Proofreading tip: Read your manuscript aloud. Every word. You'll hear and catch things that your eyes will miss. Your mouth will also get a good workout, so think of it as multitasking 😅 #ProofreadingTips #WritingAdvice #Nonfiction #Booksky #Writingcommunity ##WritersOfBluesky #Authors
4. Second edit. Now you’ll notice things you missed.
5. Proofread - line by line, fact-check, catch typos, read aloud. Change the font and font size, then reread it.
6. Then send it to be typeset - I can give your book its polished final look ✨
#indieauthor #proofreadingtips #bookdesign
Ooh, here's a good example of why I say to watch out for narrow letters – difficult to spot this one: skiiing
#ProofreadingTips #AmProofreading
Extract from a bibliography. The text reads: Initial Investigations on Ancient Egyptian Break Baking…
Here’s the other one.
Btw, if you’re checking a Word doc, the Read Aloud feature can help you spot this type of typo.
#ProofreadingTips
Image of a guide's cover. The photo shows pink flowers backlit by the sun against a clear blue sky. The text reads: Proofreading: Top tips from a pro January 2025 Suzanne Arnold.
Proofread like a professional!
Free download containing my top tips for proofreading.
www.suzannearnold.com/blog/proofre...
#NonFiction #NonFictionBook #NonFictionBooks #NonFictionWriters #WritingCommunity #proofreading #ProofreadingTips
Proofreading tips – there's an updated compilation on my website now. This version is aimed at corporate annual reports, but the tips apply to any proofreading.
www.suzannearnold.com/blog/proofre...
#ProofreadingTips #proofreading #AnnualReports #CorporateCommunications #BusinessWriting #ESGReport
Are you celebrating Christmas on Thursday 25 December 2024?
When proofreading, check dates and days carefully – unless there's a glaring typo, such as Septermeber, it's difficult to spot errors.
Take my first sentence, for example. Christmas isn't on Thursday. It's on Wednesday.
#ProofreadingTips
Don’t rush at the end Proofreading holiday calendar day 22
As you near the end of a proofread (or paragraph or page), it’s tempting to speed up to get it finished. This can increase the risk of missing something.
Don’t rush the last bit of the job.
#ProofreadingTips #proofreading day 22
Watch out for missing full stops Proofreading holiday calendar day 21
When proofreading, look out for places where a full stop (or period) is missing.
It’s especially easy to miss when this happens at the end of a paragraph. We’re so accustomed to seeing one that we assume it’s there
Did you notice?
#ProofreadingTips #proofreading day 21
After you find a mistake, look at the line again Proofreading holiday calendar No.20
It may be Friday afternoon, but if you're proofreading remind yourself to look again, closely, every time you find something that needs fixing.
Look at the sentence or line again – it’s easy to miss the next error because you’ve mentally ‘done’ that bit of text.
#ProofreadingTips #proofreading
Watch out for words that sound the same but aren’t: team teem waste waist
It's easy to think you wouldn't confuse, say, 'pair' and 'pear' when proofreading – until it happens.
They may mean different things, but because they sound the same it can be harder to realise you've got the wrong one. Especially if they also look similar.
#ProofreadingTips #proofreading day 19
Text on image: Make sure lists are punctuated consistently
Proofreading text containing lists? Check that the punctuation is consistent.
For example, look at whether items start with a capital letter, or end with commas or full stops.
#ProofreadingTips #proofreading
Double-check the cover or heading – it’s easy to miss a typo in a title Proofreading holiday calendar No.17
Proofreading: potentially embarrassing mistakes often lurk in plain view.
Check the cover or title carefully.
Look for two things: first, that it says what it's supposed to (yes, really: it happens) and, second, that it's all spelled correctly.
#ProofreadingTips day 17
#proofreading
Watch out for similar words Complaint compliant Contract contact Waste waist
When proofreading, look closely at words that are similar to other words: because they look the same, it’s difficult to tell if you’ve got the wrong word. And spell check may not flag it.
#ProofreadingTips #proofreading calendar day 14
Pay attention to the the line break Proofreading holiday calendar No.13
For Friday 13th, a tip to send shivers down proofreaders' spines: pay close attention to the end of one line and start of the next.
Why? Because if a word is accidentally repeated there, it's harder to spot.
Look again at my example 😉
Have a good weekend.
#ProofreadingTips #proofreading
Check elements separately • page numbers • headings next to page numbers • numbering (of sections, tables etc) • graphics consistent with text Proofreading holiday calendar No.12
If you're proofreading, don't try to do everything at once.
For example, go through once checking that tables are numbered sequentially, then check that images are.
