We've all done it. I don't care how well published you are
or how new to the industry you are, but we've all sent something out with a big
fat humbling and in most cases highly visible typo--and many times more than one.
It's unavoidable. No matter how many times you read through a manuscript, you
are bound to miss things. It's simply part of being human and how the brain works.
Now then, If you've recently sent a manuscript out to an agent or editor
and realized you've left in some conspicuous typos, don't freak out. Take a
step back and know that it happens to everyone. Besides, if someone was going
to bounce you out of consideration for a typo or two (or even a couple more) in
your 250 page manuscript, possibly it's someone you wouldn't want to work
with anyhow. Clearly, there are flagrant typos, wherein the
reader is tripping over typos in every paragraph, that's not going to
fly, but everyone, from writers, to agents, to editors, miss things now and
again. After all, we are only human and if humans were perfect, there would
never be typos in published books--bestselling books--books that have been combed through by the
author, the editor, readers, and copy editors, BEFORE they hit the shelves. In other words, it happens. It
does. Period.
Tips for catching
typos:
Print it out: Print
out the full manuscript. Somehow a lot more typos slip by the naked eye staring
at a monitor than when you hold the physical manuscript, knocking out typos
like Mike Tyson with your almighty red pen.
Read your work out
loud: This requires you to read every
word from start to finish. Time consuming and dry throat inducing? Yes, but a
lot more effective than skimming through it silently.
Let your work sit a
while: This is a hard one for me, as I'm about as patient as a starving bear, but do it. Even if it's just for a few days, let your work sit. This will cause you to read your words more
thoroughly and thoughtfully, rather than flying through something
you were just working on.
A second set of eyes:
When time permits, I always have my husband read through my work before I send
it off. Since he's reading it for the first time, it's far easier for him to
catch "to" versus "too" than it would be for my eyes, which at this point in the process, have gone blind to the little things.
Okay, truth time. In my first manuscript I had typos. After I caught them (which was after I hit "send") I sat at
my laptop and cringed, wondering how on earth I could have missed something so
glaringly obvious. I probably read
through the manuscript at least 50 times, but there they were in all their glory,
"shutters" instead of "shudders", "there" instead
of "their". You get the picture. I wondered if I'd be automatically
rejected based on this, but I learned editors get it. They understand how things get missed. It's about your impelling story not your misspelling of "accommodate".
In the end, I got published! Luckily, the typos did not. ;)
In the end, I got published! Luckily, the typos did not. ;)
Long story short, there will generally be normal
inconsequential typos somewhere in something you send out. Don't sweat it. It
doesn't change your story or your hard work. It only makes you human.
PS: If there are typos in this post, please blame someone else. :)
Hilary
