The problem with asking a creative writer or editor to proofread something is good writers and editors can’t resist making changes.

They’re too subjective. They change things not because something is wrong but because it’s not how they’d say it themselves.

Proofreading is purely objective. It’s either right or it isn’t. Any subjective changes should be made at the drafting or editing stage.

Look for mistakes only

Good proofreaders know to look for mistakes (including inconsistencies) only.

Why? Because when a copywriter has already spent days (or weeks) writing a document, getting everyone’s feedback, making everyone’s changes, and chasing a client or manager for approval, the last thing they want is the proofreader rewriting parts because they personally didn’t like it.

Three stages, three different disciplines

There’s a big difference between drafting and editing, and between editing and proofreading. But too many writers try to do all three at the same time.

By the way, if you’re the kind of writer who plans their work meticulously, knows exactly what they want to say, bashes out a first draft in moments, leaves it for as long as you can, edits it objectively, leaves it again, then proofreads it to find mistakes only, you don’t need to read this article.

If, on the other hand, you ponder long and hard over the first paragraph and won’t move on until every sentence, word and punctuation mark is right, this one is for you.

There are three very different stages of writing, each involving a different set of skills and purposes. And if you try to do all three at once, you’ll end up doing none of them terribly well.

Don’t get it right, get it written

Lots of writers struggle with a first draft because they want it – expect it – to read well from the start. It is only a first draft. Don’t worry if it doesn’t sound great.

Silence that annoying little voice in your head that’s saying, “That doesn’t sound right. The client won’t like that. You’ve used that word twice. You don’t know that fact for certain.”

The aim is to just write something. Anything. You can tidy it up, find better words, check your facts, and move things around at the editing stage.

Murder your darlings

Once you’ve got yourself a half-decent draft, you can start the editing process.

Editing means different things to different people. But, in essence, it’s about making the draft copy better. Better in terms of putting paragraphs in the right order, tightening up sentences so they flow more easily, losing unnecessary words, and making sure the message is clear.

Editors are always telling authors to ‘murder their darlings’. In other words, lose all the flowery stuff the author loves but which adds nothing to the story. That could include replacing horrible clichés with sincerity, getting rid of unnecessary adjectives, replacing jargon with simple words and losing whole chunks of irrelevant information.

What it doesn’t include is looking for typos, inconsistencies and poor grammar. That’s proofreading.

Proofread objectively

When you’ve finished tweaking, and I mean finished, proofread it to find mistakes only.

Better still, get someone else to proofread it for you. We’re hopeless at spotting our own mistakes. We knew what we meant, and we simply see what we want.

If you must edit and proofread your own work, leave as much time as possible between each of the three stages.

Draft. Wait. Edit. Wait. Proofread. In that order.

Photo by Mari Helin-Tuominen on Unsplash