Don't hire a proofreader - Susan Weiner Investment Writing

Don’t hire a proofreader for your blog, says Michael Hyatt in Platform: Get Noticed in a Noisy World. Hyatt thinks a proofreader will cause unnecessary delays. However, he recommends that you proofread your own work.

Hyatt’s advice shocked me. But then I realized, hey, I don’t use a proofreader. I check my work. I’m usually pretty good at it. Sometimes errors get through, but usually I’m the only person who notices. It’s easy to correct errors on a blog. It’s not as big a deal as a printed book, presentation, or even an e-book.

However, if you have a budget that allows you to hire a proofreader, then go for it. More importantly, if you routinely make awful mistakes, or if you have super-critical readers, then please consider hiring a proofreader. Ask your colleagues for recommendations. Talk to people whom you know, which is how advisor Rick Kahler found his editor. You can also find a proofreader online through Craigslist or freelance sites.

As an in-between measure, consider using my “read out loud” method.

Feb. 6, 2018: I updated this post to add a link to the “read out loud” method of proofreading.

Nick Jones says:

July 14, 2013 at 6:04 am

I haven’t read Hyatt’s book but it sounds to me like he’s generalizing somewhat by saying that bloggers shouldn’t pay for s proofreader. I proofread for a high-profile fashion blogger here in the UK. She sends me 15 posts a day on average, which I would return the same day, usually within an hour or so. The slight delay is a worthwhile trade-off for the improvement in her writing; in fact,she approached me in the first place because she had received complaints from some readers about typos in her posts. So sometimes it is definitely worth it hiring a proofreader! And if you do need to find a proofreader, I recommend http://www.findaproofreader.com, an excellent directory of freelance proofreaders around the world.