Blogger: Mary Keeley
I was asked to proofread a newsletter this week. Because it had already passed through two sets of professional editorial eyes, I doubted I would find anything wrong, but I agreed to give it another pass because over the years I have learned it’s always good to check, recheck, and then check again.
Your manuscript goes through three stages of editing in most traditional publishing houses. The first is the developmental, or macro, edit. Big-picture issues such as plot, POV, and character development are addressed here. The second and third stages are the focus of today’s discussion.
When the developmental issues are resolved and the author has made requested revisions, if any, the manuscript progresses to detailed editing. These editors are called line editor and copy editor in some publishing houses or copy editor and proofreader at other houses. The roles and functions of the last two stages are blurred and may overlap, which is a good thing because these editors provide a check and check again for each other. In between, you, the author, will have the opportunity to be the recheck person when the editor sends you galleys to review.
And yet after all this, errors may slip through the cracks and appear on the printed page or e-reader screen. You’ve all seen them and probably wondered how the publisher could have missed correcting it. I cringe when I see the rare error in a Bible because I know how much detailed scrutiny a Bible goes through. The answer is that we’re human and we’re not perfect. If human error can cause a plane to crash, it surely can overlook a misused word.
Because we’re human, we need all the editorial help we can get.
You might be wondering if I found any errors in the newsletter. Since it had already gone through a professional check and recheck, I approached it with a cursory glance. Until the third paragraph. There it was, the first of four errors I eventually found in the document. Once I discovered the first one, I was on high alert. I hope I caught all of the remaining errors.
The main point in all this is that, while I stress the need for you to check, recheck, and then check again, realize that editorial professionals do so as well. If the experts can miss errors, so can you. For those who self- or indie-publish, the editing falls fully on your shoulders. Self-published books have notorious reputation for being poorly written and riddled with poor grammar, punctuation, and spelling. If the authors of those books had been diligent to check, recheck, and then check again, or had hired a freelance editor to cover the editorial stages, their chances of attracting an agent, and then a publisher, would have been much improved.
Some of the detail errors I have encountered in proposals recently include wrong use of a word, overuse of colloquial phrases, clichés used by a male character that are more commonly attributed to women, a teenager’s slang that hasn’t been used since the last generation, and contemporary slang used by a character in a historical novel. Not to mention grammar, punctuation, and spelling errors.
Do yourself and your work a favor by seeking multiple editorial detail reviews from your critique partners—on a reciprocal basis. Even better, invest in a good freelance editor for one of the reviews before you can have confidence your proposal is ready to submit.
Do you have a group of experienced writer friends with whom you can share good detail proofreading? What errors have your critique partners or an editor pointed out to you? Have you ever made any of the mistakes I mentioned above? Did you notice my error in this post?
TWEETABLES:
Check, recheck, and then check again. A motto for writers when editing and polishing a manuscript. Click to Tweet.
Being human, writers—even editors—can miss errors. Check, recheck, and then check again. Click to Tweet.
Auto-correct is my friend and my enemy. It sneaks in new errors when I’m not looking.
I proofread better off paper than on screen. I read your post on screen, Mary, and it looked fine. The computer is my speed zone where words fly by too fast to notice an unnecessary comma or the wrong homophone. To edit, I have to leave the electronic highway and slowly make my way along the paper footpath.
Shirlee, I know what you mean. I catch things on paper more readily too. It points to the added value of editors and authors reviewing printed galleys.
Ha ha! Mary, you sent this post out just when I needed it. I finally finished up a proposal I’d been working on a long time this week and am eager to send it out. I went over the manuscript one last time and am just waiting to get my proposal back from my best friend who has a meticulous eye for detail. She has taken several days. I was just considering sending it anyway, without her input, when I read your post… Perhaps I should wait and get my Hubby’s opinion as well. He is great at noticing spelling and grammatical errors. I am not. You just might have stopped a train wreck here. Thanks so much.
Kristen, thanks for the reminder that patience is key. I’m moving toward the stage of writing and sending out a proposal, and I can see myself getting impatient to just get it out there.
I’ll take your cue and make sure eyes are on it first. 🙂
Kristen, yours is a great case in point. You are blessed to have multiple sets of eyes for detail. What one misses another will catch.
F-a-v-o-U-r, not favor.
No need to send flowers, your thanks is enough. Because I’m that humble.
Ahem.
