"I don't rally get it because it's my favorite part of the writing process," Of all the places for a typo!
I edit my books 5 ways--MS Word & grammarly, then printed out and read backward one sentence at a time, then forward, then via beta readers, then back to Word for a check. Inevitably I find the most glaring errors after I publish.
I use Scrivener and Pro Writing Aid, then a pass with Word, then a read-through.
I keep a separate doc of a good 50-60 regular expressions that I use with Scrivener to catch everything from unexpected spaces to overused words. Some of that is particular to me, but enough of it is generally applicable that I may end up turning it into a free PDF at some point.
I should make a list of words to catch. My nemesis is from/form, but also "just." Plus the fact that my dragon, being a dragon, will always put himself first, so I need to check every "(name) and I" and "(name) and me." and switch them to "I and (name)/me and (name)."
These days, most of my typos come from fumblefingerness. There is a breakdown in the interface between the brain, the two index fingers and the keyboard that comes with age. I spell a hundred times better with a pencil than a keyboard.
Second paragraph, too, "But it important", unless she is writing cheezburgr. And more as you go. But I applaud her intention in leaving those in in order to make her point.
But it isn't the line edits and proof reading that chill my soul and make me want to go to the dentist as a distraction, it's the big picture stuff. The structural edit.
I did alot of writing in the Navy. It was log keeping, message writing, updating publications, etc. Alot of it was encryption and writing formulaic messages in NavySpeak that were machine read by the end user. If those were not letter perfect, they had to be hand sorted by some low level staff wonk ashore who'd fire off a blast to the CO of the ship. The Captain's wrath would roll down hill. Early on, it was the word "alot" that got me ridiculed and slapped. "It's 'a lot', you freaking moron...and we don't use it in messages, Petty Officer Flowers, you simpleton". No matter that at the time I was working at a deficit, an E-5 with no high school diploma. After that, I gave proofreading a higher priority. It was as if my promotions depended on it. They did. Fast-forward 12 years. I was applying for the Limited Duty Officer program as a specialist in Surface Operations. The application instructions laid out very clearly a 6 paragraph format and cautioned that the application, done in your own hand, would be a determinant in selection and if done badly, your rejection in the first pass. I did a bang up job on mine. Proofread it several times, had friends proofread it too. Got the CO's enthusiastic endorsement and had the ship mail it off. Bingo! It got rejected. I had numbered the 6 paragraphs 1. 2. 3. 4. 4. 6. GAH! Submitted the same application the following year, correcting only the paragraph number and changing it to an application for Chief Warrant Officer as a Surface OpTech. Got selected. My reward? The Navy piled on more writing tasks. And promotions.
Several reasons, the biggest one being ego. I've had several writers get enraged with me for daring to question their work, its structure, the grammar and/or punctuation. How dare I do that to their babies?!! And so they published as is, and got the reviews they deserved. Most learned from that experience; one did not. Four books self-published later, and he finally asked for editing, including the first four.
"I don't rally get it because it's my favorite part of the writing process," Of all the places for a typo!
I edit my books 5 ways--MS Word & grammarly, then printed out and read backward one sentence at a time, then forward, then via beta readers, then back to Word for a check. Inevitably I find the most glaring errors after I publish.
Agreed.
I use Scrivener and Pro Writing Aid, then a pass with Word, then a read-through.
I keep a separate doc of a good 50-60 regular expressions that I use with Scrivener to catch everything from unexpected spaces to overused words. Some of that is particular to me, but enough of it is generally applicable that I may end up turning it into a free PDF at some point.
I should make a list of words to catch. My nemesis is from/form, but also "just." Plus the fact that my dragon, being a dragon, will always put himself first, so I need to check every "(name) and I" and "(name) and me." and switch them to "I and (name)/me and (name)."
These days, most of my typos come from fumblefingerness. There is a breakdown in the interface between the brain, the two index fingers and the keyboard that comes with age. I spell a hundred times better with a pencil than a keyboard.
Second paragraph, too, "But it important", unless she is writing cheezburgr. And more as you go. But I applaud her intention in leaving those in in order to make her point.
Yep! she was making a puzzle for you all to solve :D
I'm TRYING! Oh I'm trying!
But it isn't the line edits and proof reading that chill my soul and make me want to go to the dentist as a distraction, it's the big picture stuff. The structural edit.
Hardest thing to proofread is your own work.
I did alot of writing in the Navy. It was log keeping, message writing, updating publications, etc. Alot of it was encryption and writing formulaic messages in NavySpeak that were machine read by the end user. If those were not letter perfect, they had to be hand sorted by some low level staff wonk ashore who'd fire off a blast to the CO of the ship. The Captain's wrath would roll down hill. Early on, it was the word "alot" that got me ridiculed and slapped. "It's 'a lot', you freaking moron...and we don't use it in messages, Petty Officer Flowers, you simpleton". No matter that at the time I was working at a deficit, an E-5 with no high school diploma. After that, I gave proofreading a higher priority. It was as if my promotions depended on it. They did. Fast-forward 12 years. I was applying for the Limited Duty Officer program as a specialist in Surface Operations. The application instructions laid out very clearly a 6 paragraph format and cautioned that the application, done in your own hand, would be a determinant in selection and if done badly, your rejection in the first pass. I did a bang up job on mine. Proofread it several times, had friends proofread it too. Got the CO's enthusiastic endorsement and had the ship mail it off. Bingo! It got rejected. I had numbered the 6 paragraphs 1. 2. 3. 4. 4. 6. GAH! Submitted the same application the following year, correcting only the paragraph number and changing it to an application for Chief Warrant Officer as a Surface OpTech. Got selected. My reward? The Navy piled on more writing tasks. And promotions.
This is a good reason to read your text aloud.
What is comparion?
Why on earth or the rest of the universe would anyone NOT edit???
Several reasons, the biggest one being ego. I've had several writers get enraged with me for daring to question their work, its structure, the grammar and/or punctuation. How dare I do that to their babies?!! And so they published as is, and got the reviews they deserved. Most learned from that experience; one did not. Four books self-published later, and he finally asked for editing, including the first four.
I'm and editor and I approve this message. Editing is so crucial!