I make mistakes. I’m my own worst editor. I pore over my work, re-reading each line, often wishing I were a better editor of my own pieces. It’s difficult to catch every error, which is why my personal work ethic doesn’t allow me to send a manuscript to my agent or publisher unless I have paid a content editor to be sure there are no holes, misspellings, or punctuation errors.
Yes, I invest dollars in my work, but my school of thought is, the cleaner the manuscript, the more opportunity for publication. For articles, I send them to critique buddies. Can everyone do this? Probably not, but when I start a manuscript, I start saving to pay for this service – it’s my personal standard. I also hate slush piles, and the quickest way to a slush pile (i.e. trashcan) is to send editors work filled with mistakes.
While I have grown into a better editor over the years, I still make mistakes. Who doesn’t? But I do my best now to rid myself of glaring errors.
Here are 5 ways to assure your work will find the slush pile:
Take pride in your work. Put your best foot forward and take the extra time to be assure your work doesn’t go by way of the slush pile.
Photo courtesy of www.morguefile.com &dhester
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