Category: Proofreading

Self-Editing When Your English Major Roommate Is Not Around

12/15/2016

First edition of The Elements of Style, the classic writer's compendium.

Perhaps you were the math geek whizzing through your trig homework. But when it came to English class and object pronouns, subject-verb agreement, and the correct spelling of cemetery (all “e”s), you failed miserably.

Enter your college roommate who walked around reciting the auxiliary verbs while toting a marked-up copy of Strunk & White (writing geeks know this). Every term paper and research report had you calling her for last-minute proofreading and checking whether you were using who or whom correctly.

Now though, you’re a big shot, running a business. You’ve got an hour to finish that sales pitch for a lucrative client and the English major ain’t around.

Here are some tips to help you clean up your memo, research paper, or company-wide email when mutual aid isn’t in sight:

Run the darn spellcheck. We all know relying on spellcheck alone is not a good idea because it cannot discern errors of context, like weather/whether. But, it does serve a purpose in identifying some minor mistakes that, if left unattended, can make your paper look like crap. The key is to pay attention. Spellcheck points out extra spaces and punctuation inconsistencies, like a period instead of a comma. These errors will make your paper look sloppy and kill your credibility, so consider spellcheck your baseline cleaner-upper.
First things first. Be sure to reread, proofread, and read out loud your very first line, headline, and opening paragraph. Sure, the entire project is important, but a typo or misprint in the beginning will turn off your client right away. It’s possible (and probable) your reader will only skim the paper or memo, but an error on the first page will send the job down the drain, so spend a little extra time checking the introduction.
Print (aka, kill the trees). If you have access to a printer, go ahead and make a hard copy. Studies show that errors are more likely to be caught when they are on the printed page rather than on screen. (This is my personal experience too.)
Larger Than Life. Of course, if you don’t have time to get to Zippy’s Corner Printshop (or you want to save the trees), you will do your proofing on your monitor. Use the Magnify function (sometimes labeled Zoom or View) to bump up what you see on the screen to about 150% or larger, depending on your screen size. I go to 165% on my 13” MacBook Pro laptop. At this perspective, the bigger text allows you to notice inconsistencies and promptly correct them.

Of course. hiring a proofreader is the most reasonable and practical answer here as a professional would lend credibility to your work and save you lots of headache. You hire a hairdresser to pretty up your coif and go to the mechanic to repair your car; why not seek out a grammar and spelling expert when it comes to presenting yourself on paper?

Hopefully, in the end, a typo or two won’t make or break the sale or ruin your chance to impress the boss. But if you get her name wrong on the cover, or misspell a word like “public” (like this school in Indiana did in a huge billboard), it could be disastrous to your career, and garner lots of laughs at your expense.

Jennifer Karchmer is Editor in Chief of Over The Shoulder Editorial,
where she specializes in proofreading business documents, client memos, sales pitches, emails, and annual reports. Read her column on avoiding typos and comment below with your grammar and writing questions.

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Proofread Your URLs:

4/15/2016

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How to keep your readers from getting lost in the trees

We’ve all been there -- relaxing on a Sunday afternoon in our comfy recliner reading a magazine, newspaper article or other printed material, when we come across some important information in the form of a URL (that's tech talk for "Uniform Resource Locator," or how your computer finds a web address on the Internet).

You reach for your iPhone, Android or whatever handheld device you use to surf the net, or heck, you grab your laptop and touch-type the long string that seems like it's 18 million characters long. You know, the one that begins "H-T-T-P-S-COLON-backslash-backslash ... blah blah blah." Finally, you hit ENTER only to get the error message ...

Page Not Found
Yes, I’ve ripped my hair out too re-typing a URL string only to realize I’ve missed a character or I typed a zero instead of the letter "o." I even have fairly young eyes, don’t wear reading glasses (yet) and consider myself computer savvy, yet I've found myself grunting at the computer screen when I'm presented with the gobbledygook of a long URL strand.