This post comes at a time in which I’m “turning the ship”, as the old salts say. I got a really, really substantial edit back and let us just say, I’m glad my husband understands the submission and publishing process. Whether the field is scientific or fictional, “do this again”, “you can’t use that here” and “come on, I know you have it in you to give me more than this” are not exactly the “I want to bow in your presence” I was hoping for.
My CP had my MS, and when I got those edits back, I suggested she hold off until I was done tweaking the EEK and got the revised stuff to her.
It’s a good thing I don’t faint at a politely indicated example of my Pulitzer-esque work, or I’d spend my days in bubble wrap. You see, we have wood floors and they hurt.
Jennifer, sorry, that isn’t the error. It may be favour in French-influenced Canada, but it’s favor in the US. But I’m sending mental flowers your way anyway. Can you see them in your mind’s eye?
If no one has found the error by later this afternoon, I will reveal it.
Kudos to your editor, who did you the great service of a detailed review. Given the fact an author has a good editor whom he or she trusts, a review full of comments and corrections means two things: (1) the editor scrutinized it thoroughly, and (2) by following the editor’s direction, your book will be much improved in content and polishing. It’s all good.
I think I caught it–a missing “a.” I was so relieved to read your last question and find out you’d done it on purpose.
My editor recently pointed out to me the incongruity of a sentence like this: Slipping out of the car, she picked up the pebbles.
I write sentences like that to add variety, but she noted that the construction indicates the actions take place simultaneously. These don’t. I’m taking care not to mistake this same mistake in my current manuscript.
And there I go–not proofing my comment before I submit it. That should be “taking care not to make this same mistake…”
How easy it is for these things to happen.
Johnnie, I caught a few of those on my MS, too. I’ve gotten to where I go over (try to) all my phrases with a fine tooth comb. 🙂
Johnnie, kudos to you. YOU FOUND IT! Yes, a missing “a” in paragraph six, the fourth sentence: “Self-published books have [a] notorious reputation…” You win a pat on the back, a hearty handshake, and a recommendation as an eagle-eye proofreader.
Excellent example of incongruence. I have to catch myself frequently on this error when trying to write tightly.
Yay! Did I appreciate the back pat, handshake, and recommendation, but didn’t I read something about a new car??? LOL!
Johnnie, that mention of a new car was erroneous information. 🙂
How embarrassing–I did it again. Honestly, I know how to proof 🙂 Today has been a distracting day, though. We have a newborn alpaca baby who is absolutely adorable. Find me on Facebook to see photos!
Mary, I appreciate your post. I read it twice and didn’t find the error. I used to consider myself a pretty good proofreader, but I’m realizing there are things I miss, and rules that I’m not aware of.
I like the idea of sharing the proofreading with other experienced writers. I don’t have this, but I’m going to start looking for people I can trade off with for proofing our works.
When I got a critique at ACFW last fall, the author who did it caught me on a few things, so now I’m much more aware of those.
I have a question for you. How much grace does an agent give in terms of grammatical and punctuation errors when looking through queries and proposals?
Jeanne, typically if an agent sees a couple of basic errors on the first page and several more on the next page, it indicates the writer isn’t yet ready for publication. Speaking only for myself, that issue can be overcome if the book has a powerful hook, the writing is outstanding, and the writer appears teachable and willing to hire editorial help for his or her manuscript.
It is truly amazing how we can read a sentence missing a small word, and our brain places it there for us. But I read a book more recently that had probably some twenty errors … obvious errors … and my heart cringed. Cringed for the writer. I would have cried. When I submit an article, after many reviews, I refuse to look at it again because I know if I see an error, an ill feel will sweep over me and linger. One thing I’ve found to be helpful is to walk away from the project a day or so … give your eyes time to rest … and then do a fresh review. And repeat that process at least 20 times. 🙂 It’s one thing to edit an article, but taking on a full manuscript is one massive editorial job. It’ll do a bruising number on your eyes. 🙂 But it’s glorious! I so enjoy it.
Shelli, I’m with you. I would cringe if I found a number of errors in my book. And I would probably feel frustrated too.
I agree. Taking a break from the book does refresh the eyes and the perspective. Great point.
Shelli, great advice to step away from your work for several days and then go back to it with fresh eyes. It’s amazing what you catch then, isn’t it. And on the 20th time as well.
“On the 20th time as well” … sadly, amen to that! 🙂
Here’s another thing that helps me spot my errors: I read the text aloud.
