How to Proofread

I recently wrote a newsletter about grammar checkers and somehow let my brain turn off long enough to type "grammer." And while I proofed the newsletter carefully, I managed to miss checking the subject line, which was where the error resided. Talk about embarrassing.

It made me feel better (but only slightly) to receive an email from a friend that same morning saying he'd found the following correction in a recent Time Magazine:

"Setting the record straight: We referred to 'cotton sheared from sheep.' Sheep produce wool, of course, not cotton..."

My friend wrote: "This (a) confirms my sense that proofreading is a dangerous job, and (b) is a reminder that quality control is falling apart everywhere." Dangerous indeed. In recent weeks I have been undone by Youtube (I called it Utube) and a host of silly typos.

I've also nearly been humiliated (but caught myself just in time) by:

• author names (I almost called William Strunk "Edmund")
• book titles (I'd misremembered the title for one of my favorite books, "Too Close to the Falls" as "On the Way to the Falls.")
• song lyrics (I just about botched the "snowflakes" part of "My Favorite Things.")

I live in a particularly fragile glass house, writing, as I do, about writing. But mistakes and typos can make anyone look dumb. When you're writing quickly or prolifically, it's hard to catch every error (that's why your daily newspaper is riddled with 'em.) But you can improve your odds of success with these...

10 tips for improving your proofreading:

1. Try to allow at least one day to pass after you finish writing and before you start proofing. This will give you the necessary distance to catch unconscious mistakes -- such as typing now for know or triker for trickier.
2. The human eye catches more errors in text that is printed out, than on screen. Print out your work before proofing it.
3. If there is some reason that prevents you from printing, use a distinctive typeface and bump up the point size before proofing. When I am forced to proof on screen, I use Papyrus 20 point -- this makes it easier to catch errors.
4. Question all "facts," paying particular attention to names (people, books, movies, songs), addresses, titles and dates. Be aware that the single most common mistake is to mismatch days with dates. (Example: Tuesday, July 4, when in fact it is Wednesday, July 4.)
5. Be especially careful with the big, "invisible" stuff. A few months ago, I nearly signed off on a brand new client publication. The problem? The client's name was misspelled at the top of the front page! Three of us, including a professional proofreader, had managed to miss this hugely embarrassing error. Fortunately, someone else caught the mistake before it was too late. My printing rep laughed and said people frequently proofread the text and then forget to double-check logos and headers.
6. Start at the end. Professional proofreaders often read at least once backwards. That is, they begin at the end and work back through the piece, paragraph by paragraph or even line by line. Even better, if you have time and a willing friend, share proofreading tasks. (It's easier to catch mistakes in someone else's work.)
7. Put a ruler under each line as you read the text. This stops your eye from jumping ahead to the next line.
8. Consider your text from a customer's perspective. For instance, if the piece is an invitation requiring an RSVP, it needs a phone number or e-mail address to which someone could respond. And of course it should have the date of the event and an address.
9. Make a list of your own common errors and check for those specifically ("its" instead of "it's" is a big problem for some people, for example.)
10. Read your work aloud at least once. You'll catch a lot more errors this way.

Finally, this isn't a tip but instead a heartfelt piece of advice. Be humble. Even professional proofreaders make mistakes. You won't catch everything. If you've done your best, apologize and move on. We're human beings, not robots.

(Thanks to Pat Cope, Pam Kershaw Melissa Arnold and Kasie Whitener who contributed ideas to this list.)