Editorial
Proofreading: the last read, after the pages are laid out.
Proofreading is not editing done cheaply. It is a distinct final stage that happens after typesetting, on the pages as a reader will see them.
What this is
By the time a manuscript reaches proofreading it has been structured, written, edited and laid out. The proofreader's job is to catch what survived all of that: the typo, the doubled word, the heading that lost its capital, the running header still showing chapter three on chapter four's pages, the widow line stranded at the top of a page.
Doing it before layout is a common and expensive mistake. Typesetting introduces its own errors, and a manuscript proofread in Word will still need proofreading once it becomes pages.
Proofreading
What you get
What proofreading actually delivers
Errors caught on the real pages
Proofing the laid-out proof, not the manuscript, so layout-introduced problems are caught too.
Typographic detail
Widows, orphans, bad breaks, inconsistent spacing and hyphenation that make a page look amateur.
Running heads and folios
Chapter titles, page numbers and section markers checked against the actual contents.
Front and back matter
Copyright page, contents, dedication, acknowledgements and index — the pages everyone forgets to check.
A marked proof you can verify
Corrections marked clearly so you can see exactly what changed before it goes to print.
How it runs
The process, stage by stage.
Each stage finishes before the next begins, and you see the work at the points where your decision changes what happens next.
Proof supplied
Work begins on the typeset proof, in the trim size and layout the book will actually print at.
Cold read
A proofreader who has not previously worked on the manuscript reads it, because fresh eyes catch more.
Marked corrections
Every correction marked against the proof with page and line reference.
Corrections applied
The typesetter applies them and a check pass confirms nothing new was introduced.
Questions
About proofreading
Yes. Send us the PDF proof from whoever typeset it and we will proof against that.
No proofreader honestly claims that on a full-length book, and you should be wary of anyone who does. A careful proof pass catches the overwhelming majority. Two passes catch more.
Only if the manuscript has already been properly edited. Proofreading cannot fix a structural problem or a clumsy chapter — it is not designed to.
Related
Often needed alongside this
Line Editing
Structure decides whether a book works. Line editing decides whether reading it is a pleasure. This is where prose…
Learn moreBook Formatting
Readers rarely notice good typesetting. They notice bad typesetting constantly, without being able to name what is…
Learn moreBook Printing
Printing is where every earlier decision becomes physical and expensive to change. Getting the specification right…
Learn more