Revision Fairy® Small Business Proofreading Services Adds Premium Membership

Revision Fairy® Small Business Proofreading Services now offers 50 percent discounts, faster turnaround, and free products through its Premium Membership program.

Revision Fairy® Small Business Proofreading Services announced today that the premier online proofreading service now offers a Premium Membership program for its clients.

Benefits of Premium Membership include:

• 50 percent off all proofreading services (total price of each order)

• 12-hour turnaround when you select 24-hour turnaround

• A free copy of the anti-grammar ebook, “Revision Fairy Tales: 21 Writing Mistakes You'll Never Make Again”

Premium Members also receive exclusive promotions and giveaways. The annual Membership fee is $99.

“Premium Membership is a fantastic deal for anyone using Revision Fairy, but especially beneficial for clients who use Revision Fairy on a regular basis,” said Founder/Editor Stefanie Flaxman. “I love getting to know my clients’ business and marketing goals. I don’t just correct mistakes. I build relationships with business owners, copywriters, and marketing professionals. The new Premium Membership feature rewards frequent clients and enhances camaraderie.”

For the month of January, Revision Fairy Twitter followers can become Premium Members for only $79. Simply follow @RevisionFairy and enter your Twitter username when you register for Premium Membership.

Can you afford to have reputation-crushing mistakes in your writing? Revision Fairy gives your business a competitive edge by making important documents flawless. Join other businesses that produce error-free text.

About Revision Fairy® Small Business Proofreading Services

Revision Fairy® Small Business Proofreading Services combines the utility of an online proofreading service with the luxury of having your own personal proofreader.

Founder/Editor Stefanie Flaxman has been copy editing, proofreading, and writing for 13 years. She corrects business, marketing, and educational documents in 24 hours.

Flaxman is also the author of Revision Fairy Tales: 21 Writing Mistakes You’ll Never Make Again and Business Proofreading Tips Other Proofreaders Don’t Want You to Know: 8 Essays About Crafting Flawless Documents.

Don’t have your own proofreader? Now you do.

For more information, visit Revision Fairy® Small Business Proofreading Services online.

7 Proofreading Methods for Lazy Proofreaders

Finished.

That’s every writer’s goal. You finally completed your article (press release, newsletter, white paper, etc.).

Sort of.

You can’t fully enjoy your victory margarita until you proofread the document.

A smart writer knows that proofreading for errors makes the critical difference between a reader viewing you as incompetent or professional.

If you feel that proofreading is boring and tedious, you’ll likely perform a sloppy job and fail to correct reputation-crushing mistakes.

Here are seven proofreading methods that help produce error-free writing.

1. Write a rough draft. Writing and editing are two different practices. Don’t stifle your thoughts as you write by editing concurrently. Let your ideas flow freely, even if you make a lot of grammar, syntax, and spelling errors. Mistakes can be corrected. First, communicate your message—the insight that shapes your document.

2. Schedule a fake deadline. If you proofread immediately after finishing your first draft, you’ll work twice as hard to spot errors and be less productive. Let the text rest for a bit before you tackle it. Approach proofreading your document as if someone else wrote it; a little simple planning can alleviate the pain of proofreading.

3. Take breaks. Treat the editing process as special as the writing process. If you took breaks while writing different sections of your document, take breaks when you edit, as well. Similarly to scheduling a fake deadline, arrange time to improve your text. Eliminate the pressure of finding mistakes quickly. Proofreaders possess a different skill set than writers; proofreading focuses on clarifying and refining. Correct your writing in the draft stages so that you don’t spot mistakes in the final, published version.

4. Use your vocal chords. Sometimes you just don’t have time to proofread. If you can only manage a quick read-through, make it count. Read the text out loud and slowly enunciate each word. If any phrases or punctuation marks confuse you, they will likely confuse another reader. Revise any weak sections.

5. Delete colloquialisms. Transcribing conversational speech is a side effect of writing a rough draft. Idioms and words that we commonly speak are not always effective when writing. Change “should of” to “should have,” “like” to “such as,” “things” to “items,” etc. Also, avoid ending sentences with prepositions. Remove informalities from your writing for an immediate polish.

6. Shorten descriptions. In other words, get to the point. For example, the phrases, “Stay focused on getting to the point,” and “Get to the point,” share the same meaning. The latter is short-attention-span-friendly (which is actually everyone-friendly). Choose wisely.

7. Print a copy. You will always find a mistake in a printed draft that you missed on your computer screen. Under strict deadlines, proofread a printed copy to quickly improve your writing. Mark errors with a pen and then correct the electronic version.

Learn more about crafting flawless documents in my new free report, Business Proofreading Tips Other Proofreaders Don’t Want You to Know.

