Write Now Editing

The Makings of An Excellent Proofreader by Sharon Ford

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What is Proofreading?
Proofreading is usually the last step in the publishing process. It is the final analysis of the visual and content levels of a document after it has evolved from various cycles of revision and has been finalized by a content editor. By the time a document reaches the proofreader, corrections of sentencing and word usage have already been addressed. Having gone through a thorough review to tidy up text via a focus on style, content, punctuation, grammar and consistency of usage via copyediting, proofreading is the final polish that ensures that the document is finally ready for publishing.

Though proofreading reflects no real editorial authority, proofreaders mark-up documents for typesetters, editors, and authors to reference for additional changes. In addition to immediate errors in grammar, spelling, punctuation and other language misuse, proofreading includes a final check to ensure all elements of the document are included and in proper order, all amendments have been inserted, and that the house/style guide has been followed.

Get the Skills
What do publishers look for in a top-notch proofreader? Below are a few frequently noted skills to cultivate:

Hard Skills

  • Proofreading symbols and abbreviations
  • Knowledge of the publishing process and industry
  • Style or house manual(s)
  • Publisher’s preference for a descriptive or prescriptive approach to the application of grammatical rules
  • PDF editing tools for digital editing
  • Microsoft Word’s track changes
  • Hyperlinking when working with website content
  • Excellent command of written English
  • Specialization in a specific subject, though not absolutely necessary

Soft Skills

  • Above average eye for catching typos, punctuation, and formatting inconsistencies
  • Patience for the long, slow process required to review a document from word-to-word to paragraph-to-paragraph
  • Communication, communication, and more communication
  • Self-starter with the ability to work well independently
  • Ability to juggle and meet multiple deadlines
  • Tact
  • Relationship-building and management

How Do I Know I’m Good?
Want to test your current level of proofreading acumen? Most publishers will extend a proofreading and or copyediting test within their new hire/candidate review process. Some will assign a proofreading project as a task to entry-level new hires to ensure fundamental editing skills are in place. If you want to get an idea of what this testing may entail, here’s a 20-question online proofreading test from UK-based Society for Editors and Proofreaders.

Carol Saller, the author of The Subversive Copy Editor and contributing editor to The Chicago Manual of Style blogs about “the second-most common* fatal error that candidates make” when taking the test her office administers when hiring at the entry level. She notes that, “…the fatal error candidates make on the test: that is, their failure to understand the concept of proofreading.” Wannabe Editors: Can You Pass a Proofreading Test?

How to Get Trained
The PEN Institute has group courses and lesson packs that cover the how to of proofreading and how to provide serves as a freelancer as well. Below are the 2019 group course offerings. Each group course has a corresponding lesson pack. lesson packs include the same lesson materials as the group courses but are self-guided without the online discussion or instructor feedback.

  • Proofreading 101
    August 19­–September 23, 2019
    Registration opens June 19, 2019
  • Establishing Your Freelance Business 101
    September 23–December 9, 2019
    Registration opens July 23, 2019
  • NF Copyediting and Proofreading Boot Camp 401
    October 14–November 18, 2019
    Registration opens August 14, 2019

Since finding The Christian PEN during a prayerful search in 2015, Sharon Ford has been more than blessed by the wisdom, camaraderie and opportunities she’s found with her PEN family. When she joined, she jumped at the chance to volunteer and support this new found oasis in hopes that she’d learn and grow in preparation for a long mulled over career change. After many classes and months of support from the PEN and PEN Institute courses, she launched her freelance business, Tidy Up Content Services, late 2018!

Bad Writing is NOT Your Author’s Voice

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Aerial view a woman using a retro typewriter

Purple prose. Telling. Large sections of backstory.

More and more often I find these literary no-no’s popping up in published works. In fact, it happens so frequently that I’ve started to question myself—are these now in vogue? Are we reverting back to these writing styles? Is this what I should be teaching my clients and students? As an editor and teacher, I need to make sure I’m giving correct information!

After some inquiries and research, I’ve discovered this disturbing trend: these are still considered writing issues to be corrected, but editors and authors are now embracing bad writing as “author’s voice.” Why? Because well-established writers do it. Because every now and then someone who writes that way gets nominated for an award. Because (in my opinion) it’s easier. Because it’s the “authors voice.”

I’ll see your argument and raise you one truth: it’s not voice, it’s bad writing.

When it comes to authors who self-publish, I realize there’s nothing freelance editors can do to convince an author to take our suggestions; however, that doesn’t mean we shouldn’t be making those suggestions. It seems that there are editors out there who no longer suggest correcting these types of issues. Instead, they shrug it off as author voice, then carry on.

Imagine if we embraced this standard in other areas of our lives.

Would you hire a house painter who leaves streaks and paints things he shouldn’t just because someone else did it once and no one complained? Would you hire an accountant who doesn’t double check his work because he hasn’t had a problem yet so he probably won’t have one with your taxes? How about a mechanic who doesn’t tighten every bolt because there’s never been an issue in the past? Or would you rather work with the person who paints completely and cleanly, who checks his math, and makes sure every belt, bolt, and screw is secure?

As editors, our standards shouldn’t be whether or not someone else got away with something but whether or not something’s right. Can we force our authors to accept and incorporate these changes? Of course not. Should we point out the issues anyway? Absolutely! Is there going to be push back from the authors? Count on it.

I get it. No one wants to be told that their work is bad, and it’s not always easy to share that truth with others (especially when it’s really bad), but that’s what editors are paid to do. It certainly is easier when you’re a copyeditor or proofreader and you can point to style guides to show why something is grammatically incorrect (thank you Chicago Manual of Style). In my opinion, it’s significantly more difficult to tell someone their word selection and phrasing is confusing and lackluster, but that’s why authors hire us. Sure, there are some people out there who just want to get a book published, but other writers want to produce good books, and their editors are failing them.

This is my plea to editors everywhere:

Speaking as an editor, please stop sugar coating bad writing. Call it what it is. If the author wants to keep it, fine, but make an effort to stop the madness.

Speaking as a reader, please stop sugar coating bad writing. It produces mediocre, barely engaging books that could have been great if the authors had tried to work through their issues to strengthen their craft instead of believing good enough was good enough.

Do you need to brush up on the industry standards for fiction? Check out Substantive Editing for Fiction—this four-part class will walk you through the foundational elements you need to know to provide a comprehensive substantive edit. The first class—SEF 101—start today!

My debut novel—Summer Plans and Other Disasters—is now available on Amazon! Sign up for my monthly newsletter and you’ll receive the unpublished prologue: find out what inspired Calista Stephens to make those summer plans. Follow me on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter for writing tips, updates on Guiding Light, and more!

ABOUT ME

Editor. Teacher. Novelist.
A passionate lover of fiction, Karin doesn't just write novels, she helps others write their best stories! A certified substantive editor with the Christian Editor Connection, her goal is to help authors to put her out of business by equipping them with the tools they need to become better writers.

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Lover of all things fiction, I also love University of Michigan football, the Detroit Lions, Tigers, and Red Wings, kayaking, gluten-free cupcakes, and my husband.

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