As a professional editor and proofreader, I am about 99% in favor of professional editing and proofreading. Not just because it’s my bread and butter, though. I’ve been a voracious reader since age seven, and I really want good copy to make my reading experience awesome. Self-Publishing Cost Trade-Offs I do understand that indie authors…
Editing & Proofreading
Capitalization: The Consistency Challenge
Dear Writers, I’m your reader (as well as being an editor/proofreader), and what I’m looking for is a smooth and engaging experience with your words. Inconsistent capitalizing of words that normally aren’t makes me stop and wonder if this instance is different and how it relates to the rest of your story. Don’t make me…
In Search of a Smooth Read
Taking a philosophical turn on the editing and proofreading thing today. There are all kinds of tools that editors use to find inconsistencies in word usage or capitalization, punctuation, etc. that make a proofreading pass, for example, go faster. Since most of these tools are not available for the Mac operating system (the one I…
The Virtue of Editorial Flexibility
When I first read this article on a conversation between novelist Donna Tartt and publisher/editor Michael Pietsch, I could definitely see Tartt’s frustration in dealing with editors in the past, which pretty much solidified her wish to stand out by rebelling against “the rules.” I’ll bet she does write readable, comprehensive prose, though, or she…
Proofreading: Beyond Spelling
I’ve been working on a textbook update where the client wants “copy editing” over top of the new author’s changes to the text (!!!). A bit messy to look at a marked-up copy, but I’m getting through. Doing just copy editing on a PDF of the textbook rather than a Word manuscript does point up…
