man, I'm happy to hear that proofreading is hard for the professionals as well. It can just be such a chore, but it's so important!
ReplyDeleteIt really is so important. In addition to checking for errors, it's good to make sure you are sending the message you want the recipient(s) to receive.
DeleteOh gosh, I thought I was a terrible student and person for not liking proof reading. It really makes me fell better to have read your blog :)
ReplyDeleteThank you Amy!
Glad you feel better, Dan. A few years back I read an article hypothesizing that one is not a bad speller if s/he knows they are not good at spelling because s/he would know to check the spelling. I think the theory applies to proofreading.
ReplyDeleteProofreading, grammar, and spelling are not my strong points. Thanks for writing this, it makes me feel better : )
ReplyDeleteLinda, thank you for reading and commenting. I appreciate it.
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