The Importance of Editing

I was setting up some shots for this post, when I noticed something a little different about one of the phone books I was using.

PWND!

Some thoughts after the jump…

So? I wonder who lost their job over this one! Designer? Layout editor? Copy editor?

And who had to get carpel tunnel putting all those blasted tiny stickers on?

This is something that I see more often than I should in today’s spell-check-as-you-go-world. I naturally look for these things; partly because my mom always had me proof-reading things for her restaurant and partly because I’m just wired like this.

But, even I’m not above the fray. I can’t tell you how many times here, or on these blogs I’ve missed my own basic mistakes. Granted- there aren’t potentially millions of dollars at stake here, but reputation is. From an editorial standpoint, if a writer has the reputation of having an “issue” with basic grammer or spelling then that makes me less likely to want to seriously consider their work in the future. (I KNOW that I’m not perfect in my grammer, sentence structure, spelling, et cetera so please holster your firesauce comment- for now.)

Since the majority (which is in itself a minority) of what I know is in blogging, I’ll just stick the topic at hand in that area of the writing world. Here are some things to consider the next time you go to hit that publish button.

An Extra Set of Eyes

Just having someone other than yourself read through your writing before you publish can save you from this type of malfeasance. I know this is true for myself because I tend to skim through my writing when I’m proofing it. Ask your spouse, a roommate, a friend, anyone really to read over something before you release it to the masses.

A Change of Scenery

In WordPress, as with most blogging platforms, you have the option to preview a post before you publish it.
DO THIS! It will not only give you an idea at how your spacing and sentence structure will look in the real world, but it will also give your own eyes a break from the back of the house screen you’ve just spent so much time on.

The Rule of Three

This is something that I use regularly. I don’t know if I can claim this, I haven’t Googled it, but here it is. Before I publish, I have to have done one of the following or a combination of all, totaling three:
• Read my potential post’s final draft three times. (I’m totally OCD about this. If I edit anything, I start over. To each his own level of OCD.)
• Have someone else read the potential post three times. (OCD rule doesn’t necessarily apply- it’s just not cool to ask your wife to read your nerdy-tech-blog-post three more times after you make an edit at 2 in the morning. True story.)
• Have three different people read the potential post. (This may not be practical, especially at 2 in the morning. But if you have peeps that will do it, take advantage!)
*Note- all of these are done IN PREVIEW!

When Good Enough Isn’t

The worst thing ever said in any area is “good enough”. And this is especially true in the land of the creatives- they’re the last words of a dying artist. I’ve seen way too many instances where projects that seriously have the potential to be awesomsauce end up stinking because it was “good enough”. Don’t let good enough syndrome effect you.

I came across a quote of something of that nature on twitter recently and it’s been floating around in my noggin ever since:

The moment you think that your work is good enough, it’s time to re-work it.

If you threw that out and are reading this- let me know! That’s just straight school knowledge!

**Total views in preview before the final publish of this post: 12 (Told ya I was OCD- that’s 36 read-throughs. My brain hurts.)

What about you? What are things you do to proof before you publish?