About the Author: Stefanie Flaxman corrects business, marketing, and educational documents in 24 hours to eliminate reputation-crushing mistakes from your writing. She's a professional proofreader and the founder of Revision Fairy® Small Business Proofreading Services. Connect with Stefanie on Twitter.

What Does a Small Business Proofreader Do?

I've been reading IttyBiz on-and-off for about a year and a half. Naomi Dunford's writing, in and of itself, is a writing lesson. I was immediately intrigued by the content, and Naomi is my kind of gal—straightforward, creative, intelligent. Naturally, her posts are useful and interesting. Her storytelling ability is out-of-this-world humorous and heartfelt.

Since a big head on IttyBitty Naomi would be unsightly, I'll put the praise section of this post on pause and jump back on my train of thought.

IttyBiz had me at hello, but I never subscribed to the blog. I didn't make the posts a priority or closely follow what's been going on in Naomi's world.

However, Naomi's recent guest post on ProBlogger reminded me of the awesomeness that is IttyBiz. Why hadn't such a helpful blog made it to my Google Reader?

I dropped the IttyBall. But like a diamond, the Web is forever, so I added IttyBiz to my routine reading.

I knew this action would pay off, and last week Naomi resurrected a past challenge based on the question, "How many of YOUR readers don't really understand your business?"

To help her readers out (Naomi's thoughtful like that), she listed five questions that prompt IttyBiz proprietors to think about what makes them the cat's meow. She welcomes the non-scaredy cats to post the answers on their blogs. One final "hats off" to Naomi for being the lion's roar.

Here are my answers for Revision Fairy® Small Business Proofreading Services.

What’s your game? What do you do?

I'm a proofreader, copy editor, and wordsmith. I run the online proofreading service Revision Fairy.

A Revision Fairy-corrected document is an enhanced, error-free version of your original writing.

That's the final product that everyone wants, right?

Why do you do it? Do you love it, or do you just have one of those creepy knacks?

I love working with small business owners, copywriters, and marketing professionals to craft ideas into flawless, clear, and effective writing. My clients appreciate my eye for detail and intuitive sensibility that extracts their thoughts, spices them up, and makes them grammatically sound.

If you're scared of fairies, I'm definitely creepy.

Who are your customers? What kind of people would need or want what you offer?

Small businesses do just as much writing, if not more, than large companies—including, but not limited to: white papers, newsletters, brochures, instruction manuals, Web site content, blog posts, advertising campaigns, and press releases.

A fresh set of eyes can make a huge difference between sloppy copy and professional, compelling content, but smaller firms do not always have a proofreader on staff. Where do you find a reliable proofreader on call?

Enter Revision Fairy.

I correct small business documents in 24 hours.

What’s your marketing USP (unique selling proposition)? Why should I buy from you instead of the other losers?

Accessibility. You want your writing corrected; I want to correct your writing—so I made the process simple.

If your document is under 10,000 words, you can choose the level of service and turnaround time that you need and upload your document through the Revision Fairy Place Order page.

If your document is longer than 10,000 words, we'll chat via email first, but the process is just as efficient.

Unlike a proofreading factory that assigns your important documents to multiple proofreaders, I'm one proofreader—an individual who becomes familiar with your company's style, mission statement, and goals.

I'm not your employee, but I work for you.

What’s next for you? What’s the big plan?

Look out for more original Revision Fairy-written content. To start, check out my new free report, Business Proofreading Tips Other Proofreaders Don't Want You to Know: 8 Essays About Crafting Flawless Documents.

About the Author: Stefanie Flaxman corrects business, marketing, and educational documents in 24 hours to eliminate reputation-crushing mistakes from your writing. She's a professional proofreader and the founder of Revision Fairy® Small Business Proofreading Services. Connect with Stefanie on Twitter.

What Batman Can Teach You About Proofreading

Everyone wants to be Batman.

He’s cool and edgy, but has benevolent intentions—and the man gets results.

Luckily for you, it’s easy to adopt Batman’s intriguing qualities to perfect your writing and make others believe that you rock as hard as the Caped Crusader.

Whether you’re writing for yourself (a blog, a novel, a business document, etc.) or a client, mistakes aren’t going to cut it. Your text has to be poignant, useful, and error-free.

Here are three aspects of the Batman persona that you can apply to your proofreading habits.

Costume – The importance of writing drafts

When speaking in front of an audience, it is said that the crowd forms 70% of their opinions on how you look, 20% on how you sound, and only 10% on what you say. When you apply the theory to written text, the 70% of “how you look” reflects the content and structure of your writing.

How your writing “looks” involves its appeal to the reader, and proofreading enhances appeal. Text that a writer initially believes to be straightforward may actually be vague, unclear, or forgettable.

