What is proofreading?
Proofreading is the often-necessary last step in the editing process. While copy editing and line editing can make substantial changes to the language of the manuscript, the role of the proofreader is more about quality control. A proofreader brings a fresh set of eyes to the work and scours for absolute error such as name misspellings, wrong URLs, bad URLs, numbers that don’t add up in a table, double words, missing words, and sometimes obvious errors that either the author or previous editors have looked past.
Do I need a proofreader?
Proofreading is a required step for all traditionally published books, and it’s something for all self-published authors to consider. While he or she may do light editing (such as correcting inconsistent spelling or hyphenations), the professional proofreader is not a copyeditor.
Want to learn more about our different editing services? Check out this BookBaby blog post.
What is included in proofreading services?
Proofreading is the final stop before the publish. Proofreading is not the time to revise, rewrite, and delete. A proofreader looking at the manuscript during the final process will focus on:
- Bad word breaks and hyphenation at the end of a line
- Hyphen stacks (many words hyphenated at the ends of lines, stacked)
- Widows and orphans (single words or lines at the top or bottom of a page)
- Wrong captions with photos
- Incorrect or missing page numbering, headers and footer
At a cost of $3 per page, this last step before publishing will save you time and money in the long run. You wouldn’t want to open your published book to find one minor mistake that could have been corrected with the eye of a proofreader. Working with our experienced editors through BookBaby, your book will be polished and proofread in about 6-8 business days.