Editing Takes On the 21st Century

From the imagination of the author to the hands of the reader, the process of creating a published work involves a multitude of people all fulfilling diverse but necessary functions. Despite the resources of such a large group of people, sometimes mistakes do make it through to the final process. The increasingly technological world we live in makes these errors more costly than ever.

From its humble beginnings in a train station cafe to its eventual place at the top of contemporary youth fiction, J.K. Rowling's Harry Potter series spans 3,407 pages over seven books. Featuring over 100 unique characters, a multitude of locales and a bevy of spells, Rowling herself had trouble keeping track of everything. So like any top grossing children's author does, she employed rigorous fact checkers alongside her usual editors. Despite this team approach to covering the full Harry Potter lexicon, many minor inaccuracies and false continuities made it to the publishing stage. Fans began to take to message boards to post every mistake they could. The practice became something of a sport. Eventually, whole websites were dedicated to finding inaccuracies and reporting them.

The case of Harry Potter highlights the effect that the spread of social media and personal communications have had on the visibility of proofreading. Any person with an internet connection can remark upon any number of errors a piece of published writing may have. As such, proper proofreading is more relevant than ever. Glaring errors in one’s writing is the grammatical version of showing up late for an appointment. How would you want your first impression to look?

Be sure to visit us at www.universityproofreading.com and happy writing!