Sleep before You Press Send

From Writers with Love
Extracts from books, guides and articles that I believe will help make me a better writer. They may help you too…This week CINDY SAMS writing in Brevity literary magazine

Why Editors and Readers Need You to Think Again

I work fast. Sometimes, too fast. I’ve been known to hit send with one eye closed, so juiced on the adrenaline of writing something good that I don’t take time to give it another pass.

Proofing isn’t my strong suit. I’ll admit that. My eyes slide right over mistakes because my brain fills in what I expect to see. I tell myself I’ll proof again before sending the piece out, but sometimes … I don’t.

I could blame my miscues on developing cataracts or crooked bifocals, but who would believe me?

Careful proofing matters. Editors deserve clean copy. Readers deserve clarity. Writers owe it to the words to give them a final go before hitting “submit.” Print the work out. Read it aloud.  Do what I so often don’t: sleep on it. Catch the little buggers before they embarrass you.

Cindy Sams
Read the rest of her article: On Proofing (and Not Over-Proofing) at Brevity, the free on-line literary magazine for short non-fiction.
It is such a good read and the writing of such a high standard I would recommend subscribing to anyone and yes, it really is free. Not you-get-a-bit-free but pay a monthly fee for the interesting stuff. All of it is free and has been since it began over 20 years.

Image by Anne Karakash from Pixabay