It's All About . . .

. . . spelling, grammar, punctuation, word choice, and ideas.

My manuscript had undergone two months worth of scrutiny and critiquing by my conceptual editor before being returned. She titled the returned document, “First Edit.” Never mind that a savvy conventions editor had already combed, page-by-page, through the same document to be sure it was in compliance with the Chicago Manual of Style (CMOS).

Even though Ms. Conceptual Editor had taken two months to write her critique, I was under the pressure of a fifteen-day deadline for returning my comments and/or defense. I knew there would be some long days in front of my computer screen.

Very soon after I started reviewing, I discovered the truth in the warning that proofreading one’s own work is not a good idea. This is because proficient readers use prior knowledge and read what should be on the page, regardless of what is actually written. 

The following two sentences serve to illustrate how easy it is to ignore misspellings and read correctly despite what is on the page. 

Did you konw you're a guiens? 

Taht you can atllacuy raed tihs porves taht fcat.

As I reread and made changes to my manuscript, I became more and more obsessed with accuracy. Finally, weary of my grousing, Hubby volunteered to read the manuscript aloud to me while I checked it against my original copy. Have you read a novel aloud lately? This is very time consuming.

Once I finished the proofing/changing (with a day to spare on the deadline), I sent my now perfect manuscript back to my editor. While waiting for her response, I decided to read some recently acquired novels. So during the fifteen days it took for the manuscript turn-around, I read three. 

The first novel I chose was translated from Swedish to English. I fear that this story lost much in the translation. It also had enough back-story for three books. 

The second novel I read was by a best-selling author. At one point in the story the protagonist left home dressed in a navy blue gown with gray beading on the collar and cuffs but, upon arriving at her destination (one page later), she was wearing a gray gown. I read the section three times to be sure I was not the one who was confused.

The third novel was a “debut novel” by a writer from England. Before I reached the end of that story, I was keeping track of how many pages I could read before I found the next grammar or spelling error. 

So, by the time my “perfect” copy was returned, I had decided that I appreciated both of my knowledgeable editors. I’m sure they saved me from someone counting my goofs as they read.  

Link to Child of Desire