One should never try to submit one’s work without having someone else look it over first.
That is a relatively hard rule with most writing jobs, though there are rare exceptions to this rule.
For example, say you are working as a technical writer for a firm. You are paid to write and submit on a timely basis, not make it the Great American Novel. Or–say–you are a blogger hobbyist, posting many short posts in a fairly frequent basis. Those are typically not going to be edited by a third party, either. Some rules simply must be ignored for the sake of expediency or job requirements.
But don’t talk yourself into making exceptions everywhere. Don’t be lazy. Don’t assume you can do the editing job yourself. The WORLD’S GREATEST AND/OR MOST SUCCESSFUL WRITERS make mistakes. And they don’t do final copyediting or galley proofing, either. I guarantee it. So why should you? NOTE: There is such a think as knowing your own product too well. The better you know it, the more likely you won’t notice mistakes (more on that below).
There are many different types of writing. There are reporters with print newspapers (yes, many still exist), online newspapers, and magazines. There are professional blogs, where you are contracted (meaning paid) to produce material regularly for someone else. There is fiction writing. There is technical writing for businesses, medical, legal, etc. There is non-fiction writing. There are works of academic scholarship (essays, theses, dissertations, presentations). There is textbook writing. And so forth, ad infinitum. Don’t make the mistake of thinking that because you are a good writer, with an excellent understanding of grammar, punctuation, syntax, etc. that it gets you off the hook. It doesn’t. Do you think a reporter’s story goes to print or post without editors going behind them for any mistakes, from content to grammar? Do you think there aren’t publishing editors, copyeditors, and proofreaders who aren’t going over your manuscript with a fine-tooth comb, weeding out mistakes? [Though truth be told, publishing firms aren’t as good as they used to be about catching some of the mistakes.] Do you think that a professor or teacher won’t be marking any mistakes, and possibly deducting, whatever they choose for a point grading system?
We all make mistakes. And the reality is, when we’re trying to put on paper the knowledge and ideas we have in our heads, we are subject not only to the fallacy that we have succeeded, but we often have the ego to admire our work in its original form, not even seeing most mistakes. We often don’t ask ourselves if what we have written makes sense to anyone who will read it, or if there are mistakes we missed that, God forbid, the reader won’t. Having someone else go behind you is a good test of that. They can address any ambiguity, uncompleted thoughts, contradictions, contextual issues, factual mistakes, etc. Only someone else can note if you are overusing the same words, or going to extremes to never use the same word more than once, or accidentally using the wrong word. Or any other writing tick or bad habit you may have.* Or the potential legion of errors you made. You are simply too close to your own work to notice such things. [Or you do notice but defend such choices. It’s harder to defend from someone else’s comments than your own thoughts.] And while you may catch spelling, grammar, and punctuation errors, you may not catch them all. Because we wrote it, and have familiarity with it, we may notice far fewer errors than we think we will.
*An example of such a writing tick: One popular writing duo had a terrible habit. Their characters often called one another to bring each other up to date. This was a large part of how the plot was advanced. And once off the phone, they would call someone else and talk to them. That was irritating enough, advancing huge parts of the plot that way. But it was always written as John used his cellular phone to call Millie. Then once that conversation was over, Millie hung up her cellular phone and then called Joey. And meanwhile, we later read about how John used his cellular to call Peter. You get the idea. As the reader, you might be forgiven for wondering why, having established early that mobile devices are used (as opposed to land lines), the writers felt the need to tell us every single time (as though we can’t figure out that if they’re in a car, they aren’t using land lines). One might even be forgiven for wondering why the specific phone type matters? Dozens of times through the books. I always wanted to ask the editor why they didn’t nip that bad habit in the bud.
Take the trouble to seek someone out. If you are writing a paper for class, ask your teacher to take a look at your rough draft. Some require it anyway. Few will turn you down. If you can’t get them, ask a fellow student. It may be better to have someone with experience do it, but anyone is better than no one. If you are writing a book, you should have an editor. If it’s a publishing house, you will; that comes built-in with your contract. Same with writing for a textbook. If you are freelancing, you should hire a freelance editor. If you can’t afford it, ask one or more friends, but remember they probably are not professionals in your field, and either way may be more eager to compliment and support you than pick things apart in needed criticism. Don’t expect the book to sell if you haven’t taken the trouble to make your manuscript as perfect as possible before publishing. As for blogs, they fall under slightly different rules. They are generally more informal in their tone and their grammar. But they, too, can stand to see a second pair of eyes, depending upon the type of blog and the type and size of your audience.
Just remember. We don’t always catch our own mistakes. The more experienced we are at writing, the more we are likely to believe we will catch them, or never make them in the first place, which is simply untrue. Get someone else to proofread as your last line of defense before going public. Otherwise, it may well be that, to quote the famous film line, “They’re all going to laugh at you.”
NOTE: I’m not suggesting never to go back over your own work. You should always do so, multiple times. You will pick up some mistakes. And because you know what you meant when you wrote, you might stumble over a sentence or plot point that makes no sense. If you can’t figure out what it means, no one else will, either. Here’s your opportunity to delete it, or, if you might know what you meant, to clarify it. The point is, don’t be the final arbiter of mistakes. Someone else should always be the last one to look it over.