Month: April 2022

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Software vs Proofreader: Who Wins?

What if I Already Use Software to Check My Writing?

This week we are going to discuss software programs designed to help with spelling and grammar. If my job is to find spelling mistakes and I use a software program to do it for me, why should an author pay me for that? By the same token, if I am using software to help me detect grammar issues, what value is my expertise in proofreading?

When we read through an article or a book our eyes may miss some obvious mistakes because we know what we are expecting to see. A software program designed to detect correctly spelled words only looks for what is in its dictionary, not whether it is used properly. Sometimes a little spelling help is fine, sometimes the words that need correcting are not misspelled. Would you be able to simply use a spelling checking program to correct the misuse of there, here, and where? If I accidentally spelled she instead of the, would your software program catch it?

Begin with tech, finish with human

For a long piece of writing, thousands of words, hundreds of pages, it would be very helpful to begin with a couple of software programs to check the basic spelling and grammar. But, once that has been done, the whole document must still be checked for words that are incorrect, but correctly spelled, grammar that is correct in slang, but not in formal writing, or idioms that are not culturally correct.

Using both is a win/win!

As an author, you want to have your writing be its best. As an editor, you want the words to make the most sense, bring the most clarity, and tell the best story. As a proofreader, we need to make sure these are possible. We have skills that are not easily programmed into a software package. We have the resources to find the correct spelling, the correct punctuation, the best use of words, and we are not replaceable.

So, the next time your phone autocorrects your text message, or your word processing program underlines a word in red, think about whether it really knows what you want to say. People are amazing! Be the best writer you can be, and work with the best people you can find!

Happy writing!

Liza the Bookworm

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The Mighty Comma

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Hello Grammar Fans!

This week we are going to take a look at the lowly, but powerful, comma. You may have heard of the added comma that saved Grandma’s life … or the missing comma that cost a large company thousands in overtime pay. I will leave it to you to research those events and find out how the comma got such power.

For this blog, we are looking at the way a comma is used to set apart items in a list. The Oxford comma, or serial comma, is the comma after the next-to-final item in a list.

Serial comma, or no comma?

If I have three sandwiches on the menu, and one is peanut butter and jelly, what is the best way for me to advertise that?

A selection of tuna, roast beef and peanut butter and jelly sandwiches.

OR

A selection of tuna, roast beef, and peanut butter and jelly sandwiches.

The first option could possibly be construed to mean that we have two selections: tuna or roast beef and peanut butter and jelly. That would not be very appetizing, it seems to me. So, the second option uses the Oxford comma, or serial comma, to set apart each element in the list to help avoid such unappetizing misinterpretations!

Of course, not all style guides insist on the Oxford comma, or serial comma, and prefer to see the sentence rewritten to clarify. A simple rewrite may solve the problem if you don’t want to use bullet points or a list. (Unless you simply change the menu….)

Your choice of tuna, roast beef or peanut butter and jelly sandwich.

Writing should be simple and fun for an author. If you are having trouble getting all the thoughts in your head down on paper, or screen, there are plenty of editors, ghostwriters, and content writers to help. Collaborate, connect, and make your prose or poetry even better.

Happy writing!

Liza the Bookworm

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Proofreading Is NOT Copyediting

Since this is a site about proofreading AND copyediting, let me take a moment to illuminate the differences between these two services.

Proofreading is the final step before publishing. You could be publishing a family newsletter for a dozen relatives scattered across the country, a novel for a major publishing company, or anything in between. The final step before you send or print is called proofreading.

Proofreaders scrutinize a final copy for spelling or punctuation errors and style, font, paragraphing, and capitalization consistency. Generally, there is a style guide that is followed closely. They can compare the final copy with the last edited version making sure each edit has been made appropriately and has not affected the document spacing or changed page breaks. They check page numbering, headings, and chapter breaks and compare the final version with the style guide for accuracy.

A Proofreader marks the changes

A proofreader marks the changes that need to be made. The final decision before printing is up to the author, printer, or typesetter who will approve the changes and send the document to be printed. Due to the simplicity of the job–comparing the final document to the final edit–the proofreader generally charges less per hour than an editor.

An editor, on the other hand, has more power to change. There are various kinds of editors in the book publishing world. Some make sweeping changes, redefining characters, deleting whole chapters, rearranging the order of events, or even adding new plot elements. These people are sometimes writers themselves. They are widely read and able to envision the whole scope of the work. The developmental editor’s rates reflect their expertise. There are other levels of editors in the book publishing world and their expertise levels vary in scope.

A copyeditor changes the document

The most common editor, used in all sorts of writing, is the copyeditor. Copyeditors are somewhere between the author and the proofreader in power. They will help the author use consistent voice and number, change paragraphing, and rearrange ideas to get across the author’s intent more clearly.

These changes are generally done to the document directly, although the changes can be tracked and edits approved by the author. They will be familiar with the subject material, either through study or experience in that field. They charge a bit more than a proofreader due to their greater level of involvement in the document writing process.

Here comes my plug:

Some authors would like to have the copyeditor and the proofreader be the same person. Some editors are able to go back and scrutinize on a different level and make the proper changes to punctuation and spelling. Usually they wait a day or more to be sure they are not going to read what they expect instead of what is there.

Many people, however, still miss the simple things, like the correctly spelled, but incorrect version, of a word that passes a spelling checker program. (“He” is a word, but if “The” is supposed to be used, the program will miss that.)  When someone has been working on a document for a while, they can easily miss those little errors and read what they are expecting to see, too.

However, if you have a deadline approaching and you and your editor have been working on the document closely for days, weeks, months, it would be a good idea to hire a proofreader to make that final scrutiny for you. Requiring a copyeditor to proofread their own work can be a setup for less than excellent results.

So, know what you need, hire the best person for the job, prepare to pay for higher levels of power to change, and make your work the excellent piece of literature it was destined to be!

Read, write, enjoy!

–Liza the Bookworm

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