Constant Content

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.

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.

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.

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

btw, welcome to CC!