So you ran your manuscript through spell-check and meticulously corrected every error. Thus, it has officially been edited…right? Sorry.

There is nothing more important than a human-eye review.

I repeat: Nothing is more important than having a human review your work.

What’s wrong with spell-check?

Using the spell-checking feature on your computer is absolutely the first step you should take before finalizing a manuscript (or email or newsletter or anything else). However, there are plenty of major errors that a computer just won’t catch.

Homonyms

Humans have a hard enough time noticing homonyms. (Homonyms=words that are pronounced the same but spelled differently or contain different meanings.) We can’t expect a computer to catch these for us.

Numbers

If you misspell a number, spell-check will correct it because it is a word. However, if you mistype a number then spell-check won’t know that it is incorrect.

Missing Words

It is easy to get carried away when you’re typing out your thoughts. Most spell-checkers won’t catch the little word you missed in your eagerness.

Wrong Words

If a word is spelled correctly, most non-human grammar and spell-checkers will skim right past it. You need a real person to tell you that the wrong word was used.

Verb Tense

I know this is getting a little technical, but it is important that you keep the same tense throughout any document.

So I can skip spell-check?

Computer-generated spell-checkers should not be discounted. They will catch a wide variety of errors from typos to passive voice. However, they absolutely cannot replace the human eye.

Recommended Process of Review:

• Spell Check
• Author Review
• Peer Review
• Author Review (regarding the peer review comments)
• Professional Review (Proofread/Edit)
• Author Review (regarding the professional’s recommendations)
• Professional Review (Proofread/Edit)
• Author Review

You can repeat the last two as many times as you deem necessary until you are happy with the final product. You can also involve a professional at any stage in the writing and reviewing process.

Contact Unscripted at any time for a professional set of eyes to review your work.