What is proofreading? Untangling the terminology

Proofreading doesn't mean the same thing to everyone. Editorial terminology can get proofreaders and their clients in a tangle! Avoid making assumptions, and focus instead on what the client wants and needs.

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Why defining proofreading is tricky

I trained as a proofreader in 2005. For more than a decade beforehand I’d worked in a professional publishing environment, specifically in the marketing department of two mainstream academic publishing houses with an international presence. I knew exactly what proofreading was, and what it wasn’t — or I thought I did!

Only a few months into professional practice, my understanding of the skill set I’d chosen to specialize in was challenged, and there have been many times over the years when that's happened.

Publishers’ expectations of what a proofread entails match my training and in-house experience, but students, schools, charities, businesses, and beginner-novelists often have very different ideas. To this day, the term proofreading, far from being straightforward, appears rather more complicated.

​Indeed, how one defines proofreading isn’t determined by what one actually does, but rather by whom one talks to.

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​Industry definitions — what a proofreader does

National editorial societies tend towards offering definitions of proofreading that accord with publishers’ expectations. This is not surprising given that publishers provide thousands of professional proofreaders with regular work.

If you want to be fit to proofread for this client type, you need to understand what this client type’s expectations are. You no doubt want the professional body that represent you to provide guidance that reflects industry-recognized best practice.

Below I've quoted excerpts from several national editorial societies’ online definitions of professional proofreading.

Editors’ Association of Canada (Canada): Standards for Proofreading

Proofreaders examine material after its textual and visual elements have been laid out to correct any errors and confirm that the design effectively supports communication.

​Proofreading is described here as a separate, final editorial stage; however, some projects might require combining it with other editorial stages (e.g., copy editing) because of financial or time restraints.

Chartered Institute of Editing and Proofreading: What is proofreading?

Proofreading is the final stage in the process of producing a piece of text – either in print or online – before it’s published or shared with its intended audience. A proofreader looks for mistakes within the text and also needs to take into account the effects of any changes they suggest and how they will fit into the existing page layout. The job of a proofreader is therefore to carry out the final quality check.
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Whether it’s a manuscript for a novel, a webpage, an academic paper, or a piece of sheet music, any document or piece of text or content can benefit from proofreading to ensure it’s free from errors, that it makes sense, that it isn’t misleading and it is presented properly.

Association of Freelance Editors, Proofreaders & Indexers (Ireland): What do proofreaders, editors and indexers do?

​Proofreading is the final stage of text preparation before publication. Traditionally, the proofreader reads page proofs after they come back from the typesetter or designer, but nowadays the term is often used to mean the final polish of the text. The proofreader’s main job is to fix incontestable errors of spelling, punctuation and grammar that may have slipped through the net during copy-editing, but their duties also include making sure that text, illustrations, captions, headings, running heads, etc., are complete, ensuring that page numbers match the Table of Contents; proofreading preliminary pages (copyright page, etc.) and end matter (e.g. a bibliography or index, if there is one).

Institute of Professional Editors (IPEd) (Australia): Levels of editing

Proofreading (usually called this but sometimes known as verification editing) involves checking that the document is ready to be published. It includes making sure that all elements of the document are included and in the proper order, all amendments have been inserted, the house or other set style has been followed, and all spelling or punctuation errors have been deleted.

These excerpts reflect very well the tasks required by the publishers and project-management agencies that procure professional proofreading services.

When it comes to working for publishers, the notion of 'proofreading' is not tangled. Things start to get a little messy, however, when we branch out into the wider world.

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​Other types of clients – what a proofreader might do

The definitions of proofreading start to tangle when the proofreader’s client base extends beyond the publishing industry.

Below are some excerpts of requests from non-publishing clients that I’ve received in the past. I’ve tweaked these so that the original request is masked. The point is to give you a flavour of how some non-publishing clients interpret the term.

Proofreading a novel
'I have a 95,000-word novel that needs proofreading. I've been through it several times myself but it needs professional eyes on it before I publish. A beta reader told me there are some viewpoint problems, that my pacing is off and that the characters need developing. Hoping you can help.'

Proofreading a novella
'Would you be kind enough to advise me of the cost of proofreading my science-fiction novella (32,000 words)? I can provide the file in Word format. English is my second language. I need attention to spelling and grammar, and altering any words that don’t sound quite right to an English speaker’s ear. I’d also like it formatted so that I can upload it to Amazon.'

Proofreading a Master’s dissertation
'I urgently need the first draft of my dissertation to be proofread. I need it styled in British English and would like it cut down if possible.'

