Looking In From the Outside

Two recent situations reminded me of the value of having a different pair of eyes look at a booklet manuscript. And I"m speaking to myself as much as I'm speaking with you about all of this.

The first was from a person who is genetically incapable of writing in anything other than full paragraphs. I say this half jokingly and half seriously. The person is excellent at elaborating and just cannot write in tips format, no way no how. The manuscript had wonderfully valuable content that would be lost on the reader in long paragraphs because the topic was related to a crisis situation. That would not be a time when someone would sit down to read a book written in anything other than short easily referenced sound bites, in tips. The author agreed to hire my manuscript editing services, and we crafted the document into something very workable for the reader, and something I believe will be very lucrative for the author.

The second situation involved a booklet from a new booklet author. The cover letter referenced the fact that the author did proofread the booklet, yet a few typos slipped in anyway. Yes, that is often the case. I recall years ago having a booklet author client who missed a typo in their office telephone number! It's not to say that every single typo will always and forever be caught, no matter how many eyes read it. The odds are greatly improved, though, when someone other than the composer of the work gets to look at it since it's fresh eyes seeing the information.

It is usually false economy to do it all yourself. You have a wealth of great information. Take the few extra steps to have it edited and proofread by someone other than yourself. I promise you it's worth it.

Until next time,
Paulette
http://www.tipsbooklets.com