[Brian Morris]

Proofreading poetry is nigh on impossible.

It’s hard to know when a poet makes a mistake and what is ‘poetic licence’.

The poet can make up words, as Shakespeare did HUNDREDS of times.

If you use a proofreader ask the proofreader to question whether the poet meant to write obvious misspellings like ‘goseberry’ or ‘hindreds’ or ‘ceasar’. They are probably genuine mistakes.

My tip is invite the proofreader to ASK. The symbol s/b? will be the proofreader’s new favourite symbol.

Checking facts will still be a useful proofreader service. Pointing out that attributing ‘To Kill a Mockingbird’ to Stephen King is wrong – is easy. But the proofreader will need to be on his/her toes to notice ‘Lee Harper’ is also wrong.

All writers can have a brain fade and that includes poets. (And all human beings.)

So your proofreader friends should offer their services to authors, lawyers, estate agents, public relations writers, PowerPoint users, newsletter writers, bloggers, reverends, magazine editors, teachers, politicians and ……