Are you new to making money writing articles? If you are, you will likely experience a few moments of embarrassment. These moments may leave you saying aloud “I can’t believe I did that.” Despite the fact that these are common moments that all writers have, there are a number of steps that you can take to reduce their frequency.
First and foremost, know what is expected of you before you apply for or accept a project from a paying client. There is nothing worse than writing a project only to find out that it needs to be saved as a Microsoft Word document, which you don’t have installed on your computer. Speaking of Microsoft Word, you should purchase it, as it is considered a great writing tool.
If you do use Microsoft Word to write and save your articles, rely on its spell check and grammar check programs. On that same note, do not rely on them too heavily. They are nice to use, but they aren’t always accurate, especially the grammar checker. When in doubt, go with what you know or what sounds best.
In keeping with Microsoft Word, be cautious of accidental clicks. Do not accidentally add misspelled words to the program. If you do so, they will not be recognized as errors anymore. For that reason, always take your time when correcting errors that you are alerted to. It can be embarrassing to submit articles that have a large number of spelling errors.
It is also important to be cautious of Word’s auto correct features. It is a nice feature to utilize, but the auto corrected word may not be what you needed. That is why proofreading is very important, even with all of the helpful tools that you are provided with. Although an error or two is not uncommon on occasion, proofreading can help to improve the quality of your articles.
If you are outsourcing your work to another writer, due to an illness, check that work for yourself. Proofread to make sure that there are no spelling or grammar errors. Next, make sure the content is unique. There is nothing worse and more career damaging than submitting articles that were copied from the internet. Never trust another individual’s word that they wrote quality or unique articles, verify for yourself. After all, your name is the one that will be attached to the work.
Another easy way to avoid embarrassment is to only accept projects on topics that you know about or ones that you don’t mind researching. Do not claim to be an expert on a subject that you know little to nothing about. Chances are, you will only be embarrassed when it comes time for your work to be reviewed. You may find the best luck writing articles on topics that you already know about. At the very least, make sure you have the proper amount of time to devote to researching unfamiliar subjects before accepting or applying for a project.
As a recap, we all have those “what was I thinking moments,” from time to time. No one, not even professional article writers are perfect. That doesn’t mean that you should just wait for your moment of embarrassment to arrive. By following the above mentioned steps, you shouldn’t have to deal with an awkward, uncomfortable, or a potentially career ending moment.
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