Error alert! Shelly, I think you meant to say an ill feeling, not feel. 😉
Ha ha. Error alert on you, Janet. You spelled Shelli’s name incorrectly.
Mary, I could pretend I did that on purpose, but Christians aren’t supposed to lie.
I was so embarrassed recently when I sent a query letter to an agent who had very specific instructions, leading me to cut and paste my well-crafted query. In doing so, I inadvertently left a word hanging in the wrong place. (CRINGE). I had checked it so many times!
Not expecting a positive response there.
How easily these things can happen. Sheila, in this case it’s only the query. If the rest of your query is polished and free of errors, the agent might overlook it and request your proposal if it’s something he or she finds interesting. Don’t count it out yet.
Je ai trouvé l’erreur!!!
Je pense.
I think i found the error. But I won’t say anything, because I want the prize. It’s a new car, right?
Yes, a new car, that’s it. In your dreams. 🙂
Bahahahaha!!!
I can hear you say that, too. And tilt your head. Smile at me…and then the look of “really, you need more oxygen.”
I’ve been proofreading my own documents at work for close to forty years now. Hopefully that discipline with letters, technical reports, and construction specifications have made me an above-average self-proofreader. Hopefully. Because I have no one to proofread my work except me. A high school/college buddy is usually willing to review my stuff, but gives the literary criticism view of them, not even developmental editing. My wife will sometimes read them, but a lot of the stuff I write/publish isn’t her cup of tea. So it’s just me. I recently proofread a cousin’s book, so possibly I can get her to reciprocate once.
The best proofreader I’ve even known was my dad. He set type for the Providence Journal for thirty years. One of his great joys was to find errors not caught by the proofreaders and correct them. He caught a couple every night.
Although, I obviously proofread better on paper than on a screen. “…that discipline…has made me….”, not have made me. and obviously I didn’t proofread my simple html codes.
David, thanks for offering more testimonies of how easily errors can happen and then be overlooked.
For the past several years I’ve been blessed to belong to a group of experienced writers who check each other’s work and I wouldn’t be where I am without their input. However, my most memorable catch was early in my career when a continuity error passed 2 critiques without anyone noticing.
It didn’t even hit me until I awoke one morning thinking of my story’s hero and an awful realization. I pulled up the mss and searched for the scene. Yep. The bad guy had attacked my hero sheriff in a busy restaurant. They’d fought and then my hero handcuffed him. Then the heroine passed by and distracted my hero. He offered to buy her a cup of coffee and they walked away … leaving the bad guy in cuffs, with the door to the street only a foot away.
Oh my word! I laughed out loud at that one, Anita!!
Anita, so funny to read about now, but as you said, it’s the kind of dawning that can wake a writer out of a sound sleep. Thanks for sharing.
That’s funny, Anita! Don’t you love it when you wake up with an error to correct?! Whether in the morning or the middle of the night. I love how that happens. A close call to a sudden fall. 🙂
I laughed out loud at that, Anita!
Nothing hurts quite like sending something off and then realizing afterward that you left in typos you thought you’d corrected. Oh, it hurts so bad!
Hannah, so true. It hurts. But it may be acceptable to send a follow-up with your corrected submission with an apology if not too much time has passed. It’s a growing experience and should be viewed as a positive reminder to check one last time before submitting the next time.
Absolutely. Honestly, I’ve only ever sent another version of something with a big mea culpa when it’s a magazine article, and I know it hasn’t gone to print yet. But for contests I’ve figured, “Oh, no! Shoot, I let that one get away.” Are there venues where it’s not acceptable to send a follow-up version of something once you’ve seen an error?
Hannah, unless you catch the error in a contest entry within minutes of originally submitting it, a follow-up is unlikely to be accepted. Most agents will accept a corrected proposal because we usually don’t get to them immediately and thus haven’t already spent time reviewing the original proposal.
Mary, why does this post make me smile? 🙂
One of my best investments was The CMoS. No matter how much we learn, grow, and think we know, there are always those nagging things that trip us up, and I use my CMoS daily! And of course, while our writing resources help us, there’s nothing like an extra pair of eyes on our work, like you said.
Years ago, I was disappointed to read a well-known author’s book. In two pages there were three misspelled words and use of the same word three or four times. (It wasn’t an ARC.) I didn’t understand that.
