The last line of defense
What is proofreading?
Proofreading is a final pass through a manuscript to ensure there are no lingering grammar errors or typos.
Typically, proofreading is only possible for documents that have already been professionally edited. Why is that? A proofread acts as a seal of approval by the editor, indicating that the book is ready to publish.
If there are multiple errors on every page, that’s a good indication that a more in-depth copy edit or line edit is appropriate. If you think you need a proofread and you haven’t worked with us before, send us a copy of your book for a free sample proofread. We’ll look it over and let you know if we agree.
What will we be looking for?
On this final pass before publishing, we won’t be paying attention to readability or flow. Here’s what we’ll be looking at:
Spelling
Grammar
Punctuation
Capitalization
Consistency
Syntax
Hyphenation
Number Formatting
Page Breaks
Headers/Footers
Page Numbering
It’s the minor details that count here: do you write the time as 2:00 p.m. or two o’clock? Are you consistent? Do you use numerals for numbers or do you spell them out?
When should you get a proofread?
Back in the day, authors would find a proofreader after the book had been typeset so that the proofreader could catch any issues introduced in the process of formatting the manuscript. But in today’s digital world, manuscript text is imported directly into typesetting software, so there is little chance that errors will be introduced in the typesetting process. As a result, proofreading usually happens before typesetting.
Because this is the final editing pass, our best advice is this: act as if you’re not sending your novel in for proofreading—act as if you’re sending it in for publishing. Every word should be exactly the way you want it; that way, when your proofreader is finished working on the manuscript, you’ll know it’s ready for publishing.
If you get a proofread and decide to make big changes to the plot afterward, the new content will need to be edited, causing delays and adding additional costs.
How to review our changes
Very little needs to happen on your end after a proofread. You’ll be able to see we changed using Track Changes in Microsoft Word, and while you’re free to look through those changes, note that they were made for a reason—because your proofreader found an error. Rejecting our changes at this point is not advised.
What comes next?
Publishing! Printing! Book signings! Movie deals!
Hopefully.
The truth is that you’ve still got some work to do. Before you self-publish (typically done via Amazon KDP), you’ll need to have a book cover designed. And once the book is ready to print, you’ll be moving on to the promotion phase.
How to find a proofreader
If you need a proofreader, you’re in the right spot! TypeRight is a proofreading agency that specializes in connecting authors with proofreaders who have experience with their genre and style.
Proofreading is a big investment, so you should always request a sample edit from potential editors. At TypeRight, we offer free sample edits of up to 1,000 words. By reviewing your free sample edit, you’ll know exactly what to expect from us when you send in your entire project.
