Proof-reading
It was an editor’s worst nightmare. You put the magazine to bed, send it off to the printer and feel pretty good about yourself. Another deadline hit, another decent issue. Time for a tincture.
Then you casually glance at one of the pages – and notice a typo on the front page.
Fortunately, pre-press had only just started on it, so I could Fetch through a new page.
But it’s one of those constant worries when you proof-read something you’ve written.
People always ask on training courses: “How do I pick up all the mistakes when I’m subbing or proofing my own work?”
The simple answer is: “You don’t.”
No matter how careful you are, something will slip under the radar. Homonyms, missed words, punctuation errors or typos: one of them will find a way round your defences.
The answer, of course, is to get someone else to proof your work. Easier said than done when you’re a one-man band. Even my wife, who is wonderfully loyal, suddenly finds she has an urgent need to wash her hair when it’s Classic Angling proof-reading time.
Can’t really blame her. Reading articles about the different engravings on 1920s Allcock Aerials or the minute changes in National Federation of Anglers’ badges requires a knowledge and devotion to accuracy and checking that few have (or want).
So spare a thought for those like me who beaver away writing, subbing, designing and proof-reading every word, every page. We’re gonna make mistakes. We just hope that we catch them before the presses start rolling.
I remember, some years ago, the phone ringing at 2am. The temptation was to ignore it. Drunk friend wanting a lift home? A pal arrested and hoping you can help?
When your magazine is due to print that night, it can only be one thing.
It was the printers, who in those days stripped in the ads. “Er, Keith, we’ve got a problem. On page 15, you’ve got a 25 x 4 ad. Only it’s not. The ad is 25 by FIVE columns.”
As I said, find someone else apart from yourself to do the proof-reading.