So what is proofreading, anyway? It’s just editing, right?
I get this a lot.
The short answer is no. Generally speaking, proofreading is the act of reading an author’s material and marking any errors. When your boss asks you to look over the memo she’s about to send out to your team and let her know if there are any mistakes, that is proofreading.
However, let’s pretend that you read the memo and notice that the content could be worded differently to make more sense. If you suggest that to your boss, it isn’t proofreading. That is editing.
Think of it like this. Authors are responsible for creating content. They write blogs, novels, research papers, proposals, memos, and all kinds of other things. They work very hard to write new material for publication. Eventually, the author creates enough content and is happy with it. That’s when the author sends the content to an editor.
An editor is the person who reviews the content and makes suggestions to the author about changing parts of the content as part of the publication process. There are actually four different stages of editing. Depending on what the author wrote, not every stage is needed, but we’ll review them all in case they apply to your project.
Developmental Editing
If an author wrote a book manuscript, developmental editing is the next step. Sometimes, we call this stage structural or substantive editing. This is the part when the editor reviews the work as a whole and checks to see if the story makes sense. A developmental editor will work on big-picture items like plot, setting, character development, and the manuscript’s structure, including the introduction and conclusion or removing and reorganizing scenes.
Line Editing
The next step is line editing. This stage is also known as content or stylistic editing. At this point in the process, the editor starts to get more specific. Line editors work on dialogue, refining characterizations, word choice, and phrasing. They’ll examine the beginning and end of each chapter. Bad writing habits also come under the microscope here. If an author has a tendency to start sentences with the same word or overuse a dialogue tag, the line editor will flag it. Once the line editor has addressed all these items with the author, they can move onto the next stage.
Copyediting
I think this is where most people confuse the editing process with proofreading. Rest assured, you are not alone if this is the case. Copyeditors focus on accuracy and consistency throughout the document. Timeline corrections, variation in word choice, and subsequent numbering for chapters and page numbers all fall under copyediting. They’ll check the consistency of a character’s actions. Copyediting also means checking for echo words, words an author uses repeatedly to the point of overuse. If there is a table of contents, bibliography, or footnotes, the copyeditor is responsible for checking those too. And here is where the confusion comes in; copyeditors also look at grammar, punctuation, and spelling. When the author has made all of the changes required by the copyeditor, then the manuscript can move to the proofreading stage.
Proofreading
Proofreading is the final stage before publication. Technically, proofreading does fall under editing. However, like the other editing stages, proofreaders have a very specific job. We look for items that the editors missed. Let’s face it; the developmental, line, and copyeditors have big jobs. It can be very easy to miss a typo or extra space when they are trying to work on so many other facets of the manuscript. That’s why proofreaders are part of the team. Our job is to look for typos, duplicated words, and issues with grammar, punctuation, spelling, or formatting. This is the polishing stage. When the proofreading is done, there should not be any other changes. Once proofreading changes are approved and incorporated, the manuscript is ready for publication.
Did You Learn Anything?
Ok, let’s review what we’ve learned today! There are four kinds of editing: developmental, line, copyediting, and proofreading. First, the developmental editor helps the author with the big picture. Then line editors help authors refine their style. Copyeditors get into the nitty-gritty details of the manuscript. Finally, the proofreader polishes the manuscript by finding any lingering errors in punctuation, grammar, formatting, or spelling.
Proofreading Prep List
Now that you know the difference between editing and proofreading, are you ready for a proofreader? Take a look at the questions below to see if it’s time for a proofreader to review your project.
Ask Yourself:
- Are your sentences clear and easy to understand?
- Do your ideas and sentences flow logically with effective transitions between them?
- How is your tone? Overly casual? Too formal?
- Is your sentence structure varied?
- Are your sentences all complete? Do you have run-ons or accidental fragments?
- Do your subjects agree with your verbs? How about your nouns and pronouns?
- Are you sure of the definitions of the words you’ve chosen?
- Have you considered the connotations of the words you’ve used?
- Did you explain any technical jargon that might confuse your reader?
- Are all of your adjectives and adverbs necessary?
- Have you checked your document for homophones?
- Do all your sentences have ending punctuation marks?
- Did you follow the guidelines for comma use?
- Are your paragraphs indented and appropriately spaced?
How Did You Do?
If you answered yes to the questions above, you’re probably ready for a proofreader! I’d love to help you with the final step before you publish your work. Contact me today so we can get started on polishing your project.
But maybe you’re not ready for proofreading. Perhaps you answered no to some or all of those questions and you still need help with developmental or line editing. That’s ok. If you’re looking for someone to substantially edit your work, check out the links below.
Once you’re ready to move forward to the copyediting or proofreading stage, let me know!
Still have questions? Maybe you’re wondering why you should pay for proofreading? Or who actually needs a proofreader? Learn the answers to those questions and more on our blog, Becoming BulletProof.