When Should You Use a Professional Proofreading Service?
If you want to publish your manuscript, you need to have it professionally edited and proofread to eliminate any typos and plot holes before your book is published. Using proofreading services can feel intimidating because it’s scary to think of some stranger scrutinizing every detail of your labor of love, but they’re essential for any author. After all, do you really want to plaster your name on a book riddled with typos or do your characters injustice by failing to address glaring plot holes? That’s where proofreading services come in.
Professional proofreaders check for final minor errors such as missing words and spelling mistakes in a relatively clean text that’s ready for publication. Proofreading is different from editing, which focuses more on structure, clarity, flow, and storytelling and is usually done earlier in the writing process. Editors can also fix your typos or spelling mistakes—and they do—but they focus on a wider scope of issues, which is why it’s a good idea to get a final, dedicated round of proofreading. Some companies (like us!) even offer marketing services and will be with you all the way to the end of your publishing journey.
If you’re ready to have your manuscript professionally proofread or edited, check out our proofreading and editing services. If you’re not sure what type of service you need, take our quick quiz or keep reading to learn more.
Structural development and character arcs
If you’re still working on your manuscript and are having trouble with plot holes, character development, and structural issues, it might be time to hire a professional editor. Sometimes, when we’re too close to our own writing, it’s hard to assess the story objectively, making good editing really challenging. It can also be painful to make major changes to a scene you love or kill off an unnecessary character you’ve developed a soft spot for.
An editor will help you refine your voice, narrative, and structure and bring the best out of your writing by working with you to unravel any knots or inconsistencies. From character motivations to themes, from pacing to organization, an editor with experience in your genre and style will help you polish your work to a shine. Although the process can be tough for an author passionate about their story, keep in mind that the editor is just trying to make your story the best version of itself.
Grammar and punctuation
The bulk of proofreading is checking for grammar and punctuation. That might sound easy, but typos tend to slip past rounds of editing before someone catches them. Professional proofreaders are trained to spot these tiny yet potentially detrimental mistakes before your manuscript is sent off to an agent or a publisher. It’s hard for you to catch your own typos because you’re too familiar with your work and know what it’s supposed to say; plus, editors can easily miss minor errors (like omitted words) because they’re focusing more on the overall flow and structure of the narrative.
Proofreaders will also check for correct formatting, which is crucial if you’re self-publishing an eBook since the eReader may not be able to process your files if they’re not formatted correctly. Proofreading is recommended for authors with finished, polished manuscripts who are ready to pursue publishing.
Marketing a completed manuscript
Once you’ve had your book edited and proofread by professionals, the next step is publishing it. Whether you choose to pitch to an agent or a publisher or go the self-publishing route, marketing is probably the hardest step. From querying agents and promoting on blogs to cover design and typesetting, publishing a book takes a village, and it’s a rare author who can wear all these different hats. That’s why we created our services for authors.
Professional proofreading services exist to help emerging and self-published authors get the most out of their hard work without the backing of a big publishing house or agency; they can put together a bespoke team to assist you in every step of your book-writing journey and improve your chances of success once you publish. So, whether you have a polished manuscript that just needs proofreading or a working draft that needs developmental editing, we’ve got your back.