As we all know, when the information appears in a PDF or online materials, it’s easy enough to embed the link like this:
"For more information, go to my website."This is a shameless plug for my proofreading services, but you get the idea. Anyone on the computer reading this story can simply click on the hyperlink, which shows up in that pretty blue font, and be directed (of course if there are no typos in the URL string). Another way to solidify that your readers are getting to the intended destination is to go one step further:

For more information, go to my website, located at www.jenniferkarchmer.com/proofreading. In this case, you are giving your audience an added bonus of the website URL typed out so they see it visually and have another access point.

But what if you’ve got a poster or flyer and want people to go to a specific address that has a URL like this one:
http://org.salsalabs.com/o/1201/p/dia/action3/common/public/?action_KEY=18964
Ahhh! I’m scared already. It starts out Ok, sending my audience to something called “Salsa Labs” but you lose me at /o/. Is that a zero or an “o” (oh)? Then I see a question mark so I need to find the SHIFT key. Ok there it is. Now I think I see an underbar (that short line that sits right on top of the underline? Oh my gosh. I’m pooped.

Rather than torment your audience and lose them altogether, here are some tips for including URLs in printed materials:

Whenever possible,

Whenever possible, provide the home page or root of an URL and give some quick cues. In other words, try
"For more information, go to the ConservationNorthwest" homepage and type "save Blanchard Mountain" in the search bar at right. Choose “Save Blanchard State Forest from clear-cutting.” Scroll all the way down to “We have a personalized comment form for you…

Now that may seem like very long directions and your audience could get lost again the forest. Touché.

So an alternative is to provide a shorter URL. Google has a URL shorter tool or you can go to TinyURL. Either works perfectly fine. They are popularly used on Twitter, where you have only limited space to share hyperlinks and website addresses.

Go to "Google URL Shortener" or TINYURL. Either of these will take a long URL string and make it shorter
Using our example above, here is the Google version: http://goo.gl/bHBKho
Here is the TinyURL version: http://tinyurl.com/zquprnw
Here is the Google URL Shortener tool to bookmark: https://goo.gl/
Here is the TinyURL tool to bookmark: http://tinyurl.com/

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EDITOR'S NOTE: the Dead Body

3/28/2016

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EDITOR'S NOTE: Tip#123 for MYSTERY, THRILLER, SUSPENSE & CRIME WRITERS
"Dead body" is often redundant. Depending on context, try "body."

Example: "They found the [dead] body in the lake."

Here, "body" implies lifelessness. This isn't always the case but consider each time you write "dead body," can I say this more descriptively or more precisely? "Body" may suffice.

From "Shroud for a Nightingale," (1971) by P.D. James:
“Dalgliesh had noticed it before when the body was taken away, this sense of an empty stage, of props casually disposed and bereft of meaning, of a drained air. The recently dead had their own mysterious charisma. Not without reason did men talk in whispers in their presence.”

Take a cue from master writer Stephen King, author of the novella "The Body."

"Dead" body" is redundant. Just say "body," like P.D. James did in 1971.

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Children's Books Need Proofreading Too

2/4/2016

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When it comes to writing, typecast me the journalist -- a writer of non-fiction. Case closed. You're not going to find me hunched over my laptop at Starbucks banging out the Great American Novel, nor sketching love poems to Mr. Right. And you certainly won't find me writing a children's bedtime story for my five nieces and nephews: Samantha, Nicholas, Nadine, Ryan and Sarah (now ages 16-6).

So how did I find myself surrounded by a dozen authors and illustrators of children's books last night at a Barnes & Noble cafe in Bellingham, Wash?

Well, my role as a professional proofreader is a different story. Whether it's a sleepy story for babies, a cookbook for busy college students or a media thriller like "The Anonymous Source,"* all of these titles require top-notch, eagle-eye proofreading.

So how did I find myself surrounded by a dozen authors and illustrators of children's books last night at a Barnes & Noble cafe in Bellingham, Wash?

Admittedly, I have not ventured into writing children's books nor doing illustration. I'm not a school educator, not even a babysitter, or nanny. (Well, I was a camp counselor that one summer in 1985.) Heck, I don't even have kids.

