I love proofreading my books as this is the final stage. I get to change anything that I find wrong be it missing punctuation, the wrong eye colour, the cat’s name … seriously, I’ve spotted many different things over the years. Which makes me laugh a little because I know so many sets of eyes have read it through before it gets to this stage.
I have a two week window in which to complete the task but that’s not how I complete proofreading. I like to settle in my favourite chair, take my time and read it aloud to the dog. Seriously, I kid you not, Teddy is the world’s best listener, he rarely complains, but then he needs to be as it usually takes me three days at eight hours per day, as if I were on Jackanory from the 80s. It might sound like a chore but honestly, I fall back in love with my book at this stage of the game. Quite often during the structural edit stage I hate my manuscript but proofreading is a lovely stage so I make sure I enjoy it.
I’ll have my laptop nearby with my correction document open ready for details, an endless stream of tea and my dog curled beside me – what’s not to like for three days!