All about proofreading
When you think of proofreading, think of a lone warrior defending a city gate. She's the last one standing. The enemy is coming. And oh yes, she will win. While a proofreading project doesn't seem quite so intense from my peaceful home office, it's the same idea: your proofreader is likely the last person to review and check every single word of your project before the world sees it in its final form. It is serious business.
A proofread will evaluate all the elements of a light copyedit (grammar, punctuation, spelling, style, and consistency) with one key difference: instead of a Microsoft Word document, a proofreader is looking at the book in its final layout. The final layout might include chapter titles, running heads, page numbers, photographs, captions, maps, figures, and more. A proofreader will nit-pick through each one of these key elements to make sure everything is ready for you to hit "publish."
A proofread will evaluate all the elements of a light copyedit (grammar, punctuation, spelling, style, and consistency) with one key difference: instead of a Microsoft Word document, a proofreader is looking at the book in its final layout. The final layout might include chapter titles, running heads, page numbers, photographs, captions, maps, figures, and more. A proofreader will nit-pick through each one of these key elements to make sure everything is ready for you to hit "publish."
All about workflow
I proofread on-screen, using Adobe Reader's comments and editing features, or on hard copy, using that friendly old pen.
- You send me the PDF or hard-copy print out.
- I edit the book.
- I return the PDF or hard copy to you.
- You make all of the corrections.
- You may decide (and I always think this is a good idea) to send me the fresh copy, along with the marked-up copy, to check over. I double check each correction to make sure everything is sparkling and ready to go.
