Welcome to Bookish Blatherings, my new feature in which I will be rambling about bookish or bloggish things and hopefully you will join in on the discussion.
So, I have had this thought in my head all week. A boring topic but something all of us have to do every day, especially us bloggers. The dreaded proofreading. I am a writer, so I know how important it is to proofread. It use to take me forever to get a blog post out because I spent so much time going over it and over it. I even had my mom double check after I published a post and she would give me notes on any errors she found so I could change them. I have to say, even with my precision, she often found one or two errors in a couple posts every week. That freaked me out! How could I miss those errors even after I went over the whole thing three to four times? It just didn't make sense. 
But as time passed, I realized that sometimes it's just hard to find the errors we make ourselves. We read our own work the way we want it to look not how it actually looks. At least, that's true for me. That's why I am a part of a critique group, they find my stupid errors for me, but that's for my manuscripts. When it comes to my blog posts, I had to make a decision: proofreading posts for just as long as it takes for me to write posts or pulling back and doing a normal amount of proofreading and letting the chips fall where they may. On one hand, the more errors I have, the more I may look unprofessional. On the other, the more time I spend on my posts just to proofread them, the more I start to resent them because they take up too much of my time.
I hate looking unprofessional, but I did have to concede that this is a somewhat informal blog, not a freaking research paper. I had to start being okay that sometimes I am going to make mistakes and I won't catch them. I started to go over my posts twice, and that was it. That is the extent of my proofreading. I actually go through each paragraph twice before continuing. I hated reading through my whole post and then doing it again. Separating it into paragraphs feels less time consuming, I don't know why. So that's my take on proofreading a blog post. Now I want to know what you think, because honestly, I don't know if my way is the right way or the best way. It's just my way. That's all I got.
I have noticed, when I end up reading my posts later down the line, that I have left some errors. I fix them when I see them, but I don't stress about the ones I don't know about. I just can't. I am human, I make mistakes. If people don't want to read my blog because of it, I am okay with that. I just want blogging to stay fun for me, and so far it's working. And to be honest, I see mistakes on other blogs and it never bothers me. I only see them occasionally and that to me says that that blogger checks her work and sometimes an error or two slips through. Who the hell cares?
How do you proofread your blog posts?
Does it look unprofessional to have a few errors on occasional posts?
Is there a right way to proofreading? Any suggestions?
Woah, girl :P That much proofreading would drive me nuts. I'm not much of a proofreader. I usually write my post, then read it over once, and hit "schedule" lol. I've never ever been a big proofreader or outliner though. With essays, projects, etc. I just glance over it once and decide it's good to go. It's worked okay for me so far XD
ReplyDeleteEvery now and then I notice one spelling or grammatical mistake in my post, but I don't stress over it. I don't think people are going to think less of me for having one occasional error on an informal blog. I think there's a huge difference between having a small spelling/grammatical mistake now and then, and having each post be practically unreadable. The former just shows a mistake—that's fair enough. The latter shows a serious lack of education or a serious lack of effort.
OMG, that would drive me crazy, but, it would also be such a load off to be that nonchalant about proofreading.
DeleteYeah, I agree, as long as it's occasionally, then it shows the blogger cares to at least read over it once.
I just started blogging quite recently. And for me it was just a medium to express my thoughts and get out there, meet like-minded people, get to know there thoughts too. I never proofread my work more than two times. I know of quite a few bloggers who have mention in posts like this, how much time they spend working on one single post. How much time and energy they expend on their blogs. Compared to you all I don't do much. It is pretty much impossible for me to spend hours on my blog everyday, reading and re-reading my posts. I basically only do reviews and blog tours, blitzes etc. There is no X-factor so to say, but despite that I enjoy what I do. It is fun and a good way to unwind. Maybe a few months down the line or in a couple of years when I would have more time to spend on my blog, I'll come up with something appealing. And like you said we are humans, we are entitled to a mistake or two. It's when the mistakes are all too frequent that it grates. But otherwise I don't sweat much over it.
