OK, I just wanted to put something out there that I do get a lot of comments on.
I know I am not the greatest when it comes to proofreading. And there are many reasons for it. Not least of which because I am typing on a laptop and not a desktop, which has a keyboard nowhere near as good. Also, when I get into my writing spurts, I can crank out 2-4 chapters a day. Each chapter 8-11+ pages on 12 point font (around 5,000 words or 25k characters) each.
And yes, I do go through them again before posting. I generally write 2-4 chapters ahead of what I post. Most recently I posted Chapter 29, and am finishing up Chapter 31 at this time. But between trying to type on what I consider a joke keyboard, my decreasing vision, and the screen it can be hard for me to find all of them.
I am very grateful to DomAbrazo, richardshagrin, and all of the others that have been helping me catch all of the mistakes that slip through. And I notice that these problems are much more common in my longer stories (CBCG, Night of Madness) than they are in my short ones. Probably because of the speed in which I write those.
A chapter in say Dark Tales which is an anthology may be around 35k characters, and maybe an hour and a half to knock out. Country Boy, those are much faster and I will often knock out 2 chapters of that (around 50k) in just about an hour.
It is not being lazy, I simply know those characters much better, and do not have to think much when it comes to putting their thoughts and actions onto the screen. As opposed to a single shot story, where I have to keep every detail in my head as I write. Because of that I am much slower in typing those, and get less key fumbles.
And yes, I did try an editor in here once before. That was maybe 16 years ago, and it was not a very good experience. Thankfully I have the two I mentioned and others who are kind enough to send me corrections, and I do go back every few weeks and fix my previous chapters. But then it also becomes a bit of a chore, especially when I am in a writing frenzy like I have been in lately.
So I continue to try to finish up 4-8 chapters a week for as long as I can while the setting is fresh in my head? Or do I stop every day or so, open up my old chapters, make the corrections and then upload them all over again?
Oh, and some "mistakes" are on purpose. If I have a character say something in quotes and it sounds wrong, like bad syntax or wrong word, sometimes it is actually on purpose. That is literally what they said, most of us do not speak like English majors all the time. Or as in one case I still chuckle about, somebody tried to correct me when I had somebody say "bag it", saying it made no sense. When in reality to anybody from that era it would have made perfect sense, it is just slang that has fallen out of use.
My thanks again to those that have been trying to help in sending me emails correcting me when I screwed the pooch with my typing. I do go back through them before I post, but my vision now makes it increasingly hard to actually see them. I have found it impossible now to write with bifocals because of the neck angle, so simply remove my glasses in writing or reading. So many times I literally "do not see them", and that is entirely my fault.
And this weekend I do plan on sitting down and knocking out all of those that have been piling up. It is around 10 chapters worth, so that is about a day I figure.
Or better yet, if somebody can send me a link so I can get replacement eyes and fingers, so I will not make so many typos in the first place and see those I do make.
EDIT: Honest thanks to all those that suggested I get a "real keyboard". As an FYI, I lost my job to COVID, and moved in with some family in another state. My computer (desktop, 19" and 27" monitors, Logitech keyboard) are sitting in the closet, just no room to set any of them up. My current "computer desk" is actually a turn of the century foot pedaled sewing machine, that just has enough room for the laptop and a mouse.
I long for the day when I can set them all up again and return to writing as I am used to. Kind of like how I long for the day when I would be spat in the face (could not resist throwing in an obscure Monty Python quote).