Having just caught our collective breath after celebrating National Grammar Day (Sunday, March 4th), we now can whoop it up for its close cousin, National Proofreading Day. Created by blogger Judy Beaver, the Office Pro, in honor of her mom who was always quick to correct people, it’s a day to sharpen your professional image with careful proofreading and editing of all your written materials. Beaver’s website offers resources, tips and tricks, comments, and the Office Pro Website for customized training.
As a former editor/proofreader, my favorite piece of advice is to have someone else proof your document if possible, and if not, let some time pass before you proof your own work. If you read your work right away, I think your brain just recycles whatever typo or glitch you made as you were writing–it’s still in that error loop, so to speak. Even an hour’s time can be enough to give you a fresh look.
So, of course, I’ve done my utmost to make sure this post is error-free, and I wish all you writers, bloggers, tweeters, and texters typo-free communication today and every day!
Barbara L.