PROFESSIONAL PROOFREADER — HOW TO FIND ONE

If publishing a book, you will need a proofreader aside from yourself and your friends. A professional proofreader will ensure your book does not look amateurish or childish.

What Is Proofreading?

Once you have written a book and located a publisher or decided to publish independently, proofreading is absolutely key. Proofreading involves checking your final manuscript (or galleys) as the last step prior to printing for spelling, punctuation, missing words, and duplicate words.

Why Is Proofreading Important?

Creating a clean manuscript for publishing is critical if you want people to take your writing seriously. Even though most people may or may not notice certain errors consciously, errors will clutter the look and flow of a book. Indeed, important people who write online reviews, are those who will catch errors and will make negative comments. On a professional level, mainstream reviewers can make or break a book in terms of landing on bestseller lists.

Why Is an Author not a Proofreader?

The author is the last person who should proofread their manuscript. Before turning the manuscript in for publishing, the author may run spell check, but subsequent proofreading will be ineffective. This is because “word immunity” (coined by Deborah S. Nelson) sets in when an author writes a book. Their mind is focused on the content and blocks out errors. This is natural since we can only focus on one aspect of writing at a time. Like a microscope, an internal lens focuses on the author’s story and avoids other types of errors. Over time, the author literally cannot see errors.

How to Spot a Professional Proofreader

When looking to hire a proofreader, you must ask many questions. A multitude of freelance workers call themselves proofreaders, but are far from being professional or experienced, and are not adept at catching errors. Once I copyedited and proofread a book after a “professional copy editor” made three passes, and I found over 6000 more errors! If you do not want 6000 errors in your book, ask the following questions when hiring a proofreader:

1. What style guide do you use?
2. Send me samples of the books you have proofread
3. Do you copyedit along with your proofreading?
4. Do you charge by the word, or by the page?
5. How many mistakes are acceptable in a 300-page book?
6. Is English your first or second language?

1. What is a Style Guide?

The answer to this question will help you realize if the proofreader is adept — or not. If they do not have a clear answer to question number 1, do not hire! Proofreaders must work according to a style guide — instead of their invisible 8th grade English teacher sitting on their shoulder. Proofreading is an art — and a science. Consequently, a great proofreader’s goal is accuracy plus consistency. Consistency makes documents easy to read, and easy on the eyes in terms of overall look and flow. A good proofreader will use a style guide as their rulebook to make calls to enforce consistency throughout a document. Six major style guides are available, but the Chicago Manual of Style is the oldest and most often used for books.

2. Does the Proofreader Present Book Samples?

Ask proofreader candidates to send you a book they have proofread. You can read the book to see if at least the book is free of basic, obvious errors. Of course, if you catch more than 1% of errors, do not hire. Many people call themselves proofreaders, but that does not make it so. However, they do not know what they do not know. Discover if this is a case before you hire, not after. Proofreaders should have book samples they can send online — but also identify that the samples they send are actually their work. This is also a place to ask for references and reviews from their clients.

3. Copyediting vs. Proofreading?

Ask them if they include copyediting with their proofreading. These terms are often used interchangeably by people, not in the know. If they sound confused, do not hire them. A good proofreader should know the difference between copyediting and proofreading. Copyediting actually includes proofreading but offers a far wider range of corrections. Copyediting includes checking for grammar, run-on sentences, unclear statements, inconsistent tenses and pronouns, proper word usage, contradictions, bolds, italics, compound words, quotes, etc. The aim of copy-editing is to make the copy “look clean,” as well as accurate. If a sentence is too long or needs clarification, a copyeditor will make suggested corrections for the author to review. However, proofreading is solely focused on spelling, punctuation, extra words, and missing words. This is important to clarify before hiring. Additionally, copyeditors charge more than proofreaders.

4. How Does the Proofreader Charge?

If the proofreader charges by the page, this is a red flag. Manuscript pages vary tremendously. Some are 7 x 9, 6 x 9, 8.5 x 11, and many are double-spaced. If the manuscript is on the way to the printer, the manuscript will most likely be in the final book size. If a proofreader is charging by the page, they are quite inexperienced. Most professional proofreaders charge by the word and will range from $0.05 a word to $0.25 a word.

5. How Many Errors are Acceptable in a 300-Page Book?

Ask the proofreader this trick question. If they say “none,” this is a good sign. No margin of error is acceptable. Although no book is perfect— even with professional publishing houses — the goal should be 100% accuracy and 100% consistency.

6. Is English a Proofreader’s 1st or 2nd Language?

Most people hiring proofreaders automatically assume they should hire someone with English as their native language — but this is not true. One of the best proofreaders I ever hired was a lady with English as her second language. However, she was well-educated. Her eagle eye caught many inconsistencies and hard-to-understand sentences precisely because English was her second language. She caught many idioms and cliches that were unclear. When a person learns a second language, they tend to be more literal in their understanding of the language — a huge benefit for proofreading. People with English as a second language tend to be slower in their reading, and therefore, can actually be quite good. Do not judge a proofreader by their language. Instead, check the other criteria first.

Hiring a Proofreader

Take time to hire a proofreader. They are the last set of eyes on your book before it goes to print. Interview a few proofreaders before hiring one. The book is a representation of you in print and needs to be at its best. Do not hire a proofreader if they fail to answer the questions correctly. Just keep looking.

For related articles, read Self-Publishing for Dummies — Part 1 and 4 Types & 4 Styles of Writing by Deborah S. Nelson, publisher of Publishing SOLO Magazine. Furthermore, review Wikipedia’s article on Proofreading.