Why Is Proofreading So Hard?

A million years ago I started my college career as an English major. I have years of English classes under my belt. I also have science classes and business classes, but that’s a different issue.

I am a writer. I write for a blog, for an e-zine, and am working on a book. Language is my friend. I know the difference between “they’re,” “their,” and “there” as well between “to,” “too,” and “two.” I know when to use “affect” and when to choose “effect.” My vocabulary is large, which is great because I can’t spell well and so I usually can find another word to use that I do know how to spell.

I do proofread all the stuff I write. I also taught my students to chant “F7” which is the hot key on Microsoft products for Spell Check. Except my new keyboard uses F10 for some bizarre reason, unless I tell it to use different keys. I realize, however, that checking the spelling isn’t the same as checking the words. “To” may be spelled correctly, but if I am talking about “too” much of something “to” isn’t the correct word.

I cheat sometimes and make what I write work for two things. The e-zine uses reader submissions and I oftentimes send my blog piece in for a reader submission piece. I get a double bang for my buck.

When publishing, I truly do look over what I wrote and always run spell check. I can’t believe how many mistakes still get past me. Then I see it published and I’m appalled. Why can’t I see the mistakes before publication? Why are they so glaring after publication?

I assume the answer to that is twofold. First, while writing I whiz along trying to get my ideas onto the screen before I lose them completely. I’m typing as fast as I can hoping to say what I want before I forget what it is that I’m trying to say. The second problem that I can see is that I proofread very soon after I actually type. I know what is supposed to be there and as I read, I expect to see what I think I wrote.

I would like to blame some of the errors on the fact that it is on the computer instead of a printout. It is much easier for me to see errors on a printout than on the screen. Probably because of the degaussing of the screen, that flickering stuff as the screen reloads itself. That sounds plausible until I realize that when I’m reading what I wrote in an e-zine or on a blog, it is on the same computer I used to compose the thing.

I know that even well known authors in printed books by reputable publishers have typos in them. At times it is a missed word and other times it is the wrong word. I never feel cheated by their inopportune usage and figure it is one of those fleeting errors that really don’t make a difference. However, in my own writing, I’m less charitable, less kind, more critical, more embarrassed.

Knowing how much the errors irritate me, one would think that I would make a more concerted effort to correct them before hitting the send button. But one would be wrong. I’m not even sure why. I think perhaps I’m more confident of my typing skills than I should be. That, or I know that typos don’t kill people, they just irritate me.