It has been quite a while since I posted a Proofreader Pet Peeves because I haven’t been doing a lot of editing or proofreading of creative works. That said, I have been doing a lot of editing of documents, memorandums, and emails for work. Just like when editing games and ttrpgs, I am finding that people are not using the tools available to them. Back in the handwritten and typed document days, I could understand spelling, punctuation, and grammatical errors. But with today’s amazing tools, those errors can be easily caught, and you can do a first edit of your documents before sending them on to a proofreader or editor. Please, at minimum, use the spellcheck and grammar tools built into Word and Google Docs. Even better, I highly recommend using Grammarly. It has helped me be an even better editor and proofreader. The AI tools like Chatgpt and Bard can be helpful as well, but be careful you do not rely on them to rewrite your own words, especially for creative works you hope to publish. Honestly, there is no reason you should not be taking advantage of these tools to make your writing even better. Please. Your editors and proofreaders will thank you.
What pet peeves do you have as a proofreader or editor that seem to come up often in documents you are working on?