National Proofreading Day and Tips

National Proofreading Day and International Women’s Day both fall on March 8, 2022. While we hear a lot of shoutouts about the latter, we don’t hear much about the former. For all the proofreaders and editors out there, this one’s for you!

A National Today article shares a timeline of the origin and history of “our day.” It includes a snippet about a reprint of the King James Bible with “a minor proofreading error that resulted in a massive lawsuit and damages to the publisher!”

A Marquette University Law School Faculty Blog acknowledges this special day with some interesting background information and a list of proofreaders’ marks from the same 17th edition of the Chicago Manual of Style that I share below.

Daysoftheyear.com also shouts out “our day” with a mention of the “grammar police” and why Judy Beaver created it specifically on March 8:

Judy created National Proofreading Day in remembrance of her mother, Flo. On her website (nationalproofreadingday.com) Judy relates that her mother loved to correct people. She thought by creating the day on her mother’s birthday, it would be a fun way to remember her, and help people take more time to proofread their work!

https://www.daysoftheyear.com/days/proofreading-day/
National Proofreading Day
Chicago Manual of Style, 17th Edition

I previously blogged on proofreader marks (shown above) and added a YouTube video with an excellent breakdown on how to use Microsoft’s tracked changes instead — a more modern system for editing. Check it out!

Do you need help with proofing your manuscript?

I’ve helped many authors proof their manuscripts. Contact me and let’s get started!