Posted on 2-15-23

Don’t stress!

Mistakes happen—forever immortalized in a published work. Yes, others will catch it, maybe even point it out.

I spelled Morocco wrong in my first book, Katie’s Kottage. I should never have misspelled a country wrong. I had it as, “Morroco.”

And Katie’s Kottage was published for a year.

Now, this word was an easy catch—at least, it should have been. There’s no excuse for this misspelled word, right?

I mean, what is Google for, anyway?

So, I edited it again when I finally withdrew my book from the first publisher and set about republishing it. I also used an editor, and even she missed it.

So, when I received my newly edited book and came across “Morroco,” again, I finally caught it and face-palmed. I promoted this book to people, and many bought it! Sigh.

Proofreading is a time effort. It takes more time to read and evaluate and look at every single word written. Proofreaders might miss things, and I heard once if you do find spelling mistakes in a proofread book, it means it was proofread well.

What? That doesn’t make sense, right? 

Well, proofreaders are human, and sometimes words get missed. We try to catch everything with our critical eye but still miss things occasionally. However, with checks in place to catch everything, those will be few and far between. 

I still cringe thinking about that mistake. But we can only move on. (And learn.)

So, is it worth it to hire a proofreader?—Yes.

Always get a second set of eyes on your work.

You also should have at least one good Beta reader. I suggest at least two, and four is optimal. Make sure these Beta readers will tell it to you straight and not hold back when something isn't right. Don’t look for all the feels.

Of course, we want them to love our book—after all; we do. But you need someone who will critique your work so you can make your book better.

Thank you for reading, and don’t forget to…

Write On!