​Wye is it sew hard too proofreed you’re own work?

It’s hard because our brains stop showing us the errors in our manuscripts. After seeing the same error several times our brain decides that the writer must like it that way. That also explains why it is so easy to spot errors in someone else’s writing. Fresh eyes make a big difference.
Proofreading your manuscript is not impossible but it means getting creative to trick your brain and freshen those tired eyes. Here are a few tips to make that process easier.

1. Read your manuscript aloud. Engaging another major sensory organ and process activates an additional part of your brain.
2. Ask a loved one to read it aloud to you. Alternatively, some major word processing programs will read the material out loud for you.
3. Set your manuscript aside for several months and work on another project. The passage of time and change of focus can reveal many hidden errors.
4. Read your manuscript backward, one paragraph at a time, from the end or whatever point concerns you.
5. Change the page orientation from portrait to landscape, change the font style, size and color.
6. Change the background color or print it out on colored paper.
7. Change the justification from one side to the other or center on the page.
8. Use a ruler to isolate one line at a time.
9. Focus on only one type of error at a time whether it be punctuation or grammar.
10. Learn what your filler words are and do a global search for those.
11. Show all hidden characters to check for spacing between words and sentences.

 
I know this is not an exhaustive list, leave a comment below if you have a tip that will help others.