Of course you know how to spell and compose solid sentences. But no one should ever proofread or their own work, and it’s better to turn editing over to someone with experience. Why? Because our brains are very tricky operators.
You will look over your text and your brain will see what you intended to write. The problem is that in the process of writing all kinds of unintended things can happen.
Sentences can be cut off and entire paragraphs sometimes disappear in cut-and-paste snafus. Software can auto-complete and plug in a word you didn’t want to use. A word can be repeated too many times within a few pages or paragraphs and leave your reader with sudden-onset vocabulary fatigue. Sometimes, because you know your subject or the world of your fiction better than the reader, you may skip over things they need or want to know.
It’s important to have a professional review your work before sending it to an agent, supervisor, printer or publisher. We want your work to shine just as much as you do.
A perspective on the “Why Bother” argument
There is a Why Bother contingent in the spelling, grammar, and word-comprehension debates. After all, language and usage are continually evolving, style guides are regularly updated. Maybe some of us are just ahead of the curve, and in any event the rules keep changing.
From my perspective it isn’t simply about following rules, it’s about getting your point across.
If you’ve traveled and been tongue-tied in the language of another country, you know how valuable it is to finally locate someone with whom you share a common language. Not only because you can finally find out where the post office, bus stop, pharmacy or bank is, but because someone understands what you are saying.
There can be comprehension issues within the same language. When I moved to one of the surfing capitals of Southern California I was regularly confused by local expressions. Perhaps you’ve read something with numerous typos, mystifying word usage or cut-and-paste errors, and all the compensating you had to do made you skip to something else.
One or two typos won’t necessarily entice people into throwing your article across the room, but you really don’t want readers to even consider the possibility of not finishing what you’ve written. Few things put them in that frame of mind faster than errors, or feeling confused about what the writer is trying to convey.
Language connects us in ways we aren’t even aware of until that bond is eroded or doesn’t exist. Style guides, dictionaries and usage rules facilitate that connection. Be kind to your readers and communicate clearly. It really is pretty wonderful when people understand what you are saying.
You’re almost there 