What would you say if your builder asked you to finish off the plastering in your new annex? Unprintable I expect!

Amazingly, many writers seem to think that it is O.K. submit articles to magazine editors strewn with spelling and other mistakes in the belief that their job is to correct poorly presented copy!

Here are some tips to ensure you present a professional image.

1. Always leave enough time to put your work away for a few days before proof reading so you can view with a fresh eye.1. Fresh eyes are your best proof reading weapon. Leave your work for a few days before attempting to proof and you will spot errors much more easily.

2. Do an initial proof by running your word processing spell check. Remember it will not flag up all words that are not being used correctly! E.g. fowl and foul both have different meanings but will probably not trigger the spell checker.

3. Print out a hard copy and go through it marking errors in red pen.

4. Follow the text word by word and keep an eye for possibly wrongly used words. Check also the spelling, spacing, capital letter usage, punctuation.

5. Watch for wrongly used or missing punctuation. This can be quite common if you have hacked your article about.

6. Check layout. The first paragraph should be blocked whilst the rest are indented. Start your article a third of the way down the page.

7. Word breaks. If you need to break a word and are not sure if it is acceptable, consult a good dictionary.

8. If you have numbered the pages, (and you should have) use the header or footer to ensure you do not have any discrepancies.

9. If you can persuade someone to listen to you, read your work out aloud. This is great for highlighting awkward sentences and will also show up missing text. Yes it is surprising how often that happens! Recording yourself and playing back is almost as good.

10. Lastly, if your spelling and or grammar is weak, get someone who is more adapt in these skills to read through and explain your errors. It really is vital that all copy you submit for publication is well written and properly presented.

It really is worth brushing up on your proof reading skills as there are hundreds and hundreds of magazines which accept freelance submissions. Writelink has a huge database of paying markets for magazine articles and if you think your writing skills need honing, here is a good article on writing for magazines.

Alternatively, signup for Mags & Rags, writing for magazines, an excellent free eworkshop covering all the basics of writing for magazines.

Categories : Lora's Posts