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