proofing tips that work for me (most of the time!)

[grouchy]

IMO, one of the trickiest parts of submitting articles is making sure they are error- and typo-free. I just about break out in a cold sweat before I click on "submit." (And for good reason -- in my previous job, there was a Zero-Tolerance policy: Staff editors were subject to disciplinary action, including termination, if they published anything with an error. As a result, many of us suffered from analysis paralysis. ) For whatever they're worth, here are a couple things I do to help myself proofread:

I use Word TNR 12 pt to compose the article, and when I finish I will select all and change it to Arial or Verdana, 14 pt. Punctuation mistakes and typos almost jump off the page for me.

Then, I read it backwards. Of course, the writing makes no sense, but that's why it works -- your mind focuses only on the words and not their meanings.

Yes, Ed can confirm that a few errors have found their way into my submissions, but being in a hurry is usually the culprit. Repeat after me: Speed is our enemy.

By the way, since comma use is a bugaboo at CC, has anyone else read "Eats Shoots and Leaves" by Lynne Truss? It is hilarious. The whole book is about commas.

Onward and upward.

p.s. I managed to retire before I got fired.

[Celeste Stewart]

Terrific ideas. I always seem to notice typos once I upload articles to CC -- could be because of the different font! I'll try that trick next time.

[CLandes]

That's an excellent idea, reading it backwards! Another trick I've used when proofing is critical, is to run the content through a text reading program. I happen to have ReadPlease, but there are plenty of others available. I don't use it for spelling and grammar so much as for "hearing" how the content flows. I find it works very well for repeated words or phrases, where I hadn't noticed a close proximity.

[grouchy]

Where can one find ReadPlease or something similar? Is it free? It's actual audio?

btw, welcome to CC!