Edit Better by Reading Aloud

Reading aloud? I hate this step. But bear with me.

This week I received physical copies of my book, “Ten Reminders for the Single Christian Woman.” My mother started reading it and as is the case, had a number of nits to pick. I settled to read the book myself and gasp. Despite the editor and me giving it another pass, as I read the book through my mother’s eyes, I could see the awkward commas and word choices because I read aloud.

I’m not a big fan of reading aloud. Imagine if I had to read out some of my larger works of about 70,000 words. My voice would be hoarse and I’d probably never finish.

Now I’m not suggesting you read aloud yourself. You can use a Text to Speech (TTS) software to do it for you. Microsoft Word has their own version of this built into the system. Reading aloud or a voice reading your text will help you:

1.Catch awkward phrases

2. Correct typos

3. Help you identify problems with dialogue

4. Gauge the rhythm of the sentences

5. Highlight repetitious words. In Milanese Stars, I used the word “just” 150 times 😎

It is a time-consuming step and it must be saved for last.  Do you read aloud? Do you do it yourself? What are your tips for reading aloud?