At the publisher where I work, it is standard procedure to read a manuscript out loud after its initial edit. This is a group exercise, always done with multiple editors present. The number of useful changes that are identified while this is done is quite remarkable and time-intensive though it might be, it is worth it for all of the insight that is gained when we hear the text, rather than just read it.
I have also found that this works when I proof things that I have written. After writing the first draft, revising it, and proofing it, I read it out loud, alone. Lots of things in there make me wince, and they get changed.
I think other writers could benefit from doing this. Has anybody here ever tried it? Would anybody here like to try it and relate their experience with it?
