subject: Easy To Implement Tips For Book Editing And Proofreading [print this page] Proofreading and editing is for the hacks! So quoth a supposedly superior intellect, who considers his documents to be so well written that he does not need to spend time and energy checking and re-checking them. Or possibly, he plans to engage the help of the built-in spell checker, which incidentally has a deplorable rating in correcting spelling and grammar. These spell checkers are definitely not foolproof. So, it is absolutely necessary that a writer and an editor use their own knowledge of spelling and grammar for book editing as well as for proofreading.
Many people use the excuse that they are not very up to date with the process of proofreading. You do not need to know all about the professional squiggles and symbols placed in the margins to be an expert proofreader. You just need to use your common sense. So remember to use these book editing tips. They will help you enormously while you are checking and rechecking your documents for grammatical and spelling mistakes.
One of the important proofreading tips that has been overlooked is that you can increase the zoom size of the document while preparing it. In fact if you are working in Word 2007, go to the view button, and write the document in the web layout mode. After that, increase the zoom size from 100 percent to 113%. You can also increase the size of the font by pressing the control button, along with}. This is going to increase the size of the font so that you can notice any glaring mistakes in the typed document really quickly.
Along with zooming in, you can use the full screen reading mode to edit and proofread your documents. You just need to go to view and press the full screen reading button. You might also like to press the view options button with which you can allow typing, increase the font and even track changes made in the document.
Remember that Proofreading is not an activity which is undertaken lightly. You are not only checking the manuscript for typos and grammatical mistakes, but you are also making sure that information has not been repeated again and again. You need to do your proofreading in a place where you are definitely not distracted by a blaring TV or while sitting in the train going to work. Your sole priority should be to proofread the manuscript in a systematic and methodical fashion. And that can only be done by reading every single word, and checking it for typos and grammatical mistakes.
An experienced editor and proofreader, well experienced in proofreading and book editing, will take about three days to edit a 50,000 word manuscript. And that is just a modest estimate! So shut yourself in your den, where you are not going to be interrupted at periodic intervals and where you can concentrate on proof reading your book manuscript meticulously. You will be surprised at the typos and grammatical errors that managed to creep in while you were also busy concentrating on putting your creative imagination and streams of consciousness onto paper!
