Editing and proofreading are vitally important, but they can also be expensive. You could do it yourself, but I don’t recommend it. You’re too close to your writing and you’ll see what you think is there, not what is actually there. You need the help of other people. If you’re not yet making a fortune from your writing, you might struggle with this. But don’t worry; in this article you’ll learn how to get free proofreading by real people.
Errors are bad – really bad
We’ve all read books that are full of typos and formatting errors. You might even have come across a few plot holes in novels, and other things that didn’t make any sense. Clearly, the impoverished author (or publisher) saved money by not employing an experienced editor or proofreader.
This reflects badly on the author (even if it was the publisher’s fault). One or two typos might be forgiven, but too many will turn readers off. Some will give up on your book right there and then. Others might persevere to the end, grinding their teeth every time they come across yet another mistake. Either way, they’re unlikely to read anything else you write.
Those who bought Book One in your series won’t come back for Books Two, Three and Four. Once you get a few bad reviews (which you will), you’ll also notice a decline in sales for Book One (even if it’s free). So basic errors can seriously harm your book sales.
Even if you write a new series, employ the world’s best editor, and move to a better publisher, your sales might never be as good as they could be. You might even get some one-star reviews for your new series – even if there are no errors in them. If you look deeper, you’ll notice the reviews were left by people who haven’t read your new series. They’re still talking about the mistakes in your previous one. Nevertheless, reviews like this will put new readers off.
Some of your previous readers might have been planning to give you another chance. But when they see the reviews for your new series, they think, “Oh, his books are still full of typos, I’ll buy something else.” Even if your new series is word-perfect.
What can you do?
There are two ways of fixing this:
1. write your new series under a different name
2. don’t release a book with so many mistakes in the first place
How to get it right
No matter how good a writer you are, you will make mistakes. Your spelling should always be spot-on, thanks to the spelling checker in your word processor. But you’ll also need a decent grammar checker to spot when you’ve misused their, there or they’re; its or it’s; or to, too or two. The grammar checker in your word processor is not up to the job.
I’ve tried most of the more advanced grammar checkers. The only one I recommend is Pro Writing Aid. You can get started for free, so it’s worth giving it a try, but if you want to use it on all your writing projects you’ll have to pay. Pro Writing Aid isn’t perfect. It’s the best of the bunch in my opinion, so it will help. But it won’t catch everything. People are better at this kind of work.
But what if you’re impoverished and you can’t afford their fee? Or you can’t afford to pay for Pro Writing Aid. (Or you have an aversion to spending money, like me?)
That’s what friends are for
You might not be able to write perfect text, but you can certainly publish it.
Before you release your first book, ask some of your friends and family to read it and mark any mistakes they come across. If you don’t have any friends or family, ask other people:
● your colleagues
● neighbours
● librarians
● shop assistants
● waiters
● your dental assistant
● the garage receptionist
● your kids’ teachers
● or your neighbours’ kids’ teachers
You’ll be able to think of someone.
You can even bribe them: tell them you’ll pay them for every mistake they find.
(Warning: only do this after a few people have already read your book and found most of the mistakes. There’s no point in throwing good money away.)
The second time is better
One or two of these people might turn out to be really good at finding mistakes, so you can go straight to them next time.
You might even offer to pay them if your first book is selling well.
If your first book is selling really well, I strongly advise employing a professional editor for your next one. Reedsy is a good place to find professional editors. All the editors on their list have been vetted and have a great track record in the industry.
But this article is aimed at those who can’t afford to hire a professional (yet).
Recruit your readers
Another thing you can do is to put a message in the back of your book, near the link to the next book in your series.
Say something like:
“Hey, Dave here. I realise there might be a few mistakes in this book – sorry about that. I could really use your help. Please tell me about any mistakes you find – no matter how small. In exchange, I’ll send you an exclusive bonus story called … that only goes out to my VIP readers.”
Give your email address so readers can contact you with any mistakes.
Thank them … and rope them in!
If someone reports a mistake, make the correction and send them a reply like this:
“Hey, thanks so much for telling me about the mistake in … I’ve fixed it now. Here’s that bonus story I promised.
Would you be interested in joining my VIP readers list? You’ll get all the other books in the series – for free! – at least a month before they’re published.
All I ask in return is that you let me know of any mistakes you find within two weeks of receiving each copy.”
Your VIP team
You shouldn’t have too many readers in your VIP team: around ten would be a good number. That should be enough to ensure your books are error-free by the time they’re published. It also allows for the fact that some of your VIP team might not respond in time.
Don’t expect your VIP team to remain constant; members will come and go. Some might not respond when you send them your next book, or they might reply too late. If they do this once, you might decide to give them another chance. But if they do it twice, I would delete them and give their place to someone else. There should be no shortage of volunteers. You want an active, highly engaged list of avid readers who are massive fans of your work, fast readers, and really good at finding mistakes.
And that’s how you get free proofreading by real people. So now you can publish perfect text every time.
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Would you like more editing and proofreading ideas, tips and advice? I have a book!
117 Painless, Efficient and Awesome Ideas for Editing and Strengthening Your Writing.