YAUPON BERRY PRESS LLC
  • Home
  • Services
    • Business Editor / Writer >
      • Editorial Breakdown
    • Manuscript Editor
  • About
  • Contact
  • FAQ
  • Blog

What is Proofreading?

11/13/2019

3 Comments

 
Proofreading is the act of reviewing the final draft for mistakes (also called copy editing). Plain and simple. This means if you’ve been asked to proofread material for work or for a friend, the content you’re reviewing has already been thoroughly edited. All you need to search for are misspelled words, missing punctuation, and formatting inconsistencies (indents, margins, etc.). 

So, what if your boss asks you, “Can you proofread this newsletter before it’s sent out?” What does he mean? Or what should he mean? In most cases, everyone’s definition of proofreading is similar, but there are varying opinions out there. Rest assured, proofreading is less involved than true editing. Usually, whatever you’re proofreading is the last and final draft.
Image Text: What is Proofreading?

​What’s the Definition of Proofreading?

By definition from "The Merriam-Webster Dictionary," proofreading is to read and mark corrections in a proof. By the way, that particular dictionary is what many in the publishing industry use. So, if you’re ever in doubt about the spelling of a particular word, go to the online Merriam-Webster Dictionary.
​
What is editing? Editing is a roundabout term that includes proofreading, but a thorough edit includes checking the document’s sentence structure, clarity, appropriate word usage, the spelling of numbers, and much more. Not only that, but depending on what type of document is being edited, different style guides are used, such as the AP style or Chicago Manual of Style. Which style guide is right for you? That’s a topic for a different blog post. 

​In Conclusion

​If someone asks you to proofread a document, they’re simply asking you to look it over for small errors. And if you discover many mistakes, then the material probably needs to be fully edited by a professional editor.  
If you found this post helpful, please consider sharing it with someone you think would enjoy it too! If you're in need of an editor, contact us: YauponBerryPress@gmail.com.
Picture

Author

Dawn Husted progressed into offering her editing services to clients in 2016, eventually opening Yaupon Berry Press LLC.  She's constantly learning new ways of helping clients stay relevant in today’s market, whether by using an SEO strategy targeting high-trafficked keywords or simply fine-tuning their content. ​Dawn lives in central Texas with her husband, two energetic kids and an adorable golden retriever.

Related Blog Posts

Image Text: SEO for Small Businesses

SEO for Small Businesses

As a small business owner, when you hear SEO, you might silently roll your eyes. The thought of attempting to optimize your website to gain more "organic traffic" can be overwhelming. What does organic traffic mean? Reliablesoft.net defines it as the term used to describe visits to a website coming from a search engine's organic results and not [from] paid ads.

When referring to SEO in this blog post... [READ MORE]

Image text: Year round sports club vs. year-round sports club. Which is it?

Why You Need a Proofreader for Your Small Business

As you read this phrase, keep your eyes peeled for the error: Year Round Sports Club. Did you spot the mistake? The adjective “year round” needs a hyphen to make it grammatically correct: year-round. 

Today, while I drove my kids to school, I passed a particular sign advertising... [READ MORE]

Are you an author in need of editing services?

Enter your contact details, and we'll send you the information for our services.

Marketing Permissions

The information you provide on this form will only be used to provide you with updates and personalized marketing. Your privacy is important to us! Please let us know how you would like to keep in touch:

We will send you occasional emails about promotions, new products and important updates to keep you in the loop.
We will use your information to show you ads that are more relevant to you to improve your online experience.

By clicking below to submit this form, you acknowledge that the information you provide will be processed in accordance with our Privacy Policy.

Thank you!

.
3 Comments
Thomas Clarence link
12/13/2021 05:02:40 pm

It really stood out to me when you explained that editing is a process that includes proofreading and checking sentence structure. I would think that it would be important for a business to have every document it writes proofread. It would be important to make sure that you don't release a document that makes you look bad.

Reply
Jr D link
8/7/2022 05:05:02 am

Great article!

Reply
Mia Evans link
8/11/2022 08:40:20 pm

It's interesting to know that proofreading will not be as involved as editing. I wonder if there are bilingual copy proofreading services as well for pieces that are in a different language. This kind of service would probably be useful for writers who also want to reach other nations and audiences.

Reply

Your comment will be posted after it is approved.


Leave a Reply.


    Archives

    October 2021
    September 2021
    June 2021
    May 2021
    April 2021
    March 2021
    February 2021
    October 2020
    September 2020
    August 2020
    July 2020
    March 2020
    February 2020
    January 2020
    November 2019
    October 2019
    September 2019


    Categories

    All
    Bios
    Book Writing
    Decal Copy
    Grammarly
    Marketing
    Marketing Copy
    Picture Books
    Press Release
    Professional Bios
    Proofreader
    Proofreading
    Relatable Characters
    Revising Scenes
    SEO
    Show Vs. Tell
    Websites

    RSS Feed

    Yaupon Berry Press logo

    Follow us on Facebook & Instagram for promotions and updates!

    Image Text: Tired of typos in your marketing material? Hire Yaupon Berry Press for a thorough edit.

    This website uses marketing and tracking technologies. Opting out of this will opt you out of all cookies, except for those needed to run the website. Note that some products may not work as well without tracking cookies.

    Opt Out of Cookies
    Home | Services | About | Contact | FAQ | Blog | 
    ​Books | Site Map 

    Yaupon Berry Press LLC, PO Box 9804, College Station, TX 77842 (USA)
    Phone: (979) 218-7292
    Email: YauponBerryPress@gmail.com
Powered by Create your own unique website with customizable templates.
  • Home
  • Services
    • Business Editor / Writer >
      • Editorial Breakdown
    • Manuscript Editor
  • About
  • Contact
  • FAQ
  • Blog