Posts Riddled with Errors...Does it bother you? - My Editing Method

First, the main point of this post is to simply tell you how I edit my posts in case you were looking for some tips. Also, I want to hear what you do before making a post go live. This post is just my opinion. I know we don't get paid to write reviews and run our blog and I understand that, but we also take pride in our work... so let's talk editing blog posts.

At what point do you get annoyed with errors in blog posts? I'm not just saying blog posts either, what about Facebook statuses or tweets on Twitter? If someone occasionally has a typo or error, that doesn't bother me, but when it happens just about every time they post something... all I do is let out a huge sigh. It can be so frustrating!

Maybe I care too much because I'm a wannabe book editor, but I think having error free blog posts is important to your credibility. I know that I still have some minor errors in my blog posts, no one can be perfect. I mean I had a pretty big error once when I switched two authors' last names in a list, how embarrassing!  But does it ever bother you when you read a blog post or status update and it is filled with errors? It won't necessarily keep me from reading that blog but it can give me a bad impression.

I am not perfect and it is hard to catch every single error, and I am not suggesting that anyone is perfect,  I have however come up with a pretty good system of editing my blog posts before I publish them. This system has helped me catch many little errors (and sometimes big embarrassing errors) before making my post live. I figured I would share it with you just in case you need some editing ideas. Here is what I do:

Editing/Proofreading My Blog Posts

1. Type it up in a word document first
• The few times I didn't type a post up in a word document first I found the most mistakes in them later.
2. Read it out loud
• I know you have probably all heard of this advice before and I know I always push this in my editing advice posts, but it never hurts to repeat it.
3. Have my husband read it (obviously you can have anyone read it)
• One time when my husband was reading a post before I made it live, he pointed out that it was confusing and hard to follow. Once I reread that paragraph I realized he was right. See, husbands can be very helpful for some things. ;)
4. Read over it in preview mode before making your post live
• For some reason seeing the post how it would actually look like once published helps me catch small mistakes I missed earlier. I don't know why but it just does.
5.  Use Spell Check
• You would think this was obvious, and a lot of you probably do this already, but I have forgotten to use spell check on occasion and realized that was a mistake. I totally missed fixing a word that I had quickly typed and it was totally misspelled  Although it doesn't catch everything it is totally worth using.

What do you do editing wise before publishing a post? I can always use some more helpful tips!

Previously On... T.V. Shows Get Recaps. Why not books?

Warning: This is a slight rambling rant about my horrible memory with a lot of Despicable Me cuteness. Sit back, enjoy, and share your own thoughts below.

I will admit that I watch a good amount of television. I recently became addicted to Downton Abbey and I have a soft spot in my heart for Psych, Vampire Diaries, Modern Family, and more. I won't keep going on, that would take a while, but when television shows do their little recap of the previous episode or ones even further back that pertain to the upcoming episode I'm not bothered, I actually love when I hear the words..."Previously on..." Unless of course I've been watching the show back to back and I don't need  a refresher but that is something totally different. So what does my rambling about television shows have to do with books? Well, to put it simply, we need those "previously on" recaps when dealing with books in a series or trilogy.

Have you ever read a book in a trilogy or series and then have to wait a year for the next one to be released? I'm sure you have. Well, have you ever pretty much forgotten almost everything that was in the previous book? Then you start reading and you are really confused. It looks something like this.

I have and I am completely guilty of this. This frustration came to me recently when reading Requiem and the last Sookie Stackhouse novel. But don't be fooled, this happens to me almost every single time. I read a LOT and I can't always remember every book that I read, at least not all the details. Especially when I don't get my hands on the new book in the series for a while after it comes out. So really usually it is more than a year since I last read the previous book. So one day a while ago I had an idea...

Every book in a series/trilogy should have a short recap at the beginning of the book.  It doesn't have to be long, just a page will do. Highlight the important events of the previous books and maybe remind us of the characters. That is all I ask. I doubt it will ever happen, but I can hope and rant about it on my blog. :)

So many times before I pick up a series where I left off I have to look up a summary of the book online to refresh my memory. It's a lot of work, but when I don't do that I usually end up confused. Therefore this one page would do wonders to my sanity.

This is me when the new book comes out that I have been anxiously waiting for.

This is me when I finally get my hands on the book, start reading, and realize that I don't know what is going on because of my horrible memory.

No one wants to feel that way. Therefore, I firmly believe that there should be a "previously on" version for books.

Heck, maybe as a blogger I should offer up some previously on posts on my blog for when new releases come out. Hmm... I'll have to brain storm more on that later since it may be difficult to do if I can't remember myself.

My rambling discussion post is now over. Discuss away! Do you think books should have "previously on" summaries at the beginning of a book?