Except for academic writing, to which special considerations apply, outside of the printed book publishing setting, there is a clear differentiation between editing and proofreading, most author’s think that editing is part and parcel of proofreading. They are separate, but overlapping, functions.

Editing explained:

As a proactive editor, I will recommend changes and suggestions to improve the overall quality of your writing, particularly in relation to use of language and expression.

After editing, your language will be sharper and consistent, your expression clear and the overall readability of your writing enhanced.

These are some key questions that I will consider when editing a piece of prose:

• Have proper words been chosen to express your ideas? Does it sounds as if you have consulted a list of synonyms provided by your word processing program? If you have, I will spot it.

• Have you used an active voice? An active voice is not always appropriate, such as in academic writing, but writing that is too passive does not make for compelling reading.

• Is the tone appropriate for your audience?

• Have you used too many words? Using unnecessary, frivolous and filler words can irritate readers. Use as many words as are necessary, but not one more!

• Have you used gendered language appropriately?

• Have you used artificial intelligence to create some or all of your prose?

Proofreading explained:

Proofreading is the process of correcting errors in writing, such as grammatical, spelling, punctuation and other language mistakes. Detecting these errors before publication is an important process.

These are the key questions I consider when proofreading a piece of writing:

• Are there any spelling errors?

• Are full stops, commas, colons, semicolons, etc., used correctly?

• Have words that sound like one another but have different meanings, such as there, their and they’re, been used correctly?

• Have quotation marks and apostrophes been used appropriately?

• Are there any double spaces, particularly after full stops?

It would be an error to think that eliminating mistakes and inconsistencies in a document is a quick and undemanding job that a friend or family member, or even a computer program, could easily do.

A professional editor is a far more accomplished proofreader than your typical friend or family member and any computer program you may use as a writing aid. Both editing and proofreading take time to do as we have to be meticulous. We may have to go through your prose several times. Friends or family members are often unable to devote the time required to do the job in the way that a professional editor does.

Let me give you two examples:

In the first example, I recently had the privileged of being commissioned to proofread the typescript of a student text book, the main body of which was some 85,000 words. The author assured me that he had read through the typescript several times as had two other people. He thought that having his typescript professionally proofread was just a formality; consequently, he placed little value on it. He was more than a little red-faced when I found well over a hundred grammatical and spelling errors that he and his two friends had missed.

In the second example, I was commissioned by a professional person to edit and proofread an important business report. The final draft of which had been reviewed by no fewer than five other professionals that had helped draft the document. Because of the importance of the document, the lead author commissioned me to edit and proofread it. I found an embarrassingly large numbers of errors. My fee was considered to be money well spent by the lead author.

Both of these are examples of scotomisation, which is the psychological tendency in people to see what they want to see and not see what they don’t want to see. As an editor and proofreader, I am trained to see what the author has written.

A professional editor understands the conventions of English writing and the nuances of the language. They are trained to be methodical; their experience enables them to identify and eliminate the common errors that often occur in all forms of writing from novels to academic papers. In addition, they can also identify inconsistent terminology, incorrect spelling, and formatting errors in your document.

Service levels

As I have more than one service level, it is necessary to give them names so they can be differentiated other than by price, and for the buyer to know what service they want.

Basic proofreading: The editor works with the text line by line to eradicate errors, etc, which is why it is sometimes called line editing. What many authors, especially self-publishing authors, do not understand is that proofreading is the final stage of the editorial process before the typescript is set in print.

Standard proofreading: This is proofreading with editing and light rewriting. This is also known as copy editing.

Premium proofreading: This is greater rewriting and sentence restructuring to enhance the flow of the text than in standard proofreading, plus fact checking. It can be considered to be enhanced copy editing.

Academic writing: This is standard proofreading plus the ethical considerations applicable to academic writing. It includes a plagiarism and an AI check.

Legal proofreading: England and Wales jurisdiction only. This is standard proofreading that requires a knowledge of legal terminology, legal concepts, case citations, and the style and format of legal documents.

Epilogue

Sadly, there are many authors that, having invested a great deal of time and emotional energy in creating their prose, place little value on having it properly edited and proofread. Hopefully, you are not among their number.