Will You Proofread This for Me?
“I need a proofreader to change this term paper from Chicago style to MLA.”
“Can you proofread this email and make sure it sounds okay before I send it?”
“I just finished writing my novella. I want a proofreader to clean up my grammar.”
“I'm looking for someone to proofread my essay. My second point needs to be longer.”
Editors hear variations of these requests constantly from students, new writers, and independent authors. But none of these projects needs a proofreader . . . yet. Right now, they need a line editor or a copyeditor.
What is a proofreader?
A proofreader is someone who reads proofs, or the final, formatted or designed document that is ready to go to print or online publication.
Proofreading is the final step in the larger editing process.
The proofreader’s role is to read the proof and make sure that no errors were inadvertently introduced after the manuscript was copyedited and while it was formatted.
Are the captions attached to the correct images?
Do the table numbers match between the text and the tables themselves?
Did the end of a paragraph disappear instead of carrying over to the next page?
Are there any widows, orphans, runts, or rivers?
Does the table of contents or index match the copy? Are the cross-references and page numbers correct? Did any of the headings change in the text but not in the table of contents?
Are any words misspelled? Is any punctuation missing? Did a double “the the” or two spaces between words get introduced somehow?
A proofreader’s job is not to edit for clarity, restructure sentences, or offer suggestions on improving a manuscript. They aren't focused on finding minor typos or errors that have slipped through (although they will flag them if they see them). That’s work for editors.
Why do people confuse “proofread” and “edit”?
I think a lot of people outside the writing and publishing industry just don’t realize that proofreading and copyediting are different activities, not different names for the same activity.
We all grew up with teachers telling us to proofread our work before we turned it in, but when we proofread our own work, we also edited it. (BTW, this is a sign that the text wasn’t truly ready to be proofread. When we edited the text, we were making a new draft. You remember: a first draft, a second draft, and a final draft.) Some students began to conflate checking for small errors with editing the content. And no one ever corrected them.
Until now.
When is it time for a proofreader?
A manuscript is ready for a proofreader after
it’s been through at least one round of editing (either by yourself-edited or, preferably, a professional copyeditor) and
it’s been formatted to be printed or e-published.
(And this also applies to emails. Don’t ask your coworker to proofread an email when what you really want is feedback on the content, structure, clarity—and, maybe most important, tone. Ask them to take a look at it but be upfront that it's going to take a few minutes.)
