Blog Post

What is proofreading?

Lisa De Caux • 30 January 2020

When people ask me about proofreading, they tend to have different ideas about what proofreading means. Their expectations will vary depending on what industry they’re in, why they’re interested, and whether they’ve worked with proofreaders before.

When someone says they’re looking for a proofreader, it’s really important to start with a conversation about what they want to achieve with proofreading.

This being the case, I’ll talk about understanding what you need and proofreading, as well as briefly mentioning copyediting and proof-editing.

Proofreading is the final stage in editing a document, before you share it or publish it. It is the last double-check and tidy-up. It comes after the typesetter/designer’s work, and it’s done when the document is in its final layout.

I’m going to talk about the ‘document’ here. These principles apply to whatever you’re going to share or publish, whether it’s a report, a blog, a book, a website, a CV or another piece of content.

Proofreading can be done on screen or on paper and is often done ‘blind’ these days – the proofreader doesn’t see an edited version of the document before they proofread. It can be useful to have different people to do the proofreading and editing stages as that adds extra sets of eyes to the process.

If you ask a professional proofreader to look at your document, you’ll receive a defined service, provided by independent, fresh eyes, and any changes will be clearly marked up for you to decide how to take action.

I’ll talk about my process, which will be similar for my editorial colleagues.

Understanding what you need

When you, the author/project manager, ask me to proofread your document, my first task is to understand your context, including your timescale. As we discussed earlier, people have different ideas when they say ‘proofreading’.

I’ll ask if your document is in development (in this case, you may want editing) or if it is ready to publish (this will be proofreading, the last stage of the editing process).

As part of our conversation, we’ll agree a brief. The brief is my terms of reference and I’ll use it to build my working checklist so that I look at everything we’ve agreed.

Depending on how close your document is to being published, this brief may cover copyediting or proof-editing.

Proofreading

Assuming that you're ready to publish, I'll build a working checklist, based on the brief, and start my proofread.

The specific tasks will vary with each project. Here are some tasks that a proofreader may undertake:
  • Check that the house style guide and editing conventions have been followed
  • Run relevant macros and specialist editorial software
  • Check sequential numbering of pages, chapters, footnotes etc
  • Check cross-referencing of tables
  • Check that artwork is the right way up and that captions are consistent
  • Check consistency of format, for instance, headings and subheadings
  • Close read the document for grammar, spelling, punctuation and accuracy.
Close reading is a really important proofreading technique. Our brains will often read what they expect to be there and, as proofreaders, we retrain our brains to see what is actually there.

Learning this technique was a key part of my proofreading training. For instance, are words used in the right context? The meanings of causal and casual are very different, but it would be easy to type one when you meant the other. And they’re both real words so an automated spellcheck wouldn’t see the problem.

When the brief has been completed, I’ll return the clearly marked-up project to you. You’ll easily be able to decide how to deal with my comments.

Copyediting

Copyediting is about preparing for publication. Where proofreading is the final double-check, copyediting happens earlier – it’s about reviewing the document before the typesetter/designer receives it.

Copyediting involves looking at consistency, accuracy, readability, and fitness for purpose, as well as grammar, spelling, punctuation and formatting.

Proof-editing

Proof-editing falls between copyediting and proofreading.

You might be in development, but the deadline is looming and you don’t have time for a full copyedit. Proof-editing often works well for businesses.

I have a client who asks for a ‘proofread/revision’, which I always feel is a useful way to describe proof-editing.

If you need proofreading or editing for a document, drop me a line at lisa@ldceditorial.co.uk.

If you’d like more information about editing and proofreading, I heartily recommend the Society for Editors and Proofreaders’ FAQs page.
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What are prelims for your book and why are they important? The prelims (aka the ‘front matter’) are the pages that come before the main content of the book. For example, a list of other books by the same author, the copyright page and the contents page. Why are prelims important? You want to give your readers a good reading experience and, if you’ve set the stage properly, they will engage with your book, which hopefully leads to positive reviews. Setting the stage The prelims will set the stage for your book. They prepare the reader to receive the book – like the curtain at the theatre before the show starts. They guide the reader. For instance, the contents page is a map for the reader to follow through the book. Prelims give the reader key publication information. The title page and copyright page provide details about the book’s title, author, publisher, and edition. The prelims support legal and scholarly needs – the ISBN number, copyright notice, disclaimers. 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Acknowledgments A section thanking those who helped in the book’s creation (sometimes placed at the back as a postlim). For a research-heavy book this is likely to be used. List of illustrations/tables This helps readers find important visual elements. Introduction Provides background information and context for the main content (sometimes replacing the preface). Maps Where a geographical reference is needed to help readers understand the context and follow the narrative. Glossary A list of important words and their definitions mentioned in the book. Key differences between fiction and non-fiction prelims Fiction: You’ll find fewer prelims and they’ll be focused on storytelling. Prologues may be included, but contents lists are rare. Non-fiction: You’ll find more structured prelims, often with a foreword, preface, introduction, and it’s very likely that there’ll be a table of contents to aid readability and credibility. Prelims – what next? 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Please do DM me to talk about editing or proofreading, or to be added to my waiting list. 
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