One of the most important things that any writer can do is proofread their work. Misspelled words and misplaced punctuation can litter a writer’s work, so they must make sure to proofread everything they write. After all, as horror writer Stephen King once famously said, “To write is human; to edit is divine.” In the spirit of that quote, we would like to introduce everyone to National Proofreading Day—a day that falls on March 8th every year and helps remind all of us that error-free writing is always the ultimate goal.

The History of National Proofreading Day

National Proofreading Day is a holiday that was first created by Judy Beaver in 2011. It was created in remembrance of her mother, Flo—a woman who loved correcting other people’s mistakes. That’s why the day falls on March 8th—the day on which Flo was born. Judy also created a website called nationalproofreadingday.com.

Why Proofread Your Writing?

Now that we know where National Proofreading Day comes from, it’s time to turn our attention to one of the biggest questions some people might have: Why should you even bother to proofread in the first place? Let’s answer that question right now.

Mistakes Just Look Bad

The first and foremost reason for proofreading your writing is to avoid mistakes that make you look bad. It doesn’t matter if you’re writing a cover letter for a job interview, an email to a friend, or filling out a dating profile online; mistakes reflect poorly on you and will negatively impact people’s opinions of you and/or your work.

Mistakes Can Have Unintended Consequences

In the real world, mistakes in purchase orders and advertising can have real consequences. And no one knows this better than NASA. In 1962, they lost contact with Mariner 1 and eventually lost control of it. This resulted in them having to blow it up 293 seconds after launch. What caused them to lose control? Some people believe it was a missing hyphen in the spacecraft’s guidance code. Science fiction writer Arthur C. Clarke dubbed this mistake as one of the most expensive hyphens in history.

It Helps You Think More Critically About Your Writing

Hunting down and correcting your grammatical mistakes helps make you a more conscientious writer. It will help you hone your craft and, in the end, become a better writer. So keep on correcting those mistakes.

How To Observe National Proofreading Day

This holiday is meant as a day to remind writers and ordinary people to take the time to proofread everything they write, so it’s a good day to follow that practice. It’s also a good day to offer your proofreading skills to a friend or colleague. And it’s also a good day to teach children how to proofread their own work, even as they’re honing their writing skills.