This is a thorny topic. In the beginning, I was so anxious to post my first story that I didn't proof it thoroughly.

Alas, I had to update several times and I learned a lesson, eventually. I still repeat the same mistake, turning a story in before thoroughly reviewing it.

Spell check did the obvious, but at times the spelling would be correct but the usage was wrong.

The tool, grammatik, in wordperfect was confusing at best. Once in awhile it helped. Then the formatting was making me crazy until I downloaded a free program called Textpad. If you drop down VIEW, it will highlight the spaces between the words, sentences, and paragraphs. It also has spellcheck and saves your file in a .txt format.

Finally, I put a story down for a month...didn't read it at all. In fact, I took a break. When I did return to it, I printed the whole thing out, sat down with red pen in hand, and made corrections, switched paragraphs, etc. I decided that was the best technique for me to edit the first pass.

Secondly, I ask a fellow writer to proof it and I return the favor. I don't abuse this type of request. It is a big deal for someone to proof a piece of writing for you. So, when I proof for them, I use the same care they used for my work. The more feedback, the better. I can some of their advice, all of it, or none of it. But they know that in advance.

Anyway, that is what has worked for me. Y'all have to find a way to deal with the spelling, grammar critiques or make some changes.

Personally, when I review a story, the focus is on the story...I'm not proofreading.

However, when the mechanics, i.e. story structure, run on sentences, etc., get in the way of the story, I get annoyed, and spelling is the last thing I look at. By then, I've lost interest. That's when I make a comment such as 'fire your proofreader.' IMO, it is more tactful than saying the obvious.

Just my two cents.