ReplyDeleteAnd I just realized there are a couple of errors in my comment above! :D
DeleteI read over my blog posts obsessively and still miss errors. It drives me nuts. Recently, though, I've been coming to the same conclusion as you...I feel like it's wasting my time when I should be doing more important stuff. I'll have to try the two or three time rule and see if I can stop fiddling with things. lol Great post!
ReplyDeleteI think two times is enough. I have noticed that even when I go over it a third time I almost never find the mistake if there is one.
DeleteI usually re-read my blog posts a couple of times after I've finished typing them up, and I'll often do it again the day they go live. I try to keep them as error-free as possible, but there's only so much time in the day, and some of it has to be spent reading, so I don't feel too bad if the occasional mistake slips through.
ReplyDeleteCarmel @ Rabid Reads
Girl, you do more than me so more power to ya, lol. It's such a tricky thing, right? What is the right amount of times to check over a post? Who knows.
DeleteWe're humans, and we're fallible. I do my best to make sure my posts go up error-free, but things do slip through the cracks. I fix them as I find them, but this is a hobby, and as long as you don't get lazy (just start posting w/o proof-reading), I don't think anyone is going to think terrible thoughts about a blogger who occasionally has a less than perfect post. I don't anyway ;)
ReplyDeleteI sure hope so. Sometimes I find like an error in almost every post for a week and I freak out. How the hell am I missing these?
DeleteI will re-read a post twice before hitting publish. I too make errors, but I'm not a writer. I read and blog for fun. If I see an error, I'll go back and fix it. No big deal. I'll feel stupid for the lack of a better word, over the error and mistakes, but will it go and hope not to make it again.
ReplyDeleteYeah, no matter how much I look over a post, there tends to be something I miss more often than not. It's frustrating.
DeleteGreat post Jennifer! I don't stress so much anymore about proofreading my posts. Now I write it, read it once, leave it for a day, read it the next day again and then schedule! Errors don't bug me when I read another person's blog unless it is really unreadable or just doesn't make sense.
ReplyDeleteGlad to know you have a found a method that works for you. Blogging is meant to be fun and stay fun!
Chanzie @ Mean Who You Are.
I agree, it has to be fun or we will burn out. That's the most important thing I think.
DeleteYea it is just impossible to find every mistake you make. Since we read our own work for content, like you said, we read it how we expect it to appear, and don't notice all the issues. I say read it twice, and post. To err is human, right?
ReplyDeleteThanks, I think that seems to be the most fair method. Reading twice should be efficient.
DeleteNope, I read it once in preview view then I leave it alone. I am not a professional reviewer and although I know how to spell, typing it out it a different matter. I don't care if I see errors in other reviews (unless they are excessive). Im sure I've done to instead of too a few times...
ReplyDeleteSuch a great attitude. :) I want to be more like you.
DeleteEnglish is my second language so heck yeah, I know I'll be making grammatical errors here and there. I try to self-edit though, sometimes it works, sometimes it ends up wonky. I at least try to make sure that my formatting is ok, let that be my saving grace...
ReplyDeleteHmmm, I never notice anything wrong with your posts so you are doing something right. :)
DeleteI can be a little obsessed with proofreading at times. and then when it posts-that's when I see the error. Never fails! In the beginning, I would get really stressed about it-not as much now. It bothers me more to read a book that hasn't been edited right.
ReplyDeleteOh yeah, a book that's not edit well is really bad to me.
DeleteI don't think that the occasional wordfart makes the blog or blogger look unprofessional, just makes them look human. As long as readers get what you were saying, I think it's all cool. That's what matters, really, to get the message across. Not saying grammar&spelling be damned, but we all know it happens to the best of us lol, so yeah, embrace the fact some occasional errors might happen :)
ReplyDeleteLove it. thanks so much. I agree with you.
