How to Proof your Manuscript

I wish I could proof. I come from a long line of people who can barely spell, which you've no doubt noticed from my previous blogs.

I used to get C's on college papers not because of poor content but because of poor spelling. I've almost lost jobs because of my incredible dyslexic abilities. The worst experiences were at law firms.

As it turns out, attorneys are extremely sensitive about spelling, and I gave them reason to be more so. Like when I kept turning this poor man's name Gerald Giesler into Gerlad Geisler.

The attorney I worked for tried to be understanding and said, "Although I'm sure the client appreciates the gratuitous name change, please stick with the original."

I tried to spell it right, but no matter how hard I tried, it kept coming out wrong. It got to the point Gerald would call and say, "Hi, it's Gerlad."

So, you can image that I'm nervous about sending off my new script because I'm sure it's loaded with typos invisible to my naked eye.

I know that a bad speller isn't necessarily a bad writer, but unfortunately no one else knows that. Plus, I don't want the poor reader to wade through typos.

I've done the standard:

• run spell check

• had my friends look it over

• read it out loud

I'm tempted to pay a professional proofer to go through it. The last time it cost over $350. That's kind of pricey, but maybe it's worth the cost to weed out those last 'Gerlads'.

What do you guys do to make sure your stories are proofed well? Please share.

Desperately Proofing in Enumclaw