What is proofreading?
Proofreading is a final quality check and general tidy-up of a text. It will catch typos or errors that have made it past author, editor and any other readers and ensure that the text is as error-free as possible prior to final publication.
How do I know if I need a proofreader?
Every text can benefit from being proofread, even if it’s just by a friend or family member. A fresh pair of eyes will almost certainly pick up mistakes that you will just skip over because you know what it’s supposed to say.
A professional proofread will go further than this, however, and pay attention to issues that most people may not be aware of such as widows and orphans (the first or last line of a paragraph displayed separately from the rest of the paragraph). Proofreading can be thought of as the final quality check before publication, a last chance to catch any sneaky typos or inconsistent spellings.
In traditional publishing, proofreading is carried out on formatted text (i.e. page proofs, where each page looks exactly as it will in the printed book), so that the proofreader can check issues with layout as well as the typical spelling and grammar. If you're self-publishing this is still the ideal workflow, but I'm also happy to proofread at an earlier point in the process with the understanding that certain things can't be checked.
A professional proofread will go further than this, however, and pay attention to issues that most people may not be aware of such as widows and orphans (the first or last line of a paragraph displayed separately from the rest of the paragraph). Proofreading can be thought of as the final quality check before publication, a last chance to catch any sneaky typos or inconsistent spellings.
In traditional publishing, proofreading is carried out on formatted text (i.e. page proofs, where each page looks exactly as it will in the printed book), so that the proofreader can check issues with layout as well as the typical spelling and grammar. If you're self-publishing this is still the ideal workflow, but I'm also happy to proofread at an earlier point in the process with the understanding that certain things can't be checked.
What does it include?
During a proofread, I will address the following issues:
During a proofread, I will not look at the following issues:
During a proofread, I will address the following issues:
- spelling, grammar and punctuation
- minor changes for sense, e.g. affect vs effect
- layout and pagination (if applicable)
- numbering and placement of tables and illustrations (if applicable)
- references and citations (if applicable).
During a proofread, I will not look at the following issues:
- changing a spelling, grammatical or punctuation preference
- rewriting
- restructuring
- adding in new material
- accuracy checking.