lilredwriter
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- Apr 23, 2018
- 2
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So, I just need to get this off my chest and see if there is anyone else out there who understands. I know there are lots of different kinds of writers out there. I have worked with writers who also happen to be great proofreaders and really enjoy it. Not me. I HATE PROOFREADING. I'm also terrible at it. It's not that I don't know how to spell. It's that I have ADHD and focusing for long periods of time without interruption is next to impossible. I also suffer from noise sensitivity (selective hearing disorder), so if I'm in the middle of proofreading and someone starts talking loudly near me or eating carrots, all bets are off. However, it seems that at every job I'd had, I'm lumped into a proofreader role on top of my writing and content strategist role.
I have an advanced degree and 20 years of experience. I don't mean to sound arrogant -- I'm just NOT a PROOFREADER. It's a very special skill that I just don't posses. I admire people who have it. But it is not what I went to school for or worked so hard in my career to do. I realize there are things in every job you don't like but I am not good at proofreading. My mind wonders and I can't stay focused. I re-read the same lines over and over again. I am an idea person. I move fast. It stresses me out to be handed a proofreading job that I'm responsible for not messing up. It's become a huge problem in my current job. I was recently forced to proof a technical manual on electrical grids. Something I can't even wrap my head around. I don't care about it at all and it took me forever to get through it. I got a lot of pressure to speed up the process and when I tried to share that proofreading really isn't my thing, I got blank stares and felt like my job might be on the line. I have never professed to be good at proofreading -- but it is always implied because I'm a writer. I'm at my wit's end. Has anyone dealt with this and how did you handle it?
I have an advanced degree and 20 years of experience. I don't mean to sound arrogant -- I'm just NOT a PROOFREADER. It's a very special skill that I just don't posses. I admire people who have it. But it is not what I went to school for or worked so hard in my career to do. I realize there are things in every job you don't like but I am not good at proofreading. My mind wonders and I can't stay focused. I re-read the same lines over and over again. I am an idea person. I move fast. It stresses me out to be handed a proofreading job that I'm responsible for not messing up. It's become a huge problem in my current job. I was recently forced to proof a technical manual on electrical grids. Something I can't even wrap my head around. I don't care about it at all and it took me forever to get through it. I got a lot of pressure to speed up the process and when I tried to share that proofreading really isn't my thing, I got blank stares and felt like my job might be on the line. I have never professed to be good at proofreading -- but it is always implied because I'm a writer. I'm at my wit's end. Has anyone dealt with this and how did you handle it?
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