Breaking the proofread down into chunks makes it easier to focus on each one in turn.
#ProofreadingTips #proofreading
If there’s an opening bracket, check there’s a closing one And vice versa) Proofreading holiday calendar No.11
If you find an opening bracket (parenthesis) when proofreading, check for the closing bracket.
And if you find a closing bracket, make sure its partner opening bracket is there.
Look again at my example. Did you spot it?
#ProofreadingTips #proofreading
Make sure you’ve got the same number of superscripts and footnotes
If you're proofreading something that has footnotes (or endnotes!), make sure there are the same number of superscript numbers as notes.
If they don't match, you'll need to look more closely to see whether and where something has gone wrong.
#ProofreadingTips #proofreading
Double-check contact details
Mistakes in contact information are easy to miss, but can also be embarrassing. Take care!
Check everything – including whether the right people are listed, their job titles, whether links are working correctly... And remember to watch out for typos, too!
#ProofreadingTips #proofreading
Switch from monitor to a tablet to help you see it afresh
Changing how you see a text can help you proofread it. Print it out or view it on a tablet rather than a monitor.
Sometimes it’s even possible to change the font to view a text differently (if you’re just looking for typos and grammar, but not layout).
Proofreading tips day 8
#ProofreadingTips
Slow down for several small words in succession … at the end of the… … at the end or the… Proofreading holiday calendar No.7
It's harder to spot typos in small words such as of/or – and even harder with several side by side.
Train your proofreading mental alarm bell – when you see this, look again and slow down.
Can you see it in the example below?
#ProofreadingTips #proofreading
Holiday countdown day 7
Check all cross-references Proofreading holiday calendar No.6
When proofreading, remember to check that directions such as 'in the next section', 'on page 12', 'see "Find out more" below' etc are still accurate.
It's easy for things to get moved in editing or formatting, or 'Find out more' might have changed to 'Next steps'...
#ProofreadingTips #proofreading
Watch out for double letters This blog asssumes… We loooked into… Proofreading holiday calendar No.4
When proofreading for typos, watch out for words with repeated letters – it's easy to miss it if there are accidentally three rather than two of them.
Look again at my examples below – did you spot them?
Holiday countdown calendar day 4
#proofreading #ProofreadingTips
Proofreading holiday calendar No.3 Click all links – do they work? Do they go to the right page?
Proofreading isn't just about typos. It's the last quality check.
So if you're checking a web page or PDF report, for example, proofreading includes checking all the hyperlinks. Click on each one to check whether it works and whether it links to the right place.
#proofreading #ProofreadingTips
Proofreading holiday calendar No.2 Zoom in close to help you read letter by letter
We read by recognising the overall shapes of words, so 'see' what we expect to see. Magnifying the text when proofreading can help reduce this risk by making it easier to see individual letters and punctuation marks, increasing your chance of spotting any errors.
#proofreading #ProofreadingTips
Admnistrative Chidren
Couple of really good examples here of why it’s difficult to proofread words with narrow letters – and why it’s always worth running a spell check before publishing.
Both of these look right at first glance – the word is the right shape.
Proofread letter by letter.
#ProofreadingTips
Screen grab showing the front cover of the download, with the title: Proofreading your 2023–24 corporate comms Quick-reference guide
My top #ProofreadingTips in a free downloadable PDF.
With a page focused on 2023 financial statements and annual reports.
www.suzannearnold.com/blog/proofre...
#Proofreading #CorporateCommunications #BusinessWriting #AnnualReports #ESGReport #ThoughtLeadership
Make sure graphics agree with text Proofreading thought leadership No.49
Check graphics and numbers carefully when proofreading. It’s surprisingly difficult to notice that a graph says 26% but the text discussing that figure says 27%.
#Proofreading #CorporateCommunications #ThoughtLeadership #BusinessWriting #AnnualReports #ESGReport #ProofreadingTips
Look out for typos in labels on graph axes: 2019, 2020, 2022, 3023, 2024 Proofreading thought leadership No.48
When proofreading, make a point of looking closely at the labels on any graphs – it's really easy to miss typos in them because they look okay at a glance.
#Proofreading #CorporateCommunications #ThoughtLeadership #BusinessWriting #AnnualReports #ESGReport #ProofreadingTips
Check that increments on graph axes are logical and consistent Proofreading thought leadership No.47
If your #ThoughtLeadership contains graphs, check the increments on each axis make sense – irregular jumps can lead readers to misinterpret the data.
#Proofreading #CorporateCommunications #BusinessWriting #AnnualReports #ESGReport #ProofreadingTips
