Lately, I\u2019ve had a couple of prospective clients contact me about proofreading their manuscripts. They claimed they did not need editing\u2014just simple proofreading. <\/p>\n
When I looked at their manuscripts, I noticed that they did, indeed, need editing. The manuscripts had a few problems with tense, grammar, sentence structure, spelling\/typo errors, and punctuation. <\/p>\n
One client insisted that he did not want me to do editing\u2014\u201cJust proofread it,\u201d he said. I had given him a quote for editing and he wondered how much he would save if I just proofed it. How in the heck do you proof a manuscript that needs editing? Also, I wondered, where does proofreading end and editing begin (or vice versa)? This client hoped to save money by having me proof rather than edit. But I told him that I would take the same amount of time with the manuscript whether I was instructed to proof or edit and I would use the same procedure. If it needed editing, it needed editing. You can\u2019t just proof over a bunch of mistakes. <\/p>\n
The client thought he could save some money if I only read through the entire manuscript quickly in some sort of high speed proofing motion than if I stopped to make corrections. But I explained that it would be wasted time for me to just read the manuscript without making needed corrections. <\/p>\n
I\u2019m not sure what he thought proofreading would accomplish. I do know that it was important for him that I read the entire manuscript. But for what purpose? And at what cost?<\/p>\n
I decided to check what others consider the differences between editing and proofing. Here\u2019s what I came up with. \u201cProofreading means to examine text looking for spelling errors, punctuation errors, typos and obvious errors such as the unintentional use of there<\/em> when it is clear the correct word is their<\/em>. (Also known as proofing or line editing.)\u201d<\/p>\n Editing: \u201cto examine text with the intention of improving the flow and quality of writing. It also involves correcting grammatical errors and other unintended errors.\u201d<\/p>\n (Thanks to Tamara Rice at oDesk Blog for putting these definitions in succinct form.)<\/p>\n If you think that you can save money by having your book proofread instead of edited, you\u2019re probably trying to cut corners in the wrong place. I can do proofreading, which I will do on the final go-through. But if your manuscript needs editing, it needs editing. And you should hire a qualified book editor.<\/p>\n I\u2019m going to be away for a few days and there will be no new blog posts until Monday, June 20. Please enjoy reading some of the posts in my vast archives. Take this opportunity to visit my websites and you may even want to download my FREE ebooklet, 50 Reasons Why You Should Publish That Book<\/strong><\/em>.<\/p>\n http:\/\/www.patriciafry.com<\/a> Lately, I\u2019ve had a couple of prospective clients contact me about proofreading their manuscripts. They claimed they did not need editing\u2014just simple proofreading. When I looked at their manuscripts, I noticed that they did, indeed, need editing. The manuscripts had a few problems with tense, grammar, sentence structure, spelling\/typo errors, and punctuation. One client insisted […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[10],"tags":[],"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t
\n http:\/\/www.matilijapress.com<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"