While the design of your document can certainly play a role in your visual presentation, you perfect your composition’s “look” by not only fixing typos, spelling, grammar, and punctuation mistakes, but also checking for consistency, clarity, and cohesiveness (among other factors, which may or may not be words that begin with the letter “c”). Readers are more receptive to your ideas when they can easily comprehend your writing. A document full of blemishes will not hold the reader’s interest.

You often know what you want to say, but your concept is not always translated to the reader. It’s essential to review your document as if you were not the person who wrote it. If you casually proofread your own text, you may skip reading every word in a sentence, but it will likely still make sense—it won’t necessarily to someone else.

Schedule an editing session after you take a break from writing. Spending time away from your ideas and the words on the page helps you decipher how can you improve the quality of your work.

No one gets it right on the first try. Take advantage of drafts.

Writing is as much a process as drawing, painting, or sculpting. A project needs to be carefully crafted. Each step contributes to the next action, whether it’s cleaning your paintbrushes, sketching a mock-up of your vision, or writing the seedlings of your ideas down in a rough draft.

Each draft is a costume. Batman had to experiment with different versions of the “bat suit” until it was the ideal combination of aesthetics and functionality—an outfit that communicates that you don’t want to mess with Batman.

Change costumes by proofreading until you get it right. When complete, you’ll have a suit that tells a powerful story.

Gadgets – When to use resources to improve your weaknesses

Crime fighting is Batman’s goal. Communicating a clear message is yours. Stay as focused on your goal as Batman by genuinely connecting with your audience. Work with what you know, and do the appropriate research when you discuss unfamiliar topics.

Seems impossible to swiftly travel from the ground to the top of a tall building? Didn’t stop Batman. He uses resources to overcome obstacles, invent complementary gadgets, and enhance his ability to stifle bad guys.

If you forgot a punctuation rule, look it up. If a sentence is incomplete, elaborate. If a paragraph is convoluted, simplify. Thorough proofreading examines each word and kicks it to the curb if it can be replaced with a more effective option.

Don’t take any aspect of your text for granted. Everyone knows that grammar mistakes make your writing look sloppy, but fixing them isn’t always a writer’s priority.

It reminds me of a Chinese story about the monk, Birdsnest, who lived in a tree and gave the most profound advice in China. When the governor of the land visited Birdsnest, the guidance that the monk told the officer was simple, “Don’t do bad things. Always do good things.”

Feeling cheated by this obvious statement, the governor exclaimed, “I knew that when I was three years old!”

“Ah, yes,” Birdsnest replied. “The three-year-old knows it, but the eighty-year-old still finds it difficult to do.”

Tone – The benefits of writing and editing with confidence

The sound of Bruce Wayne’s voice changes when he becomes Batman. The deeper, firm tone of the winged vigilante is not a frivolous characteristic; it is an intentional display of confidence.

Batman doesn’t worry about pleasing everyone. Unapologetically write from your point of view, but don’t be sloppy or careless.

After writing a draft, confidently make changes to weak sections. To proofread meticulously, you don’t merely spot glaring errors, you recognize the message that the text intends to convey and ensure that each word in the document contributes to that purpose.

Batman doesn’t ask for permission; he’s in a class of his own.

When people find out that I’m a proofreader, I’ve often received the flippant reaction, “Oh, that’s nice. I’m a sales manager, but I’m thinking of picking up some extra proofreading work on the side. What do you really want to do?” Another popular reply is, “But you actually want to be a writer, don’t you?”

If you’re an entrepreneur or aspire to leave a nine-to-five job to pursue creative interests, the same individuals may also smile politely at the sound of your dreams, arrogantly thinking the ubiquitous phrase, “Don’t quit your day job.”

As a proofreader, I get to write, re-write, and revise. I’m not just any proofreader; I’m the Batman of proofreaders. I play a vital role in the writing process and transform copy to a polished level of flawlessness.

No matter what you do, be Batman. It’s about doing what no one else does.

It wasn’t a radioactive spider bite, non-Earthling birth status, or mutated genetics that bestowed Bruce Wayne with the talent to be a superhero. He’s a guy that decided to kick ass no matter what.

Batman reminds us:

Don’t quit your night job.

Bruce Wayne may be a necessary part of life, but listen to your Batman-calling to be something extraordinary.

About the Author: Stefanie Flaxman corrects business, marketing, and educational documents in 24 hours to eliminate reputation-crushing mistakes from your writing. She's a professional proofreader and the founder of Revision Fairy® Small Business Proofreading Services. Connect with Stefanie on Twitter.

How to Be in the Right Place at the Right Time

Timing is everything.

It’s easy to disregard that phrase as a manifestation of “luck”—you either have it or you don’t. The concept certainly arises when job searching. You may feel stuck and hopeless; nothing seems to be working for you.

A simple change of attitude makes a world of difference. It boils down to what you make with what comes your way. You have the ability to overcome unfortunate conditions.

