Proofreading

Careful proofreading is essential to ensure that a book is ready for publication. Every book released by a publisher is professionally proofread at least once, and authors who want to be taken seriously need to pay the same attention to quality.

Remember, as a proofreader I’m not here to judge – everyone makes mistakes. But readers do judge, which is why professional proofreading is important to your reputation as an author.​

Why work with a proofreader?

I’ve been proofreading for authors and publishers for more than 20 years and I’m yet to receive a manuscript that needs no input. There are always mistakes and inconsistencies to correct. 

Even if the author is a fantastic writer. 

Even if the copy editor is a fantastic editor. 

Even if the typesetter is a fantastic typesetter.

It’s inevitable that the final manuscript will contain the odd mistake because humans make, and miss, mistakes:

  • The author misses mistakes because they’re too close to the material and they have blind spots; they read what they think they’ve written rather than what they’ve actually written. In addition, the author doesn’t always realise that a mistake is a mistake; they’re probably not an expert in the English language.

  • The copy editor makes hundreds or thousands of revisions to polish the writing, but they may miss the odd one.

  • The typesetter (if the proofread is taking place after the book has been laid out) may introduce an issue here and there, such as splitting a word awkwardly over a page.

The proofreader’s role is to perform a quality check, looking for the little errors and inconsistencies that have slipped through the net. If you want your book to be of the standard of a traditionally published book, then you need this quality check.

‘Professional proofreading is important to your reputation as an author.’

Nonfiction book proofreading & proofreader

My proofreading service

Proofreading is a careful read-through of a book. As I proofread, I’m looking for:​

  • Spelling and grammatical mistakes

  • Punctuation errors

  • Spelling inconsistencies 

  • Inconsistencies in names, capitalisation and hyphenation

  • Missing words

  • Repeated words

  • Mismatched running heads and chapter titles

  • Inconsistent formatting

  • Misnumbered pages, chapters, sections, tables, figures, plates, footnotes/endnotes and/or references

  • Errors in the table of contents, e.g. incorrect headings or page numbers

  • (Typeset books) Layout glitches, e.g. missing indents or extra spaces

In my proofread, I’m not looking to improve the writing style (that’s the copy editor’s job). I’m just looking for the black-and-white issues in the book and correcting them.

I proofread in the following formats:​

‘If you want your book to be of the standard of a traditionally published book, then you need this quality check.’

Nonfiction book proofreading & proofreader

Proofreading FAQs

How much will it cost?

My rate for proofreading starts at £10 per 1,000 words​. For more information on pricing, visit my FAQs page.

How can I prepare?

The best preparation for proofreading is to finish editing the book. It’s really important that you send your proofreader the final manuscript. If you edit the book post-proofread, you may introduce new mistakes.

If you have a style sheet for the book (often created by the copy editor), then please send this over. It’s a useful reference while proofreading. 

What comes next?

Following the proofread, the author checks and integrates the revisions (and tries to resist the temptation to carry out new edits!).

Many authors feel confident that the book is ready to publish after one round of proofreading from a professional proofreader. Some, however, prefer to follow the process of the larger publishing houses and commission two (or more) rounds of proofreading. For more information, you can read my blog article ‘How many rounds of proofreading does your book need?’.

Find out more

Please get in touch if you’d like further information or to request a quotation for your project.