4 Ways to Make Proofreading Fun

You might have heard the phrase: “Writing and editing is art. Proofreading is science.” And isn’t that the truth?

It’s incredibly exciting to create an original piece of writing, but when it comes to proofreading, many get lost in the technical quagmire of the English language and it’s difficult to comprehend rules and conventions.

Proofreading is the final step in the publication process that involves correcting surface errors in writing, such as grammar, spelling, and punctuation. Editing, on the other hand, involves making positive improvements to language and expression. We explain the difference in more detail here.

Proofreading can often feel slow and tedious, and can be downright painful for the uninitiated. But it doesn’t need to be!

Here are five ways that proofreading can be both fun and effective:

1) Proofread your work in a funky cafe or at the beach

Proofreading your own work can be difficult because you need to focus exclusively on the words rather than the content, which you wrote and know well.

Proofreading your own work isn’t always fun, so why not spice it up by changing locations.

Go to a funky cafe (like those crazy cat ones) instead of sitting at your desk or hit your favourite beach – new settings which allow your brain to think it’s reading something new.

Also, consider printing the document out and changing the text style – a smart trick that will help you see your work with fresh eyes.

2) Read it out loud like you’re the Queen of England (or someone posh like that)

Reading your work out loud – slowly and with proper emphasis – can be incredibly useful to see if the writing flows. If it is difficult to read out loud it is most certainly going to be difficult for a new person to read it as well.

A simple rule to keep in mind: if it is easy to read then you have a good piece of writing.

And what better way to read your work out loud than by pretending to be the Queen of England, Russell Brand, or someone else with a glorious British accent.

3) Submit your writing to a professional editor

A sure fire way to overcome the proofreading dilemma is to submit your work to a professional proofreading service.

They can look at it with fresh, experienced eyes and will be able to spot those mistakes that you have missed – which inevitably slip under the radar, especially if you’ve been staring at the same document for weeks or months on end.

It’s the easiest and most effective way to have your writing checked and double checked. Needless to say it is also the most fun: whilst a professional editor is toiling over your work, you can sit back, breathe a sigh of relief and do whatever you fancy.

Maybe go to a park and catch some butterflies?

4) Get help from a grammatically gifted friend

You don’t necessarily have to pay a professional editor to edit your writing, although as the founder of The Expert Editor, I’d suffer financial hardship if everyone adopted this near-sighted attitude.

If you don’t want to pay someone else to proofread your work then it’s time to work those connections. A trusted (grammatically speaking) friend, parent, sibling or a colleague will also be able to proofread it with fresh eyes and point out the mistakes for you.

Again you can go off and have fun while they are reading it, but they will probably do a better job if you sit near them (as they may nod off because they’re not being paid).

Proofreading your work is essential, and it’s important to do it effectively.

Any writing intended for publication must communicate its message in the clearest possible way, which means that there must be no spelling, grammar or punctuation errors. They can undermine the impact of the writing and the credibility of the author.

But as these four tactics show, proofreading doesn’t have to be boring!