Of course, it helps to be familiar with the genre you're proofing. It makes sense that a proofreader would choose projects that she is familiar with and would enjoy reading. But proofreading as a skill requires the precision and scrutiny to identify and correct mistakes, whether it's a 400-page novel, a e-book memoir, or a kid's coloring book with brief directions.

Eagle Eye Proofreading
In fact, I would argue, being an outsider to the genre is an advantage as a proofreader because the material is fresh and unfamiliar making me even more astute and hyper aware to check spelling, jargon and "inside baseball" references. Nothing goes past these eyes.

With that, I had the pleasure of attending a meeting of the SCBWI. What is that, you ask? It's the Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators, which touts itself on its website as, "The international professional organization for writers and illustrators of children’s literature."

On a rainy February evening in the Pacific Northwest, a bunch of members of the Northern Network of Western Washington SCBWI gathered to hear guest speaker MaryAnn Kohl discuss self-publishing. Her biography caught my eye as I read my Facebook newsfeed the other day (which is filled with writer- and writing-related posts). With her extensive background as a K-2nd grade educator, MaryAnn is the author of more than 25 titles of art activity books -- you know, the kind that get kids doing something with their hands and minds and being creative. Take for example, "Big Messy Art," that includes "Over 100 messy, but easy to clean up art activities." Sounds like a book that both kids, and parents, will enjoy.

Even though the final word count may be only a few hundred words, children's book authors need editors and proofreaders too.

I figured, even though their final word count may be only a few hundred words (versus 90k for adult fiction or non-fiction, let's say), children's book authors need editors and proofreaders too. I promptly handed out my business card and enjoyed MaryAnn's 90-minute talk. Whether you are a children's book author or illustrator or looking to self-publish your novel or memoir, you may find some of her tips valuable:

Do your research. Go to bookstores, browse the aisles and check out titles similar to the book you are writing. What is out there already? Check out book covers and designs. Feel the paper. What appeals to you? Then go online and check the books' rankings on Amazon.com. How well are those titles selling? If the genre or type of book you're writing is not there, decide whether that indicates it's a snoozer or maybe you're the first to do it?
Basic Questions to Ask Yourself. Explore these three questions to guide your decisions on publishing: a) WHY do you want to publish? b) WHO will buy your book? c) WHAT makes your book unique?
Pricing. Keep your book under $20. That's a general price point that filters out customers and can make or break sales, according to MaryAnn.

Have fun setting up your business. Come up with your brand. Create a logo. Get a business license. Be aware that for children's books, the teddy bear, rainbow and handprint have been done to death so avoid cliché and go for something unique and personalized.

Finally, MaryAnn says, a great way to promote your book is not necessarily telling everyone, "Buy my book!" Rather, go ahead and travel to schools, universities, book clubs and associations in your genre with a presentation related to your book.

World Travel
MaryAnn has travelled around the world schlepping crayons, paint, paper, glue and other materials (and her books), setting up art stations in auditoriums and gymnasiums to give day-long presentations and keynote speeches to schoolchildren, teachers and parents about creativity and the unique crafts in her books. In most cases, she gets paid a fee along with receiving hotel and travel stipends. Start pitching a unique, professional presentation in your region and then branch out to other areas where you would like to travel. It can get exhausting, she says, especially if you transport lots of materials, but the exposure as an author is very valuable and will generate book sales. Her books have been translated into several languages, so she gets a kick out of seeing her titles with international appeal.

During the evening, MaryAnn explored so many more topics including wholesale and national distributors, promotion tools, ISBN numbers, preparing and manuscript and copyright... the list goes on so check out her website for loads of information.

With three decades in the publishing, writing and education fields, MaryAnn figures she has a wealth of knowledge to give others. "When I was starting out, I didn't have anyone to tell me this stuff," she said over drinks afterward. "I have so much to share and want to help other authors get started."

FOR MORE INFO
You can find more information on the SCBWI (Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators), by going to : https://www.scbwi.org/about/

Jennifer Karchmer is a professional proofreader and editor for authors of all genres. Contact her today with your manuscript and get started with professional proofreading.

