Novice Writers: Proofread, Proofread, Proofread
Stan Grimes
April 03, 2007
If there's a process in writing you must never pass by, it's proofreading. I currently have a book on the market "Squirrel Mountain Trilogy." The concept I think is good, not many typos, but the red flag is up on the character connections. Why? I didn't proofread the story. I was so enamored with the concept I forgot the very basic rule of read and re-read your story.
Squirrel Mountain at best could be called mediocre. At best, sells could be described as low. I didn't proofread. I worried about grammar; I worried about transition between paragraphs; but I forgot to follow through with story flow and character synchronization. Big mistake my writing friends.
You may be saying to yourself, "I'm a writer not an editor." Wrong. In today's competitive business you have to be everything. Only the big girls and boys have the luxury of editors pouring over their work in an effort to make their writer the best. Big girls and boys, you know the ones. Patricia Cornwell, Danielle Steele, Dean Koontz, Stephen King…need I say more?
Of course, you could hire somebody to proofread your book, but it costs. You could hire an editor; it costs. You could get your best friend to do it, but is she/he any better at it than you? Speaking as a non-expert on the subject, sit down and read your book when you're finished with the spell-check, the grammar check, and read it as if someone else wrote it. Does the plot make sense? Do the characters make sense? Did you write about a guy named Joe in the first half of the book and suddenly his name became Dick? An important thing to think about for all novices to the writing business, because once it is in ink and published, there is no turning back. I have learned the hard way.
My only hope now that I have published a flop is that the public can forgive and overlook. Easier said than done my friends, the public can be fickle. It's easy to forgive King or Koontz for an occasional flop, but Stan Grimes or Joe Blow? Why should anyone give a good rat's snoot? The old saying, "The proof is in the pudding," holds true. Keep writing, keep getting better, and maybe just maybe, someone might say, "Okay, now that's more like it."
You have heard from the mule's mouth. Take it for what it is worth, maybe a penny.
Squirrel Mountain at best could be called mediocre. At best, sells could be described as low. I didn't proofread. I worried about grammar; I worried about transition between paragraphs; but I forgot to follow through with story flow and character synchronization. Big mistake my writing friends.
You may be saying to yourself, "I'm a writer not an editor." Wrong. In today's competitive business you have to be everything. Only the big girls and boys have the luxury of editors pouring over their work in an effort to make their writer the best. Big girls and boys, you know the ones. Patricia Cornwell, Danielle Steele, Dean Koontz, Stephen King…need I say more?
Of course, you could hire somebody to proofread your book, but it costs. You could hire an editor; it costs. You could get your best friend to do it, but is she/he any better at it than you? Speaking as a non-expert on the subject, sit down and read your book when you're finished with the spell-check, the grammar check, and read it as if someone else wrote it. Does the plot make sense? Do the characters make sense? Did you write about a guy named Joe in the first half of the book and suddenly his name became Dick? An important thing to think about for all novices to the writing business, because once it is in ink and published, there is no turning back. I have learned the hard way.
My only hope now that I have published a flop is that the public can forgive and overlook. Easier said than done my friends, the public can be fickle. It's easy to forgive King or Koontz for an occasional flop, but Stan Grimes or Joe Blow? Why should anyone give a good rat's snoot? The old saying, "The proof is in the pudding," holds true. Keep writing, keep getting better, and maybe just maybe, someone might say, "Okay, now that's more like it."
You have heard from the mule's mouth. Take it for what it is worth, maybe a penny.
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