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Welcome to my new proofreading blog

‘Write a proofreading blog’ has been on my to-do list for a long time. I’m finally dragging myself into the twenty-first century and starting it today. I’ve always managed to find an excuse not to start that first draft. I suddenly find jobs that apparently need doing immediately, such as filing emails or mopping the kitchen floor. However, given that I’ve been planning to update my website for ages and have finally got round to that (many thanks to the ever-patient and hugely knowledgeable Dave Stapenell of A9 Creative and SEO), I thought it was a good time to start. Well, I’m finally taking the plunge, so here goes…

I plan to write about the positive and negative sides of being a proofreader and about issues and solutions that I come across along the way. I’m also aiming to include posts that might interest people who have previously employed a proofreader or copy-editor or who are thinking of doing so.

I’m not aiming to be a prize-winning writer, but I’m aiming to write some insightful content that’s easy to read and fairly light-hearted. I might even throw in a few jokes along the way. I’ll try not to include any that are too corny, though, so fear not. The next post will be cobbled together – I mean carefully structured – very soon.

Fiction proofreading for self-publishers and publishing companies

Who do I proofread fiction for?

Most of my fiction clients are self-publishing authors. If you have a novel or short story you need proofreading, just send me your final draft and I’ll let you know whether I can help you. If I can, I’ll give you a quote. You can contact me here. I’m also happy to work for publishers of fiction, of course.

You can see testimonials here from some of the clients who’ve been happy with my work. I love fiction and think I have a feel for language and an eye for detail, and I would do my best to substantially improve the quality of your text.

What does fiction proofreading include?

Proofreading fiction can, of course, be a little different/very different to proofreading other sorts of texts. It is the final check on a text that has ideally been edited many times and then copy-edited.

Ideally, proofreading is the last task in a long list of work that is done on a manuscript by editorial professionals. I’m aware, however, that many self-publishers won’t have the resources to have gone through all the traditional stages. But I would expect that your manuscript has at least been copy-edited. If you are unsure of the differences between copy-editing and proofreading, have a look at the CIEP’s FAQs page, which you’ll find here: https://www.ciep.uk/about/faqs/

Any quote I give you would include doing the following:CIEP accredited editor proofreader membership

  • Checking spelling, punctuation and grammar
  • Checking that the syntax of sentences seems to work and that sentences make sense in context
  • Checking that your writing is clear and reads fluently
  • Checking that the style you have used is consistent. For example, that double or single quotation marks have been used consistently and that things like italics are used consistently
  • Ensuring that any ambiguity or monotonous repetition is highlighted and possible solutions are suggested
  • Being sensitive to your style of writing and bearing in mind that in fiction, conventional grammar and/or punctuation ‘rules’ can be broken
  • Noting formatting issues such as inconsistent paragraph spacing/margins (but I don’t include formatting in my proofreading service).

If you are interested in getting a quote, just send your manuscript as a Word file and I’ll take a look [email protected].