Are You Editing or Proofreading?

Editing vs. Proofreading: What’s the Difference?

Bettye-Lynn Underwood

“I have a document that needs proofreading and editing.”

That is a frequent request made by aspiring writers, but it is incorrect, both in the order of the words and in the implication that these roles are interchangeable.

Editing and proofreading (note the order), while commonly believed to be the same thing, are actually two very different functions. Editing is always, always done before proofreading. There are several different types of editing, which will be broken down in a future blog post. Suffice to say that the editing process addresses the entire arc of the document or manuscript: its flow, pacing, and use of language (the latter both in terms of accuracy and its suitability for the intended audience…you don’t want to use ten-letter words in a manuscript for a children’s book!). Only when editing is completed and the edits have been incorporated into the document will it be ready for proofreading. Once proofread, the document is ready to be distributed/e-published/printed.

The job of the proofreader is to eliminate errors from the document. This encompasses more than simply looking for typos, not just obvious ones like when “to” appears as “tp,” but more camouflaged typos that result in actual words (“A jaguar is the fattest creature on earth” rather than fastest) and also catching misspellings (“liason” for liaison). Here are some other errors proofreaders check for:

• Consistency in names (Michael should not become Mitchell or even Micheal), places, and use of abbreviations 

• Consistency in words (slipping in a British English spelling in a document written in American English)

• Incorrect punctuation (commas and periods that appear outside of quotation marks rather than inside, for example), missing punctuation (such as no periods at the end of a sentence), or incorrect use of hyphens and dashes.

• Incorrect word usage (“From a writer’s prospective, the book was poorly written” rather than perspective).

• Misused homonyms (there/their/they’re)

• Missing words (“Why can’t I find an editor who knows they’re doing?” (the word what should be after “knows”)

• Doubled words (“Now is the the time to take action!”)

• Irregular word or line spacing

• Inconsistencies in formatting (indentation, boldface, italics), fonts and font sizes, and making sure chapter numbers and page numbers are consecutive 

• In addition, if the proofreader is working with a fully formatted and laid out proof for print, they will also check for issues like pages with widows and orphans, the position of footnotes, or any other design issues

• Anything that the editor might have missed, including grammatical errors or incorrect pronouns (“she” for “he”)

All of the above, particularly the last item, are reasons proofreading is best performed by someone other than the editor. A good editor will do their best, but having likely done two passes during the editing process, is “too close” to the document to be able to pick up on errors.

Editing is a must, but hiring a proofreader after editing will help ensure an error-free document or manuscript.