Timing, luck, and serendipity are factors that you control.

“Failure is an opportunity.” ~ Lao Tzu

Don’t force it.

Realizing that you’re not good at something (or you do not enjoy it) is as beneficial as finding one of your strengths. When you discover a weakness, you can choose to make it stronger, or you can let it go.

If something isn’t working for you, it’s your responsibility to change it. The uncertainty that comes with losing a job shakes up your world, but that doesn’t mean that you’ve also lost the ability to be grounded again.

Get used to things changing.

You have the power to change the direction of your life every moment. The concept of that power can be frightening, so individuals often choose to ignore their capacity to impact their own happiness. It doesn’t take much effort to have a mediocre life and blame your frustrations on someone or something else.

“Arrange whatever pieces come your way.” ~ Virginia Woolf

Focus on the experience.

Individual circumstances influence your professional life, not a formula.

Although I took multiple types of journalism classes all four years of high school and continued to copy edit throughout college, the looming idea of “what I wanted to do” was baffling. External and internal pressures evoke a quick answer to the “what do you want to do” question: go hide under the covers of your bed.

But I decided to have a career as a copy editor. Power lies in taking action. Never underestimate that first step, even if you decide to change directions shortly after you make it. I realized that I love editing and working with writers to perfect their ideas. If I didn’t, however, I would change the way that I spend my days in a heartbeat. There’s no reason to continue on a path that you know is not right for you. Retire the word “should.”

“Don’t ask what the world needs. Ask what makes you come alive, and go do it. Because what the world needs is people who have come alive.” ~ Howard Thurman

Create opportunities.

Every experience has a positive pay off if you let it. If you genuinely care about the job that you do, you’ll naturally stand out as an asset in that field—opening yourself up to future opportunities.

Exploring freelance work in between full-time jobs is an effective way of learning about new types of careers, as well as your own abilities. Consulting or a full-time freelance profession may be a healthy fit for you. You’ll discover possibilities that you might have never thought of before.

When you prepare self-promotional materials during the job application process (resumes, writing samples, cover letters, etc.) writing mistakes are inevitable. It has nothing to do with intelligence. Take the time to fix careless errors and improve weak areas.

My clients want to do everything that they can to ensure that their image is flawless. They know that they are capable of putting out a fantastic product, whether it is website copy, marketing materials, or a novel. Utilizing my proofreading services enables them to take timing, luck, and serendipity into their own hands. They take action to meet their goals and create new life paths.

Focus on your passions, experiences, and resources at all times, and you’ll continually find yourself in the right place at the right time. It’s not supernatural; it’s the way it is.

About the Author: Stefanie Flaxman corrects business, marketing, and educational documents in 24 hours to eliminate reputation-crushing mistakes from your writing. She's a professional proofreader and the founder of Revision Fairy® Small Business Proofreading Services. Connect with Stefanie on Twitter.

Accept vs. Except

A proofreader excitedly analyzes your text with a discerning eye that corrects blemishes. If you instinctively choose the correct word, there’s less dirt to dust off your writing—giving you more time to focus on your subject matter. Let’s take a look at two words that end with the four letters “c-e-p-t.”

Since “accept” and “except” each begin with different letters, one can easily identify that these are indeed two distinct words. The relaxed, mindful writer clearly knows the appropriate context for each of these words. However, when one is caught up in translating an idea from her mind into coherent words on a computer screen, the creative process can often take priority over grammar, spelling, and word choice.

There are many ways to use the verb “accept.” All we need to examine, though, is why “accept” is a different word from “except” and how to employ each word to transcribe the meaning that you intend to convey.

The verb “accept” means “to take in, receive.”

The word “except” is not a verb. It belongs to the second-tier of parts of speech (noun, verb, and adjective belong to the first-tier).

“Except” can be used as a preposition, a conjunction, or an idiom. But who cares about that? In each form, the word “except” is utilized to mean “with the exclusion of ____.”

Accept

When using the word “accept,” associate it with the word “acceptance”—you take something in, you receive something, you accept something.

Accept --> Acceptance --> Take In

Except

When you use the word “except,” you want to signify “exclude.”

Except --> Exclude --> Leave Out

Don’t be paranoid about mistakes; accept that they will appear in your writing, and take the necessary steps to eliminate them before you release your final product. Even if you think that the confusion of two words is idiotic, it’s important not to take any word for granted when you’re proofreading.

About the Author: Stefanie Flaxman corrects business, marketing, and educational documents in 24 hours to eliminate reputation-crushing mistakes from your writing. She's a professional proofreader and the founder of Revision Fairy® Small Business Proofreading Services. Connect with Stefanie on Twitter.

