So, why do you need to use a proofreader? Is it necessary if you’re self-publishing? Well, yes, it probably is.
The main reason for this is that a lot of errors are easy to miss. You know your work inside out and back-to-front; in fact, so well that you can sometimes ‘read in’ what you meant to write, instead of what you actually wrote.
Typographical Errors (Typos)
Typos are common culprits that are very easy to miss in your own work, but can dramatically change the meaning of your sentence! For example, Perpetrators will be banned and find £100 rather than Perpetrators will be banned and fined £100. Transposition errors are a sub-class of typo, for example:
- Word transpositions – Sally cautiously placed in it the box instead of Sally cautiously placed it in the box. These are especially difficult to spot when the two words are ones that look fairly similar anyway, as in this example or with on and or.
- Word transpositions, but with another word in between – I still see her every then and now instead of I still see her every now and then. It is possible to skip over these, particularly if it is a commonly used phrase.
- Letter transpositions – I haven’t thought aobut it for ages instead of I haven’t thought about it for ages. This is made worse by the fact that this can still result in real words that a spell checker won’t register as incorrect, such as writing mats when in fact you meant mast.
Technical Errors
There are also technical errors that can appear in your work such as problems with grammar, punctuation, or even formatting, for example, of dialogue. Common grammatical errors include things such as disagreement of subject and verb and the use of dangling modifiers.
Subject-verb agreement means that if the subject is singular, the verb must also be singular, while if the subject is plural, the verb must also be plural. If there are two subjects linked by ‘and’, the verb must be plural, as the two subjects are effectively joined to become plural. However, if two subjects are linked by ‘or’, the verb refers to one or other of the subjects, not both, and so should be singular.
A dangling modifier occurs when the participle modifies a word that isn’t clearly stated, for example:
Sizzling in the pan, my aunt was looking forward to the bacon.
Here, the term being modified seems to be ‘my aunt’, but presumably she is not sizzling in the pan! This is the bacon, so a possible rewrite of this would be:
My aunt was looking forward to the bacon, which was sizzling in the pan.
Or even:
Sizzling in the pan, the bacon looked delicious to my aunt.
Other technical errors occur with punctuation, for example, the placement of apostrophes. To indicate belonging, there will be an apostrophe followed by a letter ‘s’, for example, the neighbour’s cat, showing that the cat belongs to the (singular) neighbour. If the subject already has an ‘s’ on the end, just an apostrophe is added, for example, the neighbours’ cat. The cat belongs to the (plural) neighbours.
Formatting Errors
Formatting errors can involve making sure all of the layout is done consistently, such as chapter headings. These should all be the same font, in the same size and any other styles followed, for example, italics used or a number before the title. Dialogue is another complex one that becomes less noticeable as you get deep into your work. There should always be a new paragraph for a new speaker, a comma before the closing speech marks if there is no other punctuation … and so on! As you can see, it’s very fiddly and easy to miss the occasional error. A proofreader will be checking all of these things systematically as they work through your writing.
Professional Writing Voice
In addition to spotting errors such as these, a copy-editor can ensure that your work sounds professional. This does not necessarily mean formal – clearly, this would be out of place in a lot of works of fiction! However, a copy-editor will make your work shine at its best, which may involve rewriting some parts of the work to make it flow more smoothly, or removing some repetitions of words. An example of this is overuse of the passive voice in writing, meaning that the focus is on the action, rather than who or what is doing the action, for example:
The bread was buttered.
Rather than:
Sally buttered the bread.
This is fine in a lot of cases and certainly should not be avoided altogether, but repeated use may result in the text seeming dull. A copy-editor can point this out for you to consider.
However, this will depend on your writing style and what you intended the tone of the piece to be. For example, a suspense horror novel might contain a lot of short, abrupt sentences, to convey the feelings of the protagonist, or repetition might increase the impact of the section. A good copy-editor will know this and will also know when to leave alone (possibly querying the issue first), leaving your work in the style you intended.
In Conclusion
A copy-editor or proofreader is a vital part of the process of getting self-published. They will make your writing more readable, whilst still keeping your unique voice. There is also a difference between what a proofreader and a copy-editor will do, which will have to be a subject for a later blog!
Want help proofreading your work? Contact Carmine Proofreading for a friendly, professional service from a qualified proofreader.
Email: CarmineProofreading@gmail.com
Twitter: https://twitter.com/CarmineProofed
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