How do I proofread my work before submitting it to competitions when I have dyslexia?

Question

I'm in my mid 20's and all my life I have avoided reading books and writing because of how bad my dyslexia can be. Up until 2 years ago when I found out how fun and interesting this hobby is.

I want to enter short story competitions but what I'm afraid of is my spelling and grammar mistakes I make will send my submission straight to the rejection bin.

No matter how many times I proofread my work there's always multiple small mistakes I fail to notice until someone points them out.

I have been thinking about buying Grammarly premium to see if that will help. Would anyone else have any tactics I could employ to reduce the number of mistakes I make in my writing?

Also if I were to submit these stories with minimal mistakes will the mistakes be pointed out to me or will they just be rejected without anything else said?

Thanks in advance

Answer 1

Find a proofreader

While you undoubtedly are facing a larger problem than most, nobody can adequately proofread their own work. The foreknowledge of what you intended to write interferes with your ability to see what you actually placed on the page. That's why proofreaders exist — people who can read your book with a fresh set of eyes looking for mistakes and problems.

I am unfamiliar with the rules of short story competitions, but I doubt that they forbid the use of editors, proofreaders, and beta readers. All three are an integral part of the book writing process.

One important note: proofreading is work — be prepared to pay your proofreader. If the proofreader is a friend and the story is very short that might just mean buying them dinner. But if you plan on using their services on a regular basis (or for anything long) you need to consider this as a job you are hiring them to do.

Answer 2

My younger sister has dyslexia, and when she saw me writing my series she wanted to try her hand at it. Even for authors who have no problem correcting their own work they still usually have someone else proof read it. My little sister comes to me for that kind of stuff, and I go to my older sister likewise. Just because you wrote it doesn’t mean you have to edit it. Find someone else to do it.