The top reasons proofreading is is a must-have for all manuscripts

Did you spot the ‘double is’ in the header? Don’t beat yourself up if you didn’t; not many people do! Generally speaking, our brain is wired to see what it thinks it should see, and most times, this isn’t the tiny details.

Professional proofreading of your manuscript is a crucial step in the writing and publishing process. Very few people are good at spotting common proofreading mistakes, especially in their own work. However, proofreading mistakes have the potential to ruin a great story as the reader trips their way through the errors.

There are some easy steps you can take to ensure your work is accurately proofread before you self-publish or it gets sent to the publisher, so read on to tick these off with your next piece of writing!

What exactly is proofreading? Is it different from copyediting?

Proofreading looks at the small details including punctuation, spelling mistakes, homophones and grammatical inconsistencies. A proofreader will also look at the formatting of your writing and make sure there are no areas of text cut off by images or words bumped to the next page because of spacing errors.

Copyediting looks closer at chapters, paragraphs and sentence structure, ensuring consistency in a word-by-word, line-by-line edit. The focus is on checking for length, logic, pace and flow. It corrects continuity issues and ensures there are no technical errors or confusion for the reader. My focus is always on readability – you want a page-turner, not an ‘I’m bored after the first chapter’ story.

Proofreading is the last step of the editing process and focuses on eliminating minor errors and inconsistencies. This is not when suggestions are made to enhance sentences or readability, tighten the structure or change the colour of your character’s eyes!

The difference in these two roles shows how important it is to allow the time and budget for both copyediting and proofreading for the best results.

What are some common mistakes identified by a proofreader?

A professional proofreader has training and experience reading manuscripts word by word to truly see the words used and not get distracted by the story’s overall flow. This means they see errors missed by the writer and beta readers who are caught up in the story and what the author ‘meant’ to say. Some of the more common mistakes that get picked up by a proofreader are:

• Homophones
  These are words that sound the same but have different meanings, and because of this, spelling and grammar checkers fail to pick them up. Some common ones are: there/their/they’re, new/knew, to/too/two.

• Inconsistencies
  So many potential inconsistencies come in many forms, so it’s not surprising that a few get missed. They are hard to spot because, individually, they aren’t wrong; it’s only when they appear throughout the manuscript in different forms that they stand out. Common inconsistencies are compound words, numbers, quote marks, hyphens and dashes. Creating a style sheet is the best way to track your preferences and reduce the number of inconsistencies.

• Double or missing words
  It’s so easy to miss these, especially if you’re a speedy typist or not using the spelling and grammar checker. To avoid double or missing words, reading your work out loud is a great habit to pick up these mistakes. Go slowly and read each word as it’s written, not as you meant it to be!

• Commas
  Whether you love or hate them, commas are the most corrected punctuation in the proofreading stage and cause heartache for many writers (and proofreaders). Did you know nearly 40 comma rules are listed in CMOS (Chicago Manual of Style)? You don’t need to know all the rules; instead, know where to find a reference to determine when and where to use them.

• Repetition and overused language
  A common mistake in manuscripts, especially if you’ve done your own editing, overused language and repetition are hard to identify when you’re so familiar with the narrative. You can often fail to see when a character always smirks, uses a particular word often in dialogue, or repeatedly use filler words (mostly adverbs) such as: really, very, actually and probably.

When is it time to engage a proofreader?

Proofreading a manuscript is the final step before it’s published. A proofreader should be engaged when the book has been through a professional copyedit and often when it’s typeset to ensure any errors with formatting are identified at the same time.

It’s important to make sure you book your proofreader before you’re ready to have the actual proofreading done, though! Just like structural, line and copyeditors, proofreaders are busy with multiple manuscripts at a time, and there may be a wait until they can book in your work. When you find someone you’d like to work with, get an idea from them on how long your manuscript will take to be proofread and ensure you allow enough time at the other end to make the changes.

It can take a few weeks for a manuscript to be proofread (depending on word count) as each word and sentence is individually read and analysed; however, there are several things you can do to make it a smoother and faster process for the professional proofreader.

1. Proofread your work before you send it to a professional. This ensures that the most obvious errors are fixed and the proofreader is now looking for the trickier ones. When you’re doing your own proofreads, wait 24 hours after your last edit so that the manuscript is fresh and you’re not mentally tired or caught up in previous updates.
   
   

2. Split your proofreading sessions into different categories to capture as many errors as possible. For example, you might like to spend some time proofreading only for spelling errors, then again for inconsistencies, and then again for punctuation.
   
   

3. Try printing the manuscript and working backward, sentence by sentence. Reading your manuscript backwards breaks the flow of a story and allows you to read each sentence more critically. You can use a ruler or a piece of paper to stop your eyes from travelling over the page and keep you focussed on one line at a time.
   
   

4. There are some fantastic functions in place to help with proofreading, but know when to rely on them and when to focus on the basics of reading the content yourself. The built-in spelling and grammar checker has been known to make some embarrassing mistakes from time to time! So, while it is important to use it while writing, don’t rely solely on the checker as a proofreading tool. Once you find a mistake or inconstancy, consider if the ‘find and replace’ tool would assist you in making changes throughout the whole document. This must be used carefully, though; you don’t want to make more mistakes accidentally!
   
   

Proofreading is a critical step in preparing a written manuscript for publishing. It’s heartbreaking to see reviews of a self-published book that offer one-star because of spelling and grammar errors, but it really is that distracting to the reader when these mistakes are not found and removed. Your story deserves to be seen and read as the best possible version, and no one wants a bad review for a silly mistake.

If you have more questions about the proofreading process or are ready to chat about proofreading for your current project, please reach out and ask!