- In the writing world,
the terms copyediting and proofreading
can sometimes be used interchangeably,
but treating both as the same step
in the process, or worse, skipping out
on either with the assumption that they're one
and the same is bad news for your book.
If you're wondering why you need
a copyedit and a proofread,
then this video is for you.
(upbeat music)
Hey, there I'm Julie the book Broad,
the founder of a fabulous self-publishing services
team called Book Launchers.
Chatting with someone interested in working with us,
I had to smile because he said,
"I listened to the audiobook version of your book.
And I learned enough to know
that there are a lot of editors I need."
(laughs)
So if you wanna learn all the ins and outs
and all the editors and all the things
to help you write a book,
definitely grab a copy of "Self-Publish & Succeed."
I cover it all.
There are three main editors
we have work on every book.
First, we put the book through a content
or a developmental edit.
That's the 30,000 foot view of your book
for structure, credibility, flow, and reader connection.
This edit makes your book so much better.
Copyediting and proofreading are two different
and essential steps in the editing process
that come after that content edit.
The copyedit is what makes your book
grammatically correct and consistent.
It gives it that polished feel
despite how often they're lumped together as twins though,
both steps copyedit and proofread
involve hiring their own separate expert editors
and both steps offer their own
unique benefits for your book.
These can be summed up in two sentences.
Copyeditors catch all the mistakes the author missed
and proofreaders catch
all the mistakes the copyeditor missed.
Well, okay, if it were that simple,
I wouldn't have to make a video about it, would I?
So let's dive in a little bit deeper
and clear up the copyediting
and proofreading conundrum for good.
Before a book hits copy editing,
it's been fully written and it's gone
through all the content editing needed to get it
from a first draft to a complete product.
All the content is in the book
and it's got a strong structure and a great flow.
At book launchers, most of our authors go
through a content edit, two copy edits,
and some opt for a fact check that happens
in between the two copyedit rounds.
And then we do a proofread.
The goal of copyediting
is to make the document clear,
concise, and grammatically correct
while ensuring the voice is singular.
We also sometimes make readability adjustments.
So if your book comes to us at a college level,
we'll look at word choices and sentence structure
to simplify the book to make it more readable.
The ideal Flesch-Kincaid score
is closer to a Grade 8 level,
but we may not wanna make that big of a change
to an author's voice if that's just who they are.
Regardless, that whole thing happens in copyedit.
These rounds of editing are meant
to add that high shine polish to an author's book.
Using "The Chicago Manual of Style,"
with a few host rule exceptions,
a copyeditor is on the hunt for places
to make the author sound smart.
You know, like eight hours of sleep
and two cups of coffee smart.
That means catching spelling, grammar,
and punctuation errors, and going elbows deep
into making necessary changes to ensure a high quality book.
Copyediting takes a sharp detail-oriented eye,
the love of rules and a great deal of laser fine focus.
A tiny error won't ruin your entire book.
There may even be errors
that your readers wouldn't notice,
but if they do and they see a handful,
I promise you'll be reading reviews
about all the errors for the rest of your life.
Working with a copy editor make sure
that you're publishing a professional book
and saving you from looking like an amateur.
Okay, so that was copyediting, check.
The next step is a proofread.
At this point, your book is already in tip top shape.
That means that a proofreader
is the last line of defense against errors
and inconsistencies that have gone unseen.
This last step in the process
is to catch any lingering spelling, grammar,
and punctuation errors to ensure
that headings are properly applied
double check references and citations
and ultimately check the formatting.
Formatting issues fall under a proofreaders to do as well,
like checking paragraphs for consistent
indentation, eliminating double spaces
between sentences, ensuring consistent styling
for bulleted lists and more.
Once the manuscript goes through the proofread,
you're all done.
Just kidding, you can't get rid of me that easily.
Okay (laughs)
It's time to take the copyediting
and proofread document of your book
and design it into something beautiful
that will make your readers look like,
well, look at your book
with all of those adorable heart eye emojis.
You probably need a book designer for that.
Once you have a designer do their magic
and create an interior layout of your final book files,
your proofreader is back in the saddle
because their job isn't quite finished.
Or if you're reading an audiobook,
this is a great time for you to read your book
out loud and catch any last little errors
or issues that may have been introduced
in layout or missed with all of the other editing.
When I was reading the audiobook
for "Self-Published & Succeed,"
one that I found that had gone unnoticed
was a numbered bullet
that was 1, 2, 3, 3, oops (laughs)
So if you read your book out loud,
you may catch these errors that the layout designer
accidentally introduced when hard coding
the design of your book.
A proofreader in layout can also help
to pick out any final formatting faux pas.
Align the table of contents and page numbers.
And they'll also spot anything the designer
may need to correct before the final file is sent to print.
So to recap, a copyeditor goes into your manuscript
and goes line-by-line focusing on word choice,
sentence structure, punctuation, and voice.
They're trying to create one singular voice
throughout that manuscript.
Then a proofreader is gonna go in
and look for typos, misplaced punctuation,
and make sure there's consistency
of style applied everywhere.
And then often a proofreader is involved
in identifying layout issues, like numbering,
indent, and tables, and figure placement in your manuscript.
One last note, you might be tempted
to automate the proofreading step with machine logic.
I know you might think,
"Hey, a machine can spot errors
and fix them for way less money than an editor."
And you might be right,
but when it comes to editing
saving the money is not worth it.
A robot can be programmed to follow rules
and fix mistakes, but it just,
at least to date, does not replicate
the same human touch or human eye.
And now that this copyediting proofreading lesson is over,
it's time to smash that thumbs up button
and celebration of editors
that make us look good as authors
and then had to this video on what a content editor does
if you wanna learn more about that kind of editing.
If that's not what you need,
then this is the latest
and greatest video from the channel.
and it's sure to be a delight.
So click on over, I'll see you there.