Now, that being said… I’ll tell on myself. I proofed yesterday’s blog post a dozen times before scheduling it. Would you believe this morning I found “it.” Glaring, and oh so obvious–the same words used twice in the same sentence. I’ve often told readers if they catch something, let me know. I appreciate that! Well, I fixed that sucker.
In my newsletters I send test e-mails to some select folks prior to scheduling. Still not a foolproof system, but it gives me peace of mind.
I couldn’t catch your error, Mary. (I’ll return after my second cup of Sinless Pastry.)
Oh–a side question. I can’t seem to separate my paragraphs with adequate spacing when commenting here. Anyone else experiencing this? I wouldn’t want to cause anyone’s eyes to roll. (Yes. That.) 😉
Cynthia, an electronic sensor is a great idea, but it doesn’t replace the need for multiple human eyes and cognition in the editing and proofreading. And as your example points out, some errors still slip through to the printed book pages. It’s interesting how easily a book’s readers catch errors the editorial staff missed. They are fresh sets of human eyes that are reading every word for the first time.
Johnnie found the error earlier: a missing “a” in paragraph six, the fourth sentence: “Self-published books have [a] notorious reputation…”
The formatting of our new website/blog design eliminates the line between paragraphs to conserve space.
Yes, Cynthia, I noticed that when I popped my comment up. I just figured it was an idiosyncrasy of the blog and shrugged it off. It also reminded me of something I wanted to add about finding errors in published books…
The more I learn of the publishing industry, the more forgiving I am of finding errors in books. I used to solely blame the author, but between my own experience, hearsay, and today’s technologies, I know that what is published isn’t always what the author wrote.
Amen, Anita, on the forgiving thing. In my search for an editor, I review the website of the editor-under-consideration. If I find typos, errors, whatever you want to call them, I scratch that name off the list. You might be surprised how many I’ve scratched off. I would say more, but I’m an Indie, and I don’t have time today for a fresh tomato bath. I’m busy doing my umpteenth round of edits. Wonder how many typos I’ll miss this time?
I know a fella who paid a bunch of hard earned to have his manuscript professionally edited. I found thirteen mistakes within the edited copy- and I’m not that good.
Very timely post though- I finished a first draft this morning. I have my guys looking at it right now.
Darby, that fella needs to get a more experienced, professional book editor.
He does indeed. I have recommended that he find himself an agent but, unfortunately, he knows better than I. He spent a pot of money on self publishing and he now has several copies of his book to show for it, but he has no support and he doesn’t know anything about promotion or marketing.
His book was kinda entertaining.
I tried to find an agent for my book, but as it didn’t fit into any specific category of books, I found agent-landing exceptionally difficult. Since I had a large blog readership just waiting to read it and was confident in my product, I proceeded on my own. I hired an editor for a macro edit (as well as 6 critique partners who read and gave feedback). Six months later I hired an editor for the line edit (as well a different 6 critique partners who checked every single word.) I spent another month pouring over every dotted “i” and crossed “t” for myself. I then self-published after a year of constant polishing and work. After putting it out there, I almost immediately had 21 five star reviews on Amazon and HUGE feedback from an appreciative readership who raved about it. I felt really great about my accomplishment. I did what I had to do to share the book that the Lord laid on my heart after my own experiences with a child with Down syndrome, and I was helping a lot of people. But then my in-laws sat me down to rip me apart for the horrible editing. It turns out there were 12 errors left in the 86,000 word document (I know this because I then hired yet another editor). I wouldn’t describe this as “horrible” especially considering how much work I put into the entire process, but it did make me cry and feel like a complete failure. All of those years of hard work suddenly meant nothing. It turns out the story was too captivating. At a certain point my readers got caught up in it and just couldn’t stop to notice details. Except my in-laws. The errors are fixed now. But I still sometimes can’t sleep at night thinking about the first 600 copies floating out there…with 12 errors in them. Seriously, this whole thing is just maddening. The whole concept of self-publishing is wonderful when it comes to authors like me who have a story to tell and a readership wanting to buy, but the pressure of perfectionism on the industry is enough to drive the sanest of people out of their minds. And by “people”, I mean me.
Deanna, I’m so sorry to hear you had such a discouraging experience writing and publishing your book. If you intend to write another book, I suggest you first attend a writers conference, more than one if possible. The workshops taught by professional editors and agents in the industry are always helpful. These conferences are excellent opportunities to meet with professional book editors and network with other writers to connect with a critique group and get recommendations for high quality editors you can hire for your next book. I hope you have a much better experience next time.