Compliment vs. Complement

Typos aren’t always glaring errors, such as the insertion of erroneous letters (i.e. “errroneaious”). A proofreader also ensures that each word that you type is the most appropriate. Similar words may convey different meanings.

The two distinct words “compliment” and “complement” are essentially pronounced in the same way (especially if one is mumbling) and essentially spelled the same way—there’s only one letter that is different.

The word “compliment” is a noun and verb.

The word “complement” is a noun and verb.

You’re thinking, “How is this going to help me tell these words apart? I want to know why they are different, not similar.”

We will get there, but the good news is that while each word can be used as two parts of speech, when you understand the noun-usage of these words, the verb-usage of these words is logical.

The verb-usage of both “compliment” and “complement” transforms the noun-form into an action.

A “compliment (noun)” is an “expression of praise.” When you “compliment (verb)” someone, you tell her an expression of praise.

A “complement (noun)” is “something that completes something else.” When something “complements (verb)” something else it “makes it whole/adds value to it.”

See? Easy. You really only need to learn one definition for each word.

Most people have a separate drawer for socks, a separate drawer for t-shirts, a separate drawer for sweaters, etc. Think of the following as a separate drawer for “compliment,” and a separate drawer for “complement.”

Compliment

“I like the outfit that you have on” is a compliment. The word “compliment” that is spelled with the letter “i” should remind you of saying “I like”—the phrase that you begin with when you give someone a compliment.

Complement

A “complement” “completes, or makes whole”. Complement. Complete. Get it?

The next time that you need a proofreader to review your writing, Revision Fairy® Small Business Proofreading Services is the perfect complement.

About the Author: Stefanie Flaxman corrects business, marketing, and educational documents in 24 hours to eliminate reputation-crushing mistakes from your writing. She's a professional proofreader and the founder of Revision Fairy® Small Business Proofreading Services. Connect with Stefanie on Twitter.

Premier vs. Premiere

When you’re a proofreader, you see the same mistakes frequently. In my anti-grammar ebook, Revision Fairy Tales: 21 Writing Mistakes You’ll Never Make Again, I outline common mistakes that can be easily avoided with a little clarification.

Each week, I’ll share a “tale” from my book to eliminate your confusion about each pair of similar words. Choose the proper word when you write your first draft, and you’ll have fewer errors to fix later.

Premier vs. Premiere

Who would have thought that a little “e” could make such a big difference? Well, it does.

The adjective “premier” means “first-rate, best, number one in its class.”

The noun “premiere” means “the first public showing of an event.”

"Premier” may be used as an adjective or a noun, while “premiere” may be used as a noun, a verb used with an object, a verb used without an object, and an adjective.

Wait for it, wait for it … Huh? Let me break it down for you.

Premier

“Premier,” as an adjective, is the most common usage of the word that gets confused with “premiere.”

The adjective “premier” is used to describe “the best ____”:

How would you describe your company?

“Bamboo Emporium” is the premier outlet for premium bamboo stalks from around the globe.

Tip: Premier = premium. Both words do not end with the letter “e”.

“Premier,” as a noun, is less common. The term describes a person who is first in rank.

For example, a “premier” may be a chief executive officer or a president of a company.

Premiere

“Premiere,” as a noun, is “the first showing of an event.” “Premiere,” as other parts of speech, conveys a similar meaning.

“Premiere” as a verb with an object:

• “When will you debut your new paintings?”
• “You can see them on Saturday when I premiere my new exhibit at the Corner Gallery.”

“Premiere” as a verb without an object:

• “What is the occasion for the event on Friday?”
• “Oh, *Insert Awesome Movie Title Here* will premiere.”

“Premiere” as an adjective is similar to its noun-form:

• I’m excited for the premiere showing of *Insert Awesome Movie Title Here* on Friday.

Tip: Premiere = movie premiere. The words “premiere” and “movie” both end with the letter “e”.

Do you see how each word has distinct circumstances for its use?

To download the complete set of Revision Fairy Tales, click here. If you’re the patient-type, check back weekly for proofreading service secrets.

About the Author: Stefanie Flaxman corrects business, marketing, and educational documents in 24 hours to eliminate reputation-crushing mistakes from your writing. She's a professional proofreader and the founder of Revision Fairy® Small Business Proofreading Services. Connect with Stefanie on Twitter.

Proofreading Pointers: 3 Ways to Polish Conversational Writing

When proofreading a document, you want to make sure that your message is clear. You have an idea in your mind; you transform it into words, and hope that the person reading your words understands your idea.

Sometimes the words that we choose when writing are too conversational. If you nonchalantly spoke certain words or phrases in conversation, your idea would likely make perfect sense and not disrupt the cohesiveness of the discussion. In writing, even if it is appropriate to use an informal tone, little differences can affect the clarity and effectiveness of your message. You want to choose formal words even amidst a humorous, witty, or casual subject matter.

