You may have heard the term ‘proofreading’ before, though what variant largely depends on the writing community you’re involved in. Some see proofreading as the simple act of checking for mistakes, which is true, in some ways, and false, in others. What mistakes are they looking for, exactly?
When it comes to fiction, proofreading involves the final ‘proof’ (the story having been drafted, written, and edited into near-perfection, put in publishing format) and checking it one last time. Why? Well, if you’ve ever read a book and noticed a mistake — a typing error, a misspelling, a continuity error — then you know why. Without a proofreader, these mistakes might well be rampant across the entire book, which would bring down the value and readability of the story.
But why do you need copyediting and proofreading? The two are very different, though the difference between them isn’t well-known. Copyediting involves the ‘copy’, an unedited version of the writing, and shapes the work into something ready for publication. They look far more in-depth at the work to identify inconsistencies, readability, and errors. Proofreading focuses on the copyedited proof to spot anything that missed, as well as errors that were made during the editing process.
The Chartered Institute of Editing and Proofreading (CIEP) says: “An experienced professional proofreader, reading a copy-edited typescript, should be able to spot and deal appropriately with at least 80% of all errors but at least 90% of typos — other things being equal.” There’s an important distinction: proofreading is not perfection. Because proofreaders are human. You may think that grammar checking software like Grammarly could replace a proofreader, but then you need to ask yourself what Grammarly can’t do. Grammarly is a machine, so it makes mistakes because it can’t possibly figure out the context of a full text, and it is bound by the rules imposed on it by code. A human can understand the full text and compare it, spotting inconsistencies in formatting and understanding human error. I do recommend Grammarly to other writers if only to make your editing process a little easier, but it is not a cheap replacement for a proofreader.
Which leads us to price. Proofreading costs money. You could go through a professional agency or business, in which case you’ll be working with the most experienced proofreaders in the industry. Unfortunately, not everyone has the funds that experienced proofreaders work for. There are alternatives, such as freelancers and entry-level proofreaders, that are cheaper, but you’re also opening yourself up to other issues. Perhaps they’re not experienced enough? What if it’s a scam? Valid concerns, especially when plagiarism is so difficult in the writing industry.
Sometimes we have to take a chance. Ultimately you need to find what works best for you. In the past, I scoffed at the idea of hiring a proofreader to look at my work, because I thought it was unnecessary (my critique group already looks at me as a proofreader) and a waste of money. Now that I’ve started freelancing as a proofreader and have started reading my writing a little more closely… I’ve changed my mind. When the time comes, I’ll certainly be paying for a proofreader.
If you write fantasy fiction, please consider checking out my proofreading Fiverr gig!
