Proofediting

A picture of an old-fashioned blue police lamp alongside the legend 'Professional Copyediting for Crime Fiction, Mysteries and Thrillers'.

What is proofediting?

Proofediting is especially geared to the needs of self-publishing authors, who haven’t got the support of a traditional publishing house to organise multiple rounds of editing. 
 
It works like a supercharged proofread where I look at the standard issues identified during a proofread but also take a closer look at the writing itself, to help smooth out the readers’ experience and stop authors worrying about bad reviews. 
 
When I do a proofedit for an author, I do all the tasks included in a straightforward proofread. That’s looking for: 

  • errors in spelling 
  • errors in punctuation 
  • errors in grammar
  • use of homophones and homonyms 
  • inconsistency of punctuation and spelling conventions (like commas, quote marks and UK alternative spellings)
  • inconsistencies in style (like capitalisation and  hyphenation)
  • inconsistencies in the formatting of headings, titles, headers and footers 
  • layout issues like misalignment of text or illustrations 
  • any skips, jumps or repetitions in your chapter and page numbers 
  • hyperlinks that don’t go to the correct website or page 
  • missing or incorrect labels on illustrations

and then go further to include: 

  • suggestions for replacements for overused or repetitive vocabulary 
  • suggestions for rewriting clunky sentences that might be confusing for the reader or which allow scope for misinterpretation 
  • making sure all the English idioms and metaphors make sense
  • checking and suggesting corrections for obvious factual errors
  • highlighting possible sensitivity and inclusivity issues
  • pointing out areas where there might be copyright permissions to check

But, please note, this is not a developmental edit or a complete line edit, and it doesn’t include extensive rewriting.

A proofedit is a little more expensive than a proofread. For a manuscript of:

30,000 words, approximately £550

50,000 words, approximately £750

100,000 words, approximately £1200

150,000 words would be almost £1500. 

To get a firm quote, I would need you to send me a small sample from your manuscript, say, 1,000 words from somewhere in the middle. It needs to be pretty representative of what the rest of your manuscript looks like.

Or, give me a call to talk it over on 07827 919022.

Ask for a sample edit, free of charge.

Photo of police lamp by Bruno Martins on Unsplash