What I do

Proofreading is the last stage of the editorial process before publication. I’ll carry out a thorough review of your written material in its final layout by:

• checking grammar, spelling and punctuation
• ensuring consistency of style (eg capitalisation and hyphenation)
• ensuring consistency of layout (eg line spacing and indention)
• checking chapter headings and page numbers against table of contents
• checking position of artwork and that captions match the text
• checking cross-references
• querying repetitive, contradictory or ambiguous text
• flagging anything that needs further action.

Proofreading isn’t a substitute for editing. It’s an important stage and the last chance to fix errors that have slipped through previous rounds of editing.

Formats

I’m able to proofread in the following formats:

• on screen using Track Changes in Microsoft Word
• on screen using Adobe Acrobat Reader DC for PDFs
• on paper using BSI proof-correction marks.

Style Sheet

I create a style sheet for each project that I proofread. A style sheet is a record of style choices and is used to ensure consistency. If you have your own style sheet, I’ll work with this.