Two MUSTs for you: ProWritingAid and Office 365’s Read Aloud

I’m in the final stages of proofreading my memoir—a chore that’s super-demanding. It’s the final step before hitting the “send” button.

You’re not ready for proofreading until critique partners and beta readers have given you feedback and you’ve made revisions. 

You’re not ready for proofreading until you’ve read your manuscript at least a hundred times and made oodles of changes and corrections.

Also, consider hiring a professional editor. Always remember: Your goal is a memoir of professional quality.

Take a look at the free version of ProWritingAid (click on that link).

Then click on the orange tab, “Start Web Editor.”

Copy and paste up to 500 words of your text in the box (following the easy instructions you’ll see).

Notice that in the blue-green ribbon at the top, you can choose “Writing Style” and “Language.”

Then notice the ribbon below that. Experiment. Get acquainted with your other choices such as style, grammar, clichés, etc. Don’t miss the diction and repeats tab!

You’ll see an analysis pop up on the left side of your screen. Click on down-arrows for specifics. You can then edit your manuscript as you see fit.

Use the free version of ProWritingAid—it’s a treasure!

When you think your manuscript is absolutely perfect, it’s time to proofread.

Here’s my recommendation:

Look into Microsoft 365’s Read Aloud.

Why? Because brains and eyes hinder us when it comes to proofreading.

 

Our brains know what’s supposed to be there—what we meant to write—and our eyes, influenced by our brains, get lazy and overlook typos or missing words, especially small words like “the” and “an.”

For proofreading, our ears are better friends. Ears pick up irregularities such as missing words or extra words.

That’s why I encourage you to use Read Aloud. Here’s how:

Open the chapter you want to proofread.

In the blue ribbon at the top of your computer screen, click on View.

Next, in the ribbon below the blue, click on Learning Tools. If the letters in your document appear to be spaced apart, click on Text Spacing to normalize the formatting.

Place your cursor at the beginning of your text.

Click on Read Aloud. In a few seconds, you should hear a man reading your text! How cool is that?! All you have to do is read along with him to spot missing words, duplicate words, or other boo-boos.

Your ears will also alert you to words that are clunky or have multiple syllables when you could use a word that’s more compact. You don’t want to interrupt your readers with words that distract them.

Your ears will also help you notice wordiness and sentences that are long, complicated, or arranged in the wrong order. You don’t want to interrupt your readers with sentences that distract them.

To pause and resume reading, use the little tab at the top right of your document. That’s where you can also change the reading speed and choose from other voices.

You want your finished memoir to be as professional as possible.

ProWritingAid and Read Aloud can help you perfect your work.