Confused about what proofreading entails? Read on.

Having your work proofread can feel a little daunting, so how does it actually work? What do proofreaders do, and how is proofreading different from editing?

The Difference Between Proofreading and Editing

Proofreaders work with the final version of a text, catching any remaining errors before publication. This is different from editing, which happens earlier in the process and often involves restructuring sentences, improving clarity and enhancing readability. Proofreaders spot grammatical, spelling, punctuation, typographical and formatting errors, as well as errors with consistency – you don't want the spelling of people's names either spelled wrongly or differently on each page. This might reflect poorly on how you do your other work.

But what about proof-editing?

More recently, proofreaders such as myself also offer what’s known as ‘proof-editing’. This is a blend of proofreading and light editing, often used when the roles of editor and proofreader are combined. With proof-editing, I ensure a thorough check for errors while making small improvements to the text.

Are style guides and style sheets relevant to me?

One thing proofreaders and editors have in common is working with style guides and following or creating style sheets. Have you ever noticed that sometimes St James's is written like that and at other times written like this: St James'? Is one wrong and the other right? No, it's just a matter of style choice. There are a lot more of these style choices in English and even just within British English than you might realise (or realize!). What the style guide and the style sheets do are keep those decisions consistent.

As a British proofreader, my default style guide is New Hart's Rules published by Oxford University Press. This lists recommended rules for capitalisation, hyphenation and abbreviation, amongst other things. Interestingly, although this is the standard British style guide, standard British style does not always follow it. Hart's uses -ize spellings, like in capitalization, and, perhaps of course, the Oxford or serial comma, but many people and publishers in the UK choose to use -ise spellings and avoid the Oxford comma unless it's really needed. That's where style sheets come in. These are a list of style decisions related to a specific text, set of texts or that a publisher or other organisation wants to always be followed. They want consistency across everything they publish. This might include things like how a brand name is styled: ipad, i pad, Ipad, or iPad. Is there anything in your work that it's important to have styled a certain way?

What Document Formats Do I Work On?

Because proofreading is typically the final stage, traditionally, proofreaders work with fixed formats. Proofreading was done on paper using special proofreading symbols (known as BSI proof-correction marks), but today, most proofreading is done digitally, and may or may not require the use of the symbols.

I work on both PDFs and Word documents. If you provide a PDF, a fixed format, I use the commenting tools to highlight errors and suggest corrections in comment bubbles. The error might be highlighted, or I may use a tool that links my comment to the exact part of the text that needs changing. If you like, I can use the proofreading symbols instead of using the commenting tools, but unless you know what they mean it wouldn't be much help to you.

For Word documents, an editable format, I use the Track Changes feature, which allows you to see exactly what I’ve modified. You can view the document with all changes visible (showing deletions and additions) or as a cleaner version with only a small mark in the margin to indicate edits. I may also add comments in the margins if further clarification is needed.

What Happens Next?

Once I’ve marked up the changes, you’ll receive the document back, along with a style sheet if I have created or amended one for you. If it’s a PDF, you can make the changes in your chosen software. If it’s a Word document, you can accept or reject each change directly in Track Changes.

Why Not Give It a Try?

If you’d like to see how my proofreading can help you, send me a sample of up to 1,000 words, and I’ll proofread it for you. That way, you can experience first-hand how I can support you in refining your work!