Believe

Believe. What an exceptionally powerful word! Take a moment to think about the implications, meanings, interpretations, uses, definitions. A person can believe in something, believe in themselves, believe that everything happens for a reason, believe in the power of positive thinking.

Just one word, all by itself, is completely positive in nature. Is there any context within which the word believe is used that is not positive? Try to think of an example. You can't, because of the power behind the word.

Whatever your goals or ambitions, if you believe - truly and genuinely believe - you can accomplish anything, overcome any obstacle, cross any bridge, conquer any problem, achieve any goal.

Faith plays a big role also; but now take a moment to think about that. You have to believe to have faith. One could say that you have to have faith in order to believe. In many instances, the two are synonymous. Just a quick glance at a dictionary and you will see that each references the other.

I personally have a great fondness for the word believe. It is my mantra, something I incorporate into everything I do and in how I think. Of course you can't simply walk around just saying the word. But combine that belief - in the word believe - with a positive attitude, determination and persistence, and you'll find that the world will open up to you. Whatever insecurities, doubts, inhibitions or fears that you face in life, in your career, in your goals -will simply be exonerated if you just believe.

Persistence

Persistence is a vital element necessary in achieving anything - any goal, any dream, any desire. It takes dedication, hard work and persistence to see any of these things come to fruition.

Working as a freelancer, I have come to appreciate the importance of persistence. Venturing into the world of networking and blogs, the related terminology and technology, I have encountered several road blocks that have forced me to take side roads to learn new things and gain additional knowledge before getting back on the main road.

No one said this road would be easily traveled. There are detours and road blocks; sometimes you get a flat tire. But with a positive attitude, a lot of determination and persistence, it's worth it. The road does not end - it continues on and we continue to travel it - because it's taking us to our goals, our dreams and our desires.

Making the Most of our Talents

"As simple as it sounds, we all must try to be the best person we can: by making the best choices, by making the most of the talents we've been given." - Mary Lou Retton

When I first read this insightful quote, the first thing that came to mind is that being "the best person we can be" and "by making the most of the talents we've been given" is an ongoing process.

Part of making the most of our talents is to continue to grow and learn. I find myself not only working on my talents and polishing my skills; but networking, being imperative and an integral part of my business, has introduced me to a world wherein I am having to learn a multitude of things and find myself in situations that can at times be intimidating.

By taking one thing at a time, learning one thing at a time and interacting with others, the pieces eventually begin to come together. In addition to the talents we've been given, working on adding to those talents is imperative to continued growth.

There's More to Proofreading Than Just Reading!

Part of the job of a good proofreader is to not only find the errors, but also having the ability to find the write words (yes, I did that on purpose) to get the author's message across to the reader in a clear and concise manner.

Proofreading itself involves pretty much the obvious: misspelled words, incorrect punctuation and grammatical errors. One of the most common "problems" facing a writer is the use of there, their and they're.

You won't find the answer here, however - that's my job, and very possibly the topic for another blog post!

Copyediting is another aspect and is a bit more involved. When editing written material, a copyeditor looks for proper structure and "flow." The last thing a reader wants is to have to work at reading. The written words should be as readable as if they were being spoken aloud. Of course this goes without saying that in such case, the speaker be well-versed in the proper use of the English language as well.

So, you have basic proofreading for spelling, punctuation and grammar; copyediting for structure and proper content; and what else? Writing. In order to be of value to an author, writer or publisher, a "proofreader" should definitely possess excellent writing abilities. If something is written without proper format or composition, how could that possibly be remedied unless your editor has the ability to find the right words and use them in the correct order, so that what you are writing is understandable and reads with ease?

The importance of a good proofreader/copyeditor is obvious to the majority of people in the "world of words." In this post I hope to have conveyed that message and defined in a bit more detail the different aspects involved in the field most commonly referred to as proofreading.