Error-free products are–and should be–the goal of publishers. Multiple errors in a published book are a negative distraction for readers and also reflect poorly on the publisher’s professionalism.
When I had an editor look at my first three chapters she kept apologizing (she knew it was my first time with an editor) for the corrections she had to do and reaffirmed that even the most seasoned writers have many fixes. When I saw what she had suggested I was thrilled! Who doesn’t want to the best manuscript they can put out. She didn’t change my story…she just made it more professional! Readers catch on surface things. Editors are a godsend! You get so caught up in the story you can’t see the mistakes anymore…like writing “there” for “their.” Every time I send out my MS I go over it…and still find mistakes on the 3-5 same chapters I review. It is nice to know even the finest (like yourselves) have mistakes once in a while!
Elizabeth, yes the entire, repeated process is a godsend when you have good editors. Being human, mistakes happen to everyone. You reinforced the case for checking, rechecking, and then checking again.
I’ve learned that my eyes see words that aren’t there after I’ve spent hours working on the same page. Thank goodness for critique partners and editors. My last line of defense is my poor sister who is always willing to read my work one more time.
Shelia, your pool of a great editor, good critique partners, and your willing sister is a significant gift for your writing life.
I noticed the “a” (I’m a proofreader by trade) and also questioned “a historical”, but looked it up and “a” is correct. I have an NIV (yes “an” is okay here, as N is pronounced en) Bible that has Galatians spelled Galations.
Donna, you are a dedicated detail proofreader. Thanks for explaining why “an” is appropriate before an acronym beginning with a consonant. I have to admit when I see the article “an” instead of “a” before a word beginning with “h”, I cringe.
Mary, I really enjoyed this post and all the comments that followed. One helpful tool I use and recommend is to read everything aloud. That process is useful for not only for proofreading but also for revealing cadence. I’m always amazed what the ear will hear that the eyes have missed.
The “error” I thought I found appears in the last paragraph. I want to change “good detail proofreading” to “good, detailed proofreading.” Dictionary.com lists “detail” only as a noun or verb, not as an adjective. Please help me out if I’m missing something here–thanks!
I have to laugh at my error. I couldn’t get the post to scroll back down so I could proof it! So, please delete that first “for.” 🙂
Judy, reading aloud is an excellent suggestion. The “ear will hear what the eyes have missed.”
Your rewording of my sentence is much improved. My poor phrase is what often happens when you’re rushed and not paying enough attention to detail.
Ha ha. I caught your extra “for” as well. Proof we all need extra eyes on our work before submitting professionally.
This is so true, Mary! One of the most common mistakes I make is with commas, but another easy snafu to miss for editors and writers is homophones.
Michelle, your comment brings up a good point. It’s helpful to know our own weak areas and then diligently watch for those errors.
YOU TOO??? Commas. They snicker at me every time I use them.
Mary, do you think it’s harder for people who are good readers to spot errors? When I’m reading I seldom notice the words. I just get carried away with what they’re saying. Sometimes errors do jump out at me, but I usually don’t pay attention to them unless they change the meaning. By the way, I’ve recently re-read Richard Lederer’s book, The Revenge of Anguished English and THOSE errors have me howling with laughter.
Janet, I think it’s more a matter that reading for the purpose of editing and proofreading requires a different speed and focus than reading for pleasure or study.
The use of slang, jargon, and colloquial terms is tough…even if used properly, they can date a book so very quickly.
I spent a few years reviewing for professional journals, and that experience taught me that extra eyes are always needed. I am simply too close, and am wont to read what I thought I wrote, what I wanted to write, rather than that which I should have written. Applies both grammatically, and in terms of content.
I recently uncovered something about myself in the editing process. My freelance editor and cp’s (and agent 🙂 ) have caught some pretty stupid mistakes I’ve made after I’ve edited, checked, and rechecked my own work. What I uncovered this time around is that I did my final line edits, PRINTED OUT MY MANUSCRIPT, and found a crazy amount of errors I totally missed on the computer screen. I’m not certain why paper vs. computer makes such a difference for me. So my work is currently red penned. I’m waiting for my line edits from a CP and I’m going to compare what she caught to what I caught on paper and see how drastically my editing skills have or have not improved with the actual printed word.