I confess — I don’t write these posts on my own
May 27, 2014
I have a confession to make. I don’t write my blog posts on my own. I’m just not a good enough writer. And I’m even worse at proofreading.
That’s why I use Grammarly’s proofreading software because, with my luck, public would become pubic without its keen eye keeping me on the G-rated side of the tracks.
When I started in the business, every time we drafted anything, it immediately went to the proofers. Over the course of an ad’s creation or a brochure’s multiple drafts — the proofer was there at every turn, making sure we writers didn’t embarrass ourselves or our clients.
Think of Grammerly as a much less intrusive, less time-intensive insurance policy for today’s much faster paced world.
So much of the content we create is either live — tweets, Facebook updates, etc. or done on the fly like blog posts that we’d better have a back up plan. All you have to do is drag and drop your copy into the Grammerly editing window and voila — it catches all of your mistakes and even suggests alternatives.
Here are some of my other “try not to embarrass yourself Drew” writing/editing proofreading tips:
I read my posts out loud. Some people suggest reading your content backwards, but I want to hear how it sounds so I know how the readers hear it in their head.
When possible, let it sit overnight. I’m always astonished and disappointed at all the errors I find when I go back the following day to something I’ve written.
Know your own bad habits. My brain moves faster than my fingers so many of my errors are just sloppy typing. Maybe you struggle with then/than or to/too/two. Whatever it is…watch for the repeat offenders.
Never forget to spellcheck. It’s fast and free. But don’t count on it to catch everything.
We create content to demonstrate our expertise and to encourage people to trust that we’re capable and qualified. Don’t let silly mistakes or sloppy writing undo your efforts.
Note: The folks at Grammerly gave me a trial subscription to their software and asked me to test it out. They invited me to write a blog post in exchange for a gift card. I want you to know — I now choose to pay for a subscription because the tool is valuable and I wouldn’t be writing about it if that weren’t the case. More