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Proofreading

Wooden blocks with the words "write," "edit," and "publish" on them
Eight proofreading marks and what they mean: insert, add space, insert period, close up space, new paragraph, lowercase, transpose, delete

Proofreading is the final check of your book's spelling, grammar, punctuation, and formatting:  

  • Does every opening quotation mark have a closing one?

  • Does your female main character scratch her face on her husband's bread or beard?

  • Are your chapter numbers in order without any repeats?

  • Is the formatting consistent throughout?

  • Have you got text that is spaced too far apart or smooshed together?

  • Do you have four lines in a row that all end with the word and?

  • Are some words badly split at the ends of lines (Mc-Broom)?

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Your proofreader is the last line of defense between you and your readers, and they can mean the difference between a 5-star review and one that mentions typos, bad formatting, and missing punctuation.

Process

I use at least two monitors when I proofread. That way, I can reference your style sheet as I'm reading to ensure consistency. If I'm editing a PDF file, I use a third monitor for the final Word document and look for things like forgotten returns in the dialogue and words that are hyphenated but shouldn't be.

Open laptop on desk with two desktop monitors behind it

Page checklist:

  • Words/letters that repeat at starts/ends of lines

  • hyphen stacks

  • smooshed lines or ones spaced too far apart

  • words or lines standing alone on the page

  • random spaces that line up to cause a distraction

Manuscript checklist:

  • headings and footers consistent

  • page and chapter numbering correct

  • flag any words hyphenated across a page turn

  • flag misalignment of the last lines on a spread

  • check overall formatting of chapter headings and section breaks

Proofreading Examples

See examples of my proofreading and what proofreading involves.

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