I often see authors asking for proofreading when they mean copyediting, or vice versa, or even the dreaded “proof-edit.” Some people define them as different degrees or intensity of help. To them, a proofread has fewer changes, or smaller changes, than a copyedit. But I find that a bit fuzzy and subjective. Being unclear on the difference just opens the door to scope creep and frustrated expectations on both ends. Instead, I prefer to define them by the stage at which they happen in the publishing process, and the methods through which they are done.
When does proofreading happen?
Proofreading is the last quality control step before the manuscript goes to the printer (or gets published on whichever digital platform you are using). This means that proofreading happens on text which has already been laid out (made pretty) by a designer, or formatter, or industrious self-pubber who’s figured out Vellum or InDesign. The proofreader should have the very last version of the file. No one should be making changes to the master file while the proofreader is proofreading it.
Is it the same as copyediting?
Certainly not! During a copyedit, I’d make global changes, or more intensive changes such as suggesting a sentence be rephrased for clarity. I’d do more fact-checking. I’d usually ignore the aesthetics of the design, like margin sizes. I’d also ignore the page numbers. Those will definitely change during the layout stage.
When I proofread, I’m looking at those aesthetic elements to make sure they’ve been consistently applied. I need to check for errors that have clung on through the copyediting process (usually minor typos). I also look for errors which have been introduced since copyediting.
How errors can creep in
Sometimes the typesetter doesn’t read or write the language of the manuscript. They don’t really need to. Their job is to arrange the elements on the page, not understand them. So they might have misunderstood an unclear instruction. Or, because we’re all human (for now), typos or errors might have crept in during the author’s review stage, or the query resolution stage, or if any further revisions were done before typesetting even happened.
It doesn’t really matter who is to blame for the error. There’s not much value in pointing fingers, though in traditional proofreading, there is a color-coding system to do just that! Every lingering error at this point takes more time to fix, and time costs money.
If there is a large number of changes, or some big changes need to be made, the project manager needs to be aware of that. If it’s really extensive, it could be cheaper and more efficient to bounce the manuscript back for another round of copyediting in Word rather than trying to make all those changes in the master designed file after proofreading.
Using editorial judgment
The proofreader should be keeping the timeline and costs in mind. They should be fixing only the things that are objectively wrong, and leaving alone the things that aren’t actually broken.
Unnecessary changes out of a sense of needing to “do more” to do a “good job” just end up making the project cost more money and take longer. That proofreader might not be doing the project, or their career, any favors.
What do proofreaders fix?
Proofreaders look for minor typos and errors in spelling, grammar, and punctuation. If something is a little off but not objectively wrong, we’ll probably leave it alone. There’s a lot of judgment needed at this stage, and some restraint. We might be alert to common-sense factual errors. For example, if someone wrote that the Titanic sank in 1992, I’ll fix it. But we probably won’t dig into any deeper research. Those facts should have been confirmed during copyediting. We can refer to the style sheet to see if those decisions have already been made.
Proofreaders will also ensure that:
- the page numbers are correct,
- the page numbers and chapter headers match the table of contents,
- the running heads are correct and display on the correct pages,
- all the front and back matter is complete and where it should be,
- the copyright page has all the correct information on it,
- the author’s name is spelled right on the cover,
- there aren’t any lingering comments or notes in the text,
- the pictures are in the right places and the right way up,
- diagrams are displaying correctly,
- margins, indents, lists, tables, and so on are correctly aligned,
- spaces between paragraphs are supposed to be there and are all the same size,
- there aren’t any widows or orphans all by themselves,
- there aren’t too many hyphens stacked on top of each other at the end of a line,
- there aren’t repeats of the same word stacked on top of each other on consecutive lines,
- the spaces between the letters and between the words are consistent and easy to read,
- apostrophes are all curly or all straight, but not mixed,
- and many other little details like that.
How do proofreaders fix it?
Proofreaders use whichever markup method the client has asked for to signal where the change needs to be made, such as where two words need a space added between them, or where an italic hyphen needs to have its jaunty slant removed. Then whoever is working in the layout program needs to go through the proofread file carefully and apply each of those changes to the master file.
Proofreading software
Implementing every change can be very fiddly, so we usually do most of the bigger changes during copyediting, in Word, before the document is laid out. For comparison, in a copyedit it’s normal for a novel-length manuscript to have thousands and thousands of changes, but during proofreading (if it’s been thoroughly copyedited), we’d expect there to only be a few hundred changes, at most.
Why I prefer Adobe
If the proofreader is working in Adobe, and the designer or typesetter is working in InDesign, it’s easier for the typesetter to implement the changes. That’s because they’re both Adobe products and are compatible with each other. The designer can import the tracked changes into InDesign and then just click through each one, accepting or rejecting them (and checking that the resulting change was the intended result). But it needs to be the same version of the file; this is why it’s important that the proofreader is sent the very last version of the file before printing.
Traditional vs. Modern Proofreading
Proofreading was traditionally done with pen or pencil on paper. The proofreader worked on the clean, laid-out version of the manuscript while referring to the copyeditor’s marked-up copy. The proofreader carefully marked the error in the text and left a signal in the margin that there was a correction on that line to help the typesetter spot it.
To save space and avoid misunderstandings, the proofreader usually used proofreader’s marks, which the typesetter knew how to recognize. These marks are slightly different depending on whether you’re following the US system or the British system (BSI marks). A client might have a curated list of specific marks they prefer. I found that to be the case when I proofread a book for a Big Five publisher a few years ago.
Proofreading efficiently
Though some people still proofread on paper, most find that it’s much more efficient to do it digitally, and that’s what many of my clients expect. Proofreaders can use the built-in commenting tools in their PDF reader, or they may import proofreading symbol stamps into it. Some of my game developer clients prefer me to proofread in Ziflow, which allows for collaborative proofreading in the cloud.
I find that it’s more accurate to check off each change in the software as you go than to have the typesetter peering at tiny little pencil marks on the paper, where it’s all too easy to miss a crossed-out apostrophe! What’s more, digital files are searchable, so you can easily make sure nothing was missed. Finally, doing it onscreen means you don’t have to print it out, so it’s better for the environment as you are not wasting large amounts of paper.
Digital proofreading is becoming the industry standard. But some traditional publishers, as I mentioned, still do things the old way, so if you’re training to be a proofreader, you should learn both methods.
Why is it worth it?
When you’re publishing your writing, you’re sending a message. You need that message to be received the way you meant it, and you want your reader to trust you. Typos and layout errors can cast doubt on your credibility, and they can distract your reader so they don’t buy into what you’re writing about.
In nonfiction, this means the reader might not agree with you, or they might not buy what you’re selling. In fiction, it means the reader might not be able to immerse themself in your world, and if it’s a series, they probably won’t continue reading it. Proofreading is vital to create and maintain a sense of value so that your readers keep coming back for more.
