You have written your website copy and blog posts, and you’re ready to put it out there for the world to see … but are you sure it is all 100% correct?

I run The Editing Desk and I am fortunate to be a member of the amazing Executive Lifestyle editorial team as their proofreader. As part of the service I look through, correct and spruce up all the articles before they are published on Executive Lifestyle.

Spelling mistakes, errors in grammar and punctuation, and inconsistencies are distracting for the reader, and you, as the author/business owner, may come across as unprofessional. I provide a fresh pair of eyes – trained to know exactly what to look out for – to ensure that you are getting the correct message across. If attention to detail is not given to your business communication it will come across as sloppy, and your potential customers may perceive your products and services to be the same.

Common errors I regularly spot are: style inconsistencies, incorrect verb agreements, the misuse of apostrophes and hyphens, and misplaced commas. They may seem like small and insignificant things, but they really do stand out once they are published, and your article will just come across as careless – and we don’t want that.

“It’s OK. I Use A Spell Checker … I Don’t Need A Proofreader.”

Wrong! Spell checkers will not catch all mistakes and, sometimes, will even suggest you correct something that is perfectly fine as it is. A good knowledge of grammar, some common sense, and a trained eagle eye are also needed to make sure that you are getting the right message across. Spell checkers won’t check facts or spot if you’ve written anything risky that could result in a legal dispute.

Here are a few other examples of why you can’t rely on a spell checker and why you should get a pro to check your work instead!

1. It Won’t Check For Consistency

Are you consistent in your writing? For example, phrases and words in capitals: the word ‘Government’ in one part, but ‘government’ elsewhere. Have you spelt people’s names correctly all the way through e.g. Anna/Anne?

Or style inconsistencies: are you using UK and US spelling interchangeably, for example, color/colour; or maybe –ise/-ize spelling e.g. organization/organisation.

2. It Won’t Catch Homophonic Errors

There are many words that sound the same as others and spell checkers won’t catch them if you accidentally use the incorrect ones.

For example:

Eye wood really like it if ewe could come two my plaice four a cup off tee.

We are having meet for dinner. Please pick up my care from the garage on the weigh hear. We can go four a swim at the pubic pool afterwards.

Not that you would write that kind of gibberish, but you catch my drift. A spell checker wouldn’t catch any of these errors (spelling mistakes that are actual words), as it doesn’t read for sense like a proofreader would.

A spell checker won’t pick up on whether you can tell the difference between “weather” and “whether”, or “bare” and “bear”, or know when to correctly use their/there/they’re, your/you’re, were/we’re/where, then/than, and so on.

3. It Will Allow Ridiculous Sentences Through

“The young was boy was walking the dog in in a yellow shirt.”

Yes – spell checkers think this is OK! How many errors can you spot?


4. It Isn’t Always Right

A spell checker isn’t necessarily always up to date on any new words or phrases, slang terms, or marketing jargon. It can often flag up certain expressions or words as incorrect when they’re actually just fine as they are.

5. It Can’t Distinguish What You Meant To Write From What You Actually Wrote

Even the work of the most highly educated English professor needs proofreading. Yes - an editor’s written work also needs a fresh pair of eyes to spot little mistakes. This is because it is incredibly hard to proofread your own work, as you read what you think should be there and not what is actually there. You are too involved and familiar with your own work, so your brain naturally autocorrects what it reads. That’s when a proofreader comes in very handy!

For a fee of $20, Executive Lifestyle also offers a copy-editing service (email us), which is more rigorous than proofreading. I can re-write or move text; clarify ambiguity; adjust sentence and paragraph lengths where necessary; check the content and structure to improve the quality and style; and ensure that the text flows well and is easy to read.

You never get a second chance to make a first impression!

 Become a contributor to benefit from Nedda's proofreading and copy-editing services.

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