Proofreading is about correcting all those annoying typos and formatting errors

It is the proofreader’s job to check the typeset copy using standard proofreader marks to identify any typographical and formatting errors.

Consistency of writing is vital

As with editors, proofreaders in Australia use the Style manual for writers, authors, editors and printers 6th edition (2002) and any inhouse style manual for the publishing house or company. The marked up version is then returned to the typesetter for correction. An important step in the process is to return the revisions to the proofreader to ensure the typesetter has made all the corrections. It is not uncommon for errors to occur during the typesetting correction loop.

A professionally-trained proofreader is hard to find

Proofreading is a learned skill. Many baby boomer proofreaders acquired their training working for newspapers and in publishing houses in the 1960s and 1970s. However, newspapers long ago did away with this work reducing the numbers of professional proofreaders dramatically.

Proofreading is more difficult than it appears. As readers, we tend to compensate for errors and therefore we tend to skim over typographical errors. Learning to be a good proofreader requires time and a good mentor (if you can find one).

Proofreading is a different part of the publishing process from editing: structural editing and copy editing – both are far more detailed than proofreading and happen at earlier stages in the process.

What proofreaders do

Proofreading is about reviewing any text, either hard copy on paper or electronic copy on a computer, and checking for typos and formatting errors. Proofreaders can either check the text against an original document or  work ‘blind’ in that they simply check the final copy itself. Many good, professional proofreaders often identify copy-editing issues that have been missed such as grammar and inconsistency in the document.

Bold Type has a professionally trained proofreader who is renowned for his high quality work. Contact Sue Stevens at Bold Type today about proofreading your next writing project.

Read more about the publishing editorial process

Copy editing

Substantive or structural editing

Understanding the structure of websites is vital when editing web content

Editing text that will go up on a website is different to editing for print publications, especially if the work involves transforming text written for print so that it will work online.

It involves a substantive edit which changes the structure of the text so that it works for website navigation. Identifying linking pages within the content that makes sense to web visitors and helps them to navigate logically through the content is a must.

I recently edited 50 pages of text about engineering careers for Engineering Australia, the national support organisation for the engineering profession. It was an interesting editing job because the original text was structured as a booklet with front cover, contents page, and a page layout suitable for a handbook. Part of my job was to reorganise the content in such a way that it could be easily uploaded to the web.

Substantive editing is more involved than copy editing which involves finding misspellings, poor punctuation and grammatical errors. Substantive editing means looking at the text as a whole. It involves mapping the flow of the document to identify structural inconsistencies and may require the editor to suggest significant changes such as re-ordering content, deleting repetitive text and paragraphs that don’t fit, and re-writing sentences and even whole paragraphs.

Contact Sue Stevens for a free editing quote.

• Project managed the development of affordable, individualised, dynamic websites that give proprietors complete control over their primary marketing asset: their website. See website portfolio for recently developed websites.
• Produced a non-fiction list from conception to market – series of 45 full-colour illustrated books
• Developed a business website with 3000 pages of quality online content that had exceptional search engine optimisation (SEO) – keyword search results that consistently appear on page one of Google (the world) – the website included an online directory, resource centre, ecommerce shopping facility and Web 2.0 community interactivity
• Project managed the development of online policies, processes and procedures for a state government department – included training sessions for writers, and structural and copy editing of online content
• Produced educational books, CD-ROMs and webpages for students and teachers from K–12 for Queensland, New South Wales and Western Australian education departments and educational publishing houses
• Written publishing style manuals that incorporated print and online publishing standards to ensure consistency across all business communications and publishing products
• Production management of print and electronic resources including substantive editing and copy editing, and developing art briefs, copyright schedules and print specifications

Publishing network

Bold Type has an established network of publishing professionals including writers (online and print), editors, graphic designers, illustrators, indexers, typesetters and proofreaders.

If you need someone to manage a team of publishing professionals to meet your website or print publishing needs, contact Sue at Bold Type.

Academic record

• 2005 Doctor of Philosophy, University of Sydney
• 1997 Bachelor of Arts Humanities, first-class honours, Griffith University, Brisbane, Australia
• 1994 Bachelor of Arts, Australian and Comparative Studies, Griffith University, Brisbane, Australia

Sue’s academic career includes tutoring in the sociology department at Sydney University, writing academic papers and presenting papers at academic conferences.

On completion of her undergraduate degree, Sue won one of six Griffith University Scholarships for Women which enabled her to complete her Honours program with first-class Honours.

For a free consultation and quote for your next web publishing or print publishing job, contact Sue Stevens.

Structural editors work at the construction level of publishing making sure the foundations of the written text is strong

Sometimes called developmental editing or structural editing, substantive editing looks at both the content and structure of a manuscript as a cohesive whole.

The structure of any writing is essential for cohesiveness and for maintaining the reader’s interest. It doesn’t matter how well something is copy edited or proofread if it is not well structured in the first place.

You could say that structural editors work on the building blocks of the writing – they make sure the foundation of the writing is strong.

Your writing needs to have a logical flow

Does the story or argument have a logical flow? Does the text below a heading relate to that heading or is the content in the wrong place? Do headings and the hierarchy of headings make sense and help signpost content?

Are there obvious gaps in the flow of the text? Is the content very dense and difficult to read in some places and light in others? Does the voice of the text change?

Substantive editing may require the editor to suggest re-ordering of large chunks of text, make suggestions about deleting text, adding text, or rewriting small or large chunks of text.

If you need a substantive edit of a piece of writing, contact Sue at Bold Type today.

Read more about the publishing process

Copy editing

Proofreading