*disclosure: I am a Book Manager for A.C. Fuller's "The Anonymous Source," published in 2015 by Booktrope.

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Typos really don't matter

11/5/2015

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A missing number in this mailer cost Macy's a whole lot of money, and a PR headache. Image courtesy: KVDR.com

Typos really don't matter. Yes, you read that right. I am a professional proofreader and I confess: For the most part, typos don't make or break a sale or bankrupt a company. They don't turn off new clients and really don't affect a company's bottom line. In fact, most people don't notice typos. It's grammar police like me who care. We relish at finding errors (and pointing them out with our red pen to the rest of the world).

But there are instances where one tiny mistake can absolutely KILL your credibility, make your customers run to your competitors and cost you thousands of dollars. Take for instance the Macy's mailer that incorrectly stated a $1,500 necklace was on sale for only $47 (see image above). Now, I'm not one who wears flashy jewelry, but that's one choker I'd love to have.

As you can see, a single letter, or in this case, number, can cost a well-known department store lots of money, not to mention the time and energy to repair the damage to its reputation. When typos strike, they are disastrous to your credibility and future sales.

So how do you know when typos are going to affect your business? How do you know whether you should hire a professional proofreader instead of relying on Aunt Bettie or the co-worker with the English degree?

Here are three main considerations when determining the repercussions of typos:

1) Prominence. In a short blog post, a mistake midway down or at the end probably won't get much attention from the general public. But you can be sure an error in the headline will get your phone ringing off the hook. The first thing readers see becomes the deciding moment for your sales and credibility. Think banners, storefront signs, advertisements, emblems, billboards, posters, sandwich boards, even the subject line of your emails. Proofreading is always done with special attention to the top. The City of South Bend, Ind., found out the hard way after posting a huge highway sign with an embarrassing typo (see image below).

2) Frequency. A (classic) typo like "it's/its" may not be a big deal to some people, but when your story, article or text is riddled with errors all the way through, your reader will get turned off and most likely never come back to your website or blog. An outside source who employs proven techniques is your best route to clean, error-free publicity.

Drivers in Indiana got a glimpse of this classic and unfortunate typo. Image courtesy: The Guardian.

A trained proofer uses methods like reviewing from the bottom to the top and reading out of context. I honed this skill while working on Wall Street for 10 years proofreading financial newsletters and reports for institutional clients. The stakes were high because mistakes had a ripple effect, often turning off clients for the long term.

"When typos strike, they are disastrous to your credibility and future sales."

This broadcast journalist was mislabelled during her stand-up in front of the White House. Image courtesy: MSNBC.

Misspellings on headstones and monuments are not only embarrassing but costly. Image courtesy: oddlovescompany

3) Situation. Are you sending a note about a party, writing an obituary for a loved one or emailing 10,000 customers pitching your latest product? Context plays an important role in proofreading.

In other words, that quick email to a handful of your friends where you misspell "cocktail" as "cooktail" might get a giggle, but imagine a thousand-dollar engraved marble headstone with a mistake like this one. The person who did the proofreading (or failed to do so) is probably out of a job. More importantly, the family of the deceased is understandably fuming and, on top of it, heartbroken to be reminded every time they visit the cemetery.

Furthermore, the headstone company might get panned through negative reviews. So remember, a mistake that seems to affect only one customer gets magnified in today's online world.

When it comes to corrections, these important considerations will help you decide on your budget for a professional. The time and money you invest in high-level proofreading (no offense to Aunt Bettie) will help you avoid PR gaffes and embarrassing mistakes. More importantly, it will reap rewards to your bottom line.

Jennifer Karchmer is a professional proofreader, grammar guru and spelling bee champion (8th grade). She worked as an editor and proofreader on Wall Street and currently offers clients worldwide proofreading solutions. She holds a master's degree in communications.

Contact Jennifer for per-project and monthly retainer rates.

Comments

Self-Editing When Your English Major Roommate Is Not Around

Proofread Your URLs:

How to keep your readers from getting lost in the trees

EDITOR'S NOTE: the Dead Body

Children's Books Need Proofreading Too

Typos really don't matter

Jennifer Karchmer

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