Proofreading a website
'A new section of our site needs proofreading, approximately 15–20 pages totalling 5,000 words. The content needs to be checked for plain language and the formatting needs to comply with web accessibility standards. We would provide you with access to the site and then you can simply go through each page and edit it directly.'

All of the above clients want the proofreader to carry out a  range of other tasks that, traditionally, fall well outside the proofreader’s remit — structural work, formatting, , rewriting, text reduction and accessibility.

There's nothing wrong at all with a proofreader carrying out these tasks as long as the they feel competent to do so, and as long as the client and the proofreader have a mutual understanding of what can/can’t or will/won’t be done as part of the project. The price also needs to reflect what's being done.

However, it's far less likely that these tasks would be requested in a proofreading brief from a publisher.

​This is the tangled world of proofreading.

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‘But that’s not proofreading’

As business owners, we’re required to communicate with our clients in a way that makes them believe we can solve their problems.

If I want to take on a proofreading commission that also involves styling the text in the Word file of an indie author’s book so that it’s ready for upload to Kindle Direct Publishing , and I have the skill to do this, I’m not going to engage the client in a discussion over semantics. If I want the job, and I can do the job, I’ll quote for the job.

If the client wants to call it proofreading, we’ll call it proofreading.

​In the non-publishing world, definitions of proofreading are tangled, but I know this. What’s important is not that I quibble over the definition, but that I unpick the client’s request so that we are both clear about what is required.

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​Marketing your proofreading business in a way that clients understand

There's a reason I don’t offer 'proof-editing' services, even though that’s exactly what some independent authors want.

It’s because they won’t find me.

The analytics data for my website, tells me that people are landing on my website after typing in the word proofreader, not proof-editor or proof-editing.

Definitions of proofreading might appear tangled to those of us within the editorial and publishing industries, but to many non-publishing types things are rather less messy!
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• Want the spelling, punctuation, and grammar sorted out? Call a proofreader.
• Want Kindle-ready formatting? Ask a proofreader.
• Is English your second language? A proofreader can tackle that for you.
• Is the bibliography in your thesis a disaster? A proofreader's just the ticket.

Sometimes we can help. Sometimes we can’t. How far any editorial professional is prepared to step outside of traditional publishing-industry definitions of proofreading will depend on preferences, skills, experience, and level of confidence.

That doesn't mean anyone has to stop calling themselves a proofreader or saying they offer proofreading services, especially if calling themselves a proofreader is what makes them discoverable to their clients.

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​Providing clear service definitions

Here's the single best way to ensure there's a shared understanding of the term proofreading – clarify your service offerings.

Think about which pages your potential clients use to discover more about what you do and how to get in touch with you. Those are where you can help them navigate your website and access the information that explains how you define proofreading. 

Here's how I do it. There are 6 alerts about the levels of editing I offer (of which proofreading is one) and how I define them. 
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• Summaries of each editing service are provided on the Services page.
• There's a bullet list under the pricing information on the Contact page.
• The Proofreading page provides a detailed explanation of what's included.
• Clients must choose a level of service in the booking form on my Terms and Conditions page.
• There are multiple resources about the different levels of editing in my resource library.
• There are multiple podcast episodes about proofreading on my podcast page.

​If you receive requests for proofreading but the samples often indicate that a different level of editing is required, think about how you might add clarity so that clients better understand what you offer – and what they need – before they get in touch.

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​​Summing up

If you want to be a proofreader, don’t assume there’s only one set of client expectations about what you will or won’t do, or what proofreading is or isn’t.

In an international marketplace made up of numerous different clients with widely varying problems, you’ll always be required to spot spelling errors and incorrect punctuation.

But there’s a raft of other tasks that you could be asked to undertake, too. Whether you accept the challenge will depend on what you are prepared and able to do, not what you call yourself.

Whatever you call what you're offering, take care to charge accordingly. If that 'proofread' is more akin to a line- or copyedit, it needs to be priced in a way that reflects the additional work being carried out.

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About Louise Harnby

Louise Harnby is a line editor, copyeditor and proofreader who specializes in working with crime, mystery, suspense and thriller writers.

She is an Advanced Professional Member of the Chartered Institute of Editing and Proofreading (CIEP) and co-hosts The Editing Podcast.

• Get in touch: Louise Harnby | Crime Fiction & Thriller Editor
• Connect: X @LouiseHarnby, Facebook and LinkedIn
• Learn: Books and courses
• Discover: Resources for authors and editors

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