You can quickly polish your writing by looking out for these three errors that frequently appear in writing that is too colloquial.

Which and That
Let’s look at a sentence that I just wrote as an example: “You can quickly polish your writing by looking out for these three errors that frequently appear in writing that is too colloquial.” Note that the word “that” appears twice in the sentence.

When speaking, if you substituted the first instance of the word “that” for the word “which,” you’d probably get away with it, and your conversation would continue smoothly. However, the word “which” is not appropriate in the written sentence, unless you also change the structure of the sentence.

The word “that” initiates a phrase that specifically describes a noun, while the word “which” initiates a clause in the sentence. Use a comma and the word “which” when you set off a clause, enclosed in two commas.

That: You can quickly polish your writing by looking out for these three errors that frequently appear in writing that is too colloquial.
Which: Look out for these three errors, which frequently appear in writing that is too colloquial, in order to polish your writing.

As you can see, the use of the word “that” begins a “restrictive clause” because it limits the description that it prompts to the noun that it follows; the use of the word “which” is a “non-restrictive” clause because it just prompts a tangent within the sentence.

Some
I like to use examples from my own writing to show how easy it is to add imprecision to your writing. A thorough proofreading can fix these minor flaws. Minor as they may be, without them your writing transforms to a more professional level. Your reader effortlessly comprehends what you intend to communicate, rather than struggling to understand overworked sentences.

The word “some” is usually a word that we type out when writing a first draft. For example, I could have written above, “I like to use some examples from my own writing to show how easy it is to add imprecision to your writing.”

Tighten your text by removing empty words. The version of the sentence without the word “some” conveys the same meaning and is even stronger. Look for the word “some” and other vague adjectives in your writing. Delete accordingly.

Start to/Begin to
Similarly to the word “some” and vague adjectives, certain phrases that may be perfectly fine for conversation add no value to persuasive writing.

It’s almost always beneficial to delete the phrases “start to ___” and “begin to ___.” Other than word count, there is no substantial difference between the instructions “start to look for …” and simply “look for….”

Instead of instructing you to “start to look for ways to trim words in your text that are ineffective,” I’ll simply state, “look for ways to trim words in your text that are ineffective.” It’s all part of the proofreading process.

About the Author: Stefanie Flaxman corrects business, marketing, and educational documents in 24 hours to eliminate reputation-crushing mistakes from your writing. She's a professional proofreader and the founder of Revision Fairy® Small Business Proofreading Services. Connect with Stefanie on Twitter.

The Intersection of Your Vision Blvd. and Writer’s Block Rd.

We’ve all been there. One minute you’re smoothly cruising down Your Vision Blvd. in your 1966 Ford Mustang convertible—sunshine, blue skies, 70-degree wind blowing through your hair. All of your ideas are beautifully coordinated into coherent and meaningful sentences. Writer heaven.

Then, out of nowhere, gridlock. You’ve stopped moving. It’s bumper-to-bumper traffic and you find yourself perfectly perpendicular to Writer’s Block Rd. as the “Do Not Block the Intersection” street sign intensely glares at you. You impatiently tap your finger on the steering wheel as you hope that the light doesn’t turn red, leaving you caught in the middle of the intersection. And if the light does turn red, maybe you’ll get away with this little blunder and there won’t be traffic on the road that you are currently blocking?

Since I may have gotten a little carried away with my allegory, let me sum up and translate my point before I truly lose you.

No matter what genre of writing you do, there are going to be parts of your first draft that are weaker than others. You don’t have a perfectly consistent brain that pumps out an even stream of brilliance. You work at different times, under different circumstances, and while some of your writing may be exactly what you envisioned, there are going to be muddled parts of your text where you struggle to accurately convey your ideas. And are others going to notice? Yes.

Rather than have this thought send you into a frenzy of panic, don’t fret. Writers are often their worst critics and nothing can discourage you more than your own disappointment in yourself. So, first thing’s first: If you notice a lull in your creativity, don’t put pressure on yourself to immediately get back on track. Everything isn’t always perfect on the first try.

It’s counterproductive to be down on yourself, or your writing, if you happen to hit a bump in the road. You’re not meant to drive on Your Vision Blvd. indefinitely.

As Ralph Waldo Emerson wrote in his essay “Self-Reliance,” “A foolish consistency is the hobgoblin of little minds.” Become comfortable with less productive phases of your writing journey. They’ll lead you back to stronger and more relevant ideas. You can learn from the parts of your text that you struggle with.

While the writing process doesn’t need to be consistent, you don’t want inconsistencies or other flaws to remain in your text, either.

