The Proof is In:: Proofreading is a Nightmare for Indie Authors

If you’ve written a few novels or non-fiction books, and you’re any good, you will eventually nail down the basics of the craft: editing out unnecessary words, keeping the tenses straight, follow the timeline, learn about pacing, craft better dialogue, know when to show and when to tell. (I ignore the tired old shibboleth, “show, don’t tell.” While that is always a good starting perspective, there are times when the writer must show, and times when they must tell. The latter are less frequent, but in the third person, it can sometimes be the best way to get out important information. I’m of the school holding that “the only rule is there are no rules.”)

There is one skill that has evaded me, and from what I gather, I’m not alone among my independently-published author colleagues. I’m talking about proofreading. It’s understandable.

If one writes a book of between 75,000 and 90,000 words, the most common lengths for novels, rest assured that every draft, even the final, will be riddled with errors. It’s almost impossible to catch them all in one reading. (or two, three, four or more. :) )

It’s even more difficult when proofing one’s own work. That’s largely because after writing and rewriting, we know what we said, and our mind skips over minor errors as it has already signaled to us…