Since this is a site about proofreading AND copyediting, let me take a moment to illuminate the differences between these two services.
Proofreading is the final step before publishing. You could be publishing a family newsletter for a dozen relatives scattered across the country, a novel for a major publishing company, or anything in between. The final step before you send or print is called proofreading.
Proofreaders scrutinize a final copy for spelling or punctuation errors and style, font, paragraphing, and capitalization consistency. Generally, there is a style guide that is followed closely. They can compare the final copy with the last edited version making sure each edit has been made appropriately and has not affected the document spacing or changed page breaks. They check page numbering, headings, and chapter breaks and compare the final version with the style guide for accuracy.
A Proofreader marks the changes
A proofreader marks the changes that need to be made. The final decision before printing is up to the author, printer, or typesetter who will approve the changes and send the document to be printed. Due to the simplicity of the job–comparing the final document to the final edit–the proofreader generally charges less per hour than an editor.
An editor, on the other hand, has more power to change. There are various kinds of editors in the book publishing world. Some make sweeping changes, redefining characters, deleting whole chapters, rearranging the order of events, or even adding new plot elements. These people are sometimes writers themselves. They are widely read and able to envision the whole scope of the work. The developmental editor’s rates reflect their expertise. There are other levels of editors in the book publishing world and their expertise levels vary in scope.
A copyeditor changes the document
The most common editor, used in all sorts of writing, is the copyeditor. Copyeditors are somewhere between the author and the proofreader in power. They will help the author use consistent voice and number, change paragraphing, and rearrange ideas to get across the author’s intent more clearly.
These changes are generally done to the document directly, although the changes can be tracked and edits approved by the author. They will be familiar with the subject material, either through study or experience in that field. They charge a bit more than a proofreader due to their greater level of involvement in the document writing process.
Here comes my plug:
Some authors would like to have the copyeditor and the proofreader be the same person. Some editors are able to go back and scrutinize on a different level and make the proper changes to punctuation and spelling. Usually they wait a day or more to be sure they are not going to read what they expect instead of what is there.
Many people, however, still miss the simple things, like the correctly spelled, but incorrect version, of a word that passes a spelling checker program. (“He” is a word, but if “The” is supposed to be used, the program will miss that.) When someone has been working on a document for a while, they can easily miss those little errors and read what they are expecting to see, too.
However, if you have a deadline approaching and you and your editor have been working on the document closely for days, weeks, months, it would be a good idea to hire a proofreader to make that final scrutiny for you. Requiring a copyeditor to proofread their own work can be a setup for less than excellent results.
So, know what you need, hire the best person for the job, prepare to pay for higher levels of power to change, and make your work the excellent piece of literature it was destined to be!
Read, write, enjoy!
–Liza the Bookworm