So, how do you proceed when you’re in a Writer’s Block Rd. gridlock? The band Journey sings the song “Don’t Stop Believin,’” I say, “Don’t stop writing.” Be patient. After you’ve accepted that you’ve slowed your writing pace and you may need to revisit certain areas of your writing at a later time, make specific notes about “blocked” sections. What were you doing/thinking before your ideas started dwindling? These notes can be about your writing topic or what life circumstances were also affecting you at the time, and they don’t have to make sense; they’re just for you. Simple notes are important not only to keep you physically writing and thinking, but can also be useful when you are inspired again.

I offer three levels of proofreading services because every different piece of writing potentially needs a different type of polishing. My Level III proofreading service caters to writing that needs to be transported from the intersection of Your Vision Blvd. and Writer’s Block Rd. back to the Your Vision Highway. In addition to correcting spelling and grammar errors, I underscore, make suggestions about how to improve, and/or correct incomplete or vague sections of your text.

I love working with writers because it’s my passion to expand on and manipulate others’ ideas—making them clear and brilliant, the way the writer intended. You may have trouble explicitly expressing a concept, but a fresh set of eyes can complete your thoughts. Other times, writers may not realize that their ideas weren’t expressed in the way that they intended. An impartial reader, not the original writer, helps identify these confusing sections of text.

It’s like I always say, a writer and a proofreader go together like peanut butter and jelly. Sometimes you just need to add some peanut butter to your strawberry traffic jam.

About the Author: Stefanie Flaxman corrects business, marketing, and educational documents in 24 hours to eliminate reputation-crushing mistakes from your writing. She's a professional proofreader and the founder of Revision Fairy® Small Business Proofreading Services. Connect with Stefanie on Twitter.

Question From a Proofreader: Boxers or Briefs?

As a proofreader, I enjoy reading all types of writing—from a paragraph on the back of a cereal box to a 300-page novel.

Effective writing, regardless of the length, utilizes the concept of brevity. A well-written 300-page novel may actually be brief. The author just needs 300 pages to tell the story accurately. The excessive version might have been 500 pages. Brevity isn’t confined to word count or page length. It’s a writing skill that determines what information is crucial and what unnecessary details should be omitted. A lengthy piece of writing does not necessarily mean that it is better or more profound.

Here are some writing tips that will help you understand and utilize the concept of brevity.

Beauty and the brief.
The question that I pose in the headline of this article relates to men’s underwear as a way to illustrate my view of brevity. Form fitting, supportive briefs are analogous to strong writing. Be specific and use bold descriptions. Boxers are loose, vague, and representative of weak writing. This confusing style lacks a clear picture of what needs to be revealed. Main points are difficult to decipher because the text is cluttered with extra material. You can inform and engage your reader while maintaining brevity.

Don’t make your readers guess.
The key to clear, concise writing is to state your main point in the beginning of your text. Be explicit. Often times writers like to “tip toe” around what they’re trying to say, leave the reader hanging, and only get around to what they’re really trying to communicate at the end of the document. This is a “save the best for last” mentality. Other writers have no intention of making a definitive point. They want the reader to infer their message. Neither of these techniques produces persuasive writing. A proofreader will help ensure that your writing explains and strengthens a precise topic. The process of proofreading enables you to get a sense of whether someone else understands what you intended to express.

Keep it fresh and interesting.
There’s a reason why resumes should be only one page. Intrigue. Take a tip from resume writing and practice using short, but informative, descriptions. Your goal is to hold the reader’s interest so that she will follow up in the way that you desire. With a resume, the brief points about your work history should prompt a potential employer to schedule an interview with you. (Save specific details for talking points during the interview.) If you’re writing a blog, inspire a reader to subscribe or sign up for your newsletter.

Masters of brevity strike a balance between satisfying their audience, so that they’re not teasing their readers, and leaving out anything that dilutes their agenda.

Still not sure what to keep and what to toss? I’m happy to help if you need a proofreader to polish and perfect your text for you.

About the Author: Stefanie Flaxman corrects business, marketing, and educational documents in 24 hours to eliminate reputation-crushing mistakes from your writing. She's a professional proofreader and the founder of Revision Fairy® Small Business Proofreading Services. Connect with Stefanie on Twitter.

Grammar and Proofreading Challenge

Have you ever received a text message with a sentence that reads something like, “I cant wait to here youre great news!” and suddenly your good news isn’t so exciting any more? The proofreading bug hits you. You’d rather focus your attention on the multiple punctuation, spelling, and grammar mistakes in your friend’s text. They’re so annoying!

In this article, starting with the second paragraph, I’ve inserted a total of 10 word choice or punctuation mistakes. Now that you’ve mastered proofreading text messages, try your hand at catching the errors in this text.

Lets get back to that great news of yours. Do you take time each day to recognize good news? Treat yourself to this type of positive mental boost. There’s a lot of negativity in the world and people like to spread negativity. This is your way of fighting back. You’ll open yourself up to more positive experiences if you focus on the appealing aspects of your daily existence. It’s amazing what great ideas and inspiration come to you if your simply open to it.

