Why you should pause before you publish

You know the kind of project that’s had so many rounds you can’t even see the copy anymore? You’ve incorporated feedback from countless reviewers, cleaned up sloppy syntax, refined the subheads and reedited the whole draft to make sure it still flows. Now you just want to rename the file, accept all changes and hit “publish” (or send it to design).

Stop right there. We at The Writing Company know from long experience (and maybe a few past mistakes) that the feeling of “I just want to be done” is a signal to slow down. If you don’t, you risk the sinking sensation that comes with seeing your own mistakes in print.

At this stage, try one or more of the following:

• Read the draft aloud. Speaking the words will force you to take note of each one.

• Ask a colleague to read it. A fresh set of eyes can help identify unclear sections or faulty logic.

• Send it to a professional copy editor. A trained copy editor will call out details you might miss, like repetitive sentence structure, grammatical errors or noncompliance with house style. (We sometimes forget to capitalize “the” in The Writing Company—but our copy editor always remembers.) If you need a pro, contact us to learn more about our proofreading and copy editing team.

These techniques always improve a draft. Use them, and you can be confident that you’ll be proud when it’s published.