What is the key aim of proofreading?

Proofreaders ensure a manuscript conforms to an editorial style, also known as a house or in-house style, which refers to a publishing house’s preferred style.

What are the key aspects of editorial style?

Editorial style includes spelling, hyphenation, capitalisation, punctuation, treatment of numbers and numerals, treatment of quotations, use of initialisms, acronyms and other abbreviations, use of italics and bold type, treatment of special elements (e.g. headings, lists, tables, charts, graphs, images) and format of footnotes, endnotes, bibliographies and other documentation.

What do proofreaders do?

A proofreader’s job is to ensure that the manuscript conforms to the publisher’s editorial or house style. While not changing the meaning of a text, proofreaders are expected to correct any inconsistencies in the manuscript, improving the look and feel of the document.

What attributes does a proofreader require?

Proofreaders require a keen eye for detail, a firm grasp of a wide range of writing conventions and style manuals, and good judgement.

Why is the house style so important?

At book publishing firms, as well as publishers of scholarly journals, newspapers, and magazines, a house or in-house style is used to ensure all authors, copyeditors and proofreaders use the same style manual (e.g. The Chicago Manual of Style or the Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association, known as the APA Manual).

The use of a manual or style ensures consistency in multi-author publications (e.g., magazines, scholarly journals, reports, collaborative books, edited collections) within a series and across similar publications from the same publishing house. A house style may also be mandated to ensure consistency with corporate branding.

What if a publisher does not have a house style?

Usually, a proofreader’s job is to ensure that the manuscript conforms to the publisher’s editorial style. However, suppose the publisher does not have a house style. In that case, the proofreader must make sure that the author selects an acceptable style manual among the various options (e.g. The Chicago Manual of Style, the APA Manual or, for journalism and news writing, the Associated Press or AP style) and has been consistent in using that style manual in the manuscript.

What else is involved in proofreading?

In addition to confirming what the publisher’s preferred style manual is, a proofreader must investigate if there is a preferred dictionary. They should also request an in-house style guide tipsheet, if available, or a checklist of editorial preferences. Proofreaders will also investigate earlier editions or comparable texts that should be consulted. If the document or manuscript is part of a publication series, the proofreader will review other texts in the series for comparison.

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