Proofreading

Books

In the traditional publishing workflow, editing takes place before the text and other elements are composed into pages for printing. So for books, proofreading is a review of both the previously edited text and the layout – the final check for errors and inconsistencies before the book is published. I proofread your print-ready PDF and mark it up to indicate where changes need to be made. After the changes are made in the source file, the PDF is generated again.

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Though reflowable ebooks don’t have all the same elements as print books, proofreading is still the final review of both the previously edited text and the way that text is presented to the reader. Like for print books, any necessary changes are made to the source file, then a new EPUB file is generated.

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My Services for Nonfiction Authors page has more information about proofreading of books.

Academic Papers

Proofreading of academic papers that have been previously edited is very much like proofreading for books – the final check for errors and inconsistencies in the text and formatting before submission or publication.

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Sometimes, especially when the paper will be graded, professional editing is not allowed by your academic institution. In that case, I usually proofread in Word rather than marking up a PDF, making some types of changes directly in the text using Track Changes, and leaving comments with questions and suggestions for other issues. Of course, I can also proofread PDFs of academic papers, which is particularly appropriate when you’ve used a program other than Word (such as LaTeX) to write and format your paper.

My Services for Academic Writers page has more details about proofreading academic papers.

Business Documents and Presentations

Proofreading of business documents and presentations can involve reviewing the text, visual elements, and layout of a wide variety of materials, such as reports, proposals, slide presentations, flyers, blog posts, letters, and web copy. The documents may or may not have been previously edited, and I can work on them directly in either Word or PowerPoint, or mark up a PDF as I do for print books.

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My Services for Business Clients page has more details about proofreading business documents and presentations.