DeleteThat is why it takes so many hours to create blog content because, first you gotta write it, make it sound good and then do all the freaking proofreading. My sister once offered to do my proofreading and I'm like uhhh I need this back right now can you drop everything you're doing to proofread this before midnight when it goes live!? No...ok guess it's my job then.
ReplyDeleteI reread it probably about 3 times after I'm done...and I always make changes. Now this doesn't even consider the amount of rereading of it I do WHILE I'm writing it. I constantly go back over the paragraph before moving to the next.
I have to reread it entirely because what if I say the same thing in the next paragraph? What if I use the word JUST too many times (a big habit of mine) So then I have to strip out redundant words.
Lately I have been reading my posts to myself out loud to my sister via facetime while she's only half listening and this has helped me catch loads of mistakes. So I recommend that. Read it out loud. Helps catch sentence structure issues you wouldn't see otherwise perhaps.
oops forgot to tell you - i have a new blog home! Notyetread.com
DeleteVery good advice. I read my manuscripts out loud, I should start doing that with my posts. LOL I use the work JUST so much it's ridicules. I should read the whole thing once over too because you are right, repeated words and stuff are more noticeable then.
DeleteVisiting your new blog now.
I have built in spell check, and honestly that is all I proofread. I hope that it doesn't effect my professionalism though!
ReplyDeleteLOL, No, I don't notice errors on your blog so you're good.
DeleteMy brain was so set on more research writing for years, that it was hard for me to get out of it when I just wanted to write reviews and such. I've actually had to work at writing in a more casual way. I know the technical aspects of my writing has slipped quite a bit in the ... oh, last 5 years or so, but I've learned to let it go (I swear I'm not quoting Frozen). And sometimes my brain goes faster than I can type, and I end up with a lot of weird errors. Blogging is just a hobby for me, so I don't take it too seriously. I do quickly go over my posts, though, but I know I still miss stuff. I've also had to learn to not give an eff what people think. If I need to write something serious and formal, then I'll buck up and bust out some good shit. My hobby writing is different than my 'professional' writing, and I just don't care as much how my hobby writing comes across. Usually.
ReplyDeleteSee, I typed this comment real quick so I bet there are a ton of errors, but I don't care. lol.
I know, when I went to write reviews they were so formal because I was use to essays and research papers.
DeleteMy brain works faster than my fingers so sometimes I reader over my review and think "what the hell?"
That's a good attitude. Thanks for sharing.
I used to go over and proofread all my posts, but now I'm constrained by time and hardly do it more than once. I cringe when I find mistakes, but that's the beauty of being able to edit it later!
ReplyDeleteSo true. Thanks for sharing.
DeleteIt doesn't look unprofessional to me if I occasionally see an error. At our company, everything goes through another lady and I to look for errors. We know that when we do something though, it's very important to have someone else look over our work because we're likely to miss it by reading what we knew should have been there. Like you, I'm more likely to notice an error a few days later when it's not fresh in my head. I do read over everything a few times before I put it out there though.
ReplyDeleteA very good policy. I love when people double check my work, it makes me feel safe, lol.
DeleteThis is a great idea. Love it!
ReplyDeleteProofreading is tough. I have my biggest success when I re-read my post a few days after writing it. I also review it on preview; for some reason I see errors easier there than anywhere else.
Anna from Shout with Emaginette
Hmmm, I will have to see if that works for me. Though I tend to write my posts the same day they go live. hehe.
DeletePersonally I think it is impossible to never have any mistakes in a post! I always proofread mine, I write just like you do, and the only thing I hate proofreading is schoolwork. (Which is one of those occasions when it is really important to proofread as well lol). I does look unprofessional to have some errors, but I believe it's normal. Everyone has some every now and again, and readers should be understanding of that.
ReplyDeletehttp://olivia-savannah.blogspot.nl/2014/04/how-to-write-poem.html
I agree, everyone has errors every now and then so oh well.
Delete