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Writing Tips Pt. 4 - Beta Readers

Since I just had a long post about commonly mixed-up words, many of which would escape a basic spellcheck, how do we handle that (and other writing gaffes that the most basic of tools will miss)?

You get a beta reader. Or hire an editor or proofreader. Or sign up with a publishing company that will assign you an editor.

Beta readers, editors, etc. can generally do a few different things for your writing, which is something you will need to discuss for whoever you sign on to help you out. Whoever it is, though, make sure they're someone you trust to actually know English well—or whichever language you'll be writing in—since the idea is for them to help you with your writing and catch the mistakes you make.

If English is not your first language, make doubly sure to get a beta reader who is fluent. Yes, Google Translate can be fairly decent, but you should still have someone fluent check it over, if only for the grammar.