I usually get one or two emails a day from readers who have caught typos in my blog posts. Most go out of their way to apologize for bringing the subject up. Regardless, I am always appreciative. I fix the error, thank the reader, and move on.
However, on occasion, I get an email from a self-appointed member of the Grammar Police. They feel compelled, not only to point out my errors, but to chide me.
Someone wrote last week,
You should be ashamed. How can you be a book publisher and allow such embarrassing errors on your blog? I am disappointed by your lack of commitment to excellence. It makes me think less of your company. Please: do us all a favor and hire a proofreader!”
I am just grateful I am not this poor woman’s husband!
Should you hire someone to proofread your blog posts? In my opinion, “no.” Here’s why:
- It will delay “shipping.” You can fiddle with your writing until it is perfect (an illusion, by the way), or you can publish and move on to the next thing. Perfectionism is the mother of procrastination.
- Blogs are not books. If you have an error in a book, it is permanent—at least until the next edition. Not so with blogs. You can make corrections on the fly and re-publish the post immediately.
- Even proofreaders don’t catch every typo. We use multiple proofers on every book at Thomas Nelson. Still, those pesky little errors hide in the shadows and only show up once the book is printed. (I swear!) How much proofing is enough? Most of us can’t afford perfection.
I think the better approach is to stay focused on your writing and your output. Churn out the posts. The more you write, the better you will get.
Obviously, you will want to read your post several times personally before you upload it. I go through the following process:
- Read through it twice after I have written it.
- Read it once out loud.
- Publish as a draft and read through it on the blog itself.
Some errors will still slip through the cracks. But at some point, it’s time to hit the “Publish” button and be done with it.
From there, I “crowd-source” my proofreading. My regular readers are happy to do it. I would rather spend my time writing content that adds value than obsessing over every typo, misspelling, and grammatical error.
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