How to navigate proofreaders’ land mines
What is small, innocent-looking, and causes you to wake up at 3 a.m. screaming? Answer: Their it is! I mean, they’re it is! I mean, there it is! Out, damned typo! Will these proofs ne’er be clean?
The copy’s been proofread, and your article (newsletter, e-mail, whatever) has been published—in print or online.
You’re perusing it, admiring your handiwork. Then you see it. Ack! A rudimentary, easily fixed error is there in the text. It’s standard-size type, but to your eyes it’s in 54-point Bodoni Bold.
And somehow, it’s underlined. Blinking, too. Maybe even chuckling softly. Or so it seems.
In any case, you screwed up. You. Missed. It. Self-evisceration is the only option.
The horror… the horror…
The culprit, other than you—careless, worthless, moronic, overworked, under-appreciated, perfectionist, yeah-but-what-good-did-it-do-me? you—was probably one of the proofreader’s land mines.
Download this free white paper to discover 10 ways you can improve your writing today.
Become a Ragan Insider member to read this article and all other archived content.
Sign up today
Already a member? Log in here.
Learn more about Ragan Insider.