Write down at least one good thing or one item that you’re thankful for each day. The glass-half-empty-skeptic often immediately objects to this exercise. “It’s tedious. I don’t have time for that, and it’s not going to change anything” becomes his argument. I call it an excuse. If one assumes that nothing is going to change, he is making as much of a prediction about the future as the starry-eyed dreamer who assumes that something will change. Let’s be appreciative, not psychics.

Keeping a “good things” list prevents negativity from shaking your confidence. It’s a tangible reminder that no matter how terrible a “bad day” may be, there are enjoyable parts of your life. At the end of the weak you’ll be able to reflect on happy events. It’s difficult to say that you had a “bad week” if you have actually written down words that contradict this thought.

Writing down positive ideas also helps alleviate writers block in the future. Go back to any mundane though that you’ve written down if you’re feeling stuck. These random scribbles can lead to interesting topics to explore. If I’m feeling inarticulate, I like to write down the lyrics to on of my favorite songs or a song that I happen to be listening to at that moment. Work that I admire inspires me. Feed off of other’s creativity; don’t get discouraged by negativity.

Start small and realize that life is what you make of it. Your attitude plays more of part of what you life is like than actual circumstances, puzzling as they may be.

For some, proofreading is like solving a puzzle. I’m happy to provide puzzles for those with an eye for detail. So, take a deep breathe and count to 10 the next time you are upset about your friends grammar mistake. Perhaps your ability to use proper grammar and syntax will go on your “good things” list.

About the Author: Stefanie Flaxman corrects business, marketing, and educational documents in 24 hours to eliminate reputation-crushing mistakes from your writing. She's a professional proofreader and the founder of Revision Fairy® Small Business Proofreading Services. Connect with Stefanie on Twitter.

Become a Better Proofreader in 3 Steps

The main difficulty in proofreading your own text is simple: you have trouble recognizing your own typos, grammar mistakes, and inaccuracies. You know what you want to say; it’s just not always communicated in your writing.

When you act as your own proofreader, you may often overlook mistakes because your eye doesn’t recognize them as mistakes. You may even finish reading a sentence without actually reading the words on the page—the sentence already sounds correct in your mind since you know the meaning it is supposed to convey.

Here are three proofreading practices that will help train your eye to catch more of your own errors.

1. Find Your Proofreader Alter Ego. The Batman to your Bruce Wayne, the Superman to your Clark Kent. You need to look at your text as though you were not the person who wrote it, but someone with a superior eye for detail who does not know what you intended to write.

After you are done with your first draft, take a break from writing and reading. Spend time doing different activities before you edit your text. It’s important to plan a break and go back to your text at a later time, rather than writing and editing in one sitting.

2. Compare and Contrast. Inconsistencies occur in fiction and nonfiction. They make your text look sloppy and are often a matter of style, rather than grammar. What superpowers should your alter ego possess to combat inconsistencies, you may ask? To start: memory.

Make mental notes of specific terms as you review your text. For example, the term “copy editing” is also often spelled “copyediting,” or “copy-editing;” “proofreader” may be written “proof reader.” Is there a character named “Ann” in your novel? Make sure the proper name is not sometimes spelled “Ann,” and other times “Anne.” Are you writing about Walmart? Do you refer to the company as “Walmart,” “WalMart,” and “Wal-Mart?” Pick one style and make sure that you use it consistently.

A similar genre of errors includes typos that are properly spelled words (and therefore not caught when you use spell-check), but are not actually the words that you intend to use. You could type “over” instead of “oven,” “of” instead of “off,” “peer” instead of “pier,” etc. The possibilities are endless. A thorough proofreading will eliminate these flaws.

3. Say What? Read your text out loud, paying attention to each word. It’s equally important to pay attention to punctuation. Your proofreader alter ego also comes in handy here. Enunciate the words and pause for punctuation as someone who has never read the text before. Is it clear?

This technique may identify sentence fragments, run-on sentences, and other abridged or convoluted thoughts. When a sentence is weak, and does not express the proper message, it is usually either incomplete or contains too many ideas for one single sentence.

To dissect your writing, pay attention to the sounds of words joined together to make up a sentence. Do the words flow naturally, or have you read for five minutes without taking a breath? Once you break it down, you’ll spot the areas that need improvement.

If you still need professional proofreading services, I’ve got my proofreader alter ego down. I’m Revision Fairy.

About the Author: Stefanie Flaxman corrects business, marketing, and educational documents in 24 hours to eliminate reputation-crushing mistakes from your writing. She's a professional proofreader and the founder of Revision Fairy® Small Business Proofreading Services. Connect with Stefanie on Twitter.