This is proofreading
The thrills and spills of the race to the finish line that is proofreading – exciting, for sure. Checklist included!
No pressure or anything, but little mistakes can damage credibility! Proofreading, the final stage in the editorial process, aims to capture them in any written content before it’s published in print or posted online.
This post focuses on the proofreading of ‘page proofs’ for books, reports and other publication types that have undergone layout by a designer (for a unique look) or a typesetter (when a design template already exists, for example for an article in a journal or a document in a series).
Proofreading is also done for communications and marketing materials, digital-only content like website copy, e-book files, and documents that will be published as PDFs exported from their Microsoft Word format. The same principles apply to the proofreading of these content types, but the process may be less formal or more flexible because, for example, changes might be allowed after sharing online. It also might cover some different things (e.g. alt text for digital content).
Page proofs show the publication in its final form and they are typically proofread as PDFs. Proofreading is a crucial quality control stage for publications because (1) they’ve been transferred from word processing software (usually Microsoft Word) to page layout software (such as Adobe InDesign), a process that may have introduced errors in the text and in styled elements, and (2) they’re likely to be printed, which means any errors will be permanently visible and costly to rectify (by, for example, an erratum or a revised edition). So each page is closely read for typos and typesetting errors, and the publication as a whole is checked to make sure all its pages are present and in the correct order.
Proofreaders, who often have an editing background as well as an eagle eye and superpower concentration, usually restrict their editing to crucial corrections. Making changes to the text at this stage of production (when the ‘send to the printer’ date is fast approaching) takes time and can be expensive. It’s also painstaking work, with changes on one page sometimes having consequences on several others if, for example, cross-references, figure numbering and heading levels that appear in the table of contents are involved.
Authors, even when working with publishers or organisations, are usually asked to check page proofs and sometimes to sign off on them and bear the responsibility for any remaining errors. They, too, should hold back from using the proof stage as an opportunity for fine-tuning the content.
Aside from costing time and money, there may be other reasons that extensive changes are undesirable at proof stage. Proofreading is done on copyedited and finalised text, which might have been agreed on by several project partners, and anything more than simple, indisputable corrections (e.g. for grammar and house style) might need another round of approval.
However, it could be that the text needed heavy editing, which might not have captured all the small problems, or that it was revised by the author after editing, without the editor having checked the revisions. For large or complex projects, multiple rounds of page proofs might have been incorporated into the schedule to allow for the little bits and pieces that stakeholders insist on changing at the last minute. For small projects with a fast turnaround time, there may have been no editing stage. So the client should advise the proofreader on the likely extent of remaining issues and the proofreader’s freedom to address them; that is, expectations for the proofread should be clear.
The proofreader will work with reference to the edited version of the manuscript that was sent to the designer or typesetter, checking back on it for omission or duplication of paragraphs and other anomalies that may have arisen when importing the styled text and artwork into the page layout software. Some circumstances dictate that a very close comparison be made, for example, if diagrams and graphs were redrawn from pasted-in objects or tables and equations were keyed in during layout. When proofreading takes place in Word files, the compare function of Word can be used to check what has changed in the text since the editing stage.
For some non-publication content types mentioned above (e.g. website copy), proofreading is often done ‘blind’, meaning that that the proofreader doesn’t cross-check against the edited version. In this case, they are simply fresh eyes searching for anything that looks amiss.
Aside from the edited version of the manuscript, also handy for the proofreader’s reference are the house style guide (and/or the editor’s style sheet) and the design specifications for the publication. If these don’t exist, the proofreader will follow standard conventions and aim for internal consistency.
Proofreading is mostly done on screen in PDFs or customised online proofing software using mark-up tools. Some proofreaders, if the workflow allows, might prefer reading a hard copy and marking it up by hand with standard proofreading marks – reading from paper, arguably, allows errors to be noticed more easily.
When other people are also checking the proofs (client, author), the proofreader might be tasked with looking over everyone’s amendments and compiling a master set of proofs to return to the designer or typesetter. Sometimes, when clients need to apportion the cost of corrections that have gone over a set amount in a layout/typesetting quote, proofreaders might be asked to distinguish their corrections from author changes and from errors introduced during layout.
A revised proof stage often follows first proof stage. It’s tempting to spot-check these proofs for any final problems, but that isn’t their purpose. They should only be checked against the first proofs to make sure that all requested alterations were made accurately by the designer or typesetter, and that no flow-on problems to page make-up were introduced by those changes.
Ideally, the proofreader and the editor of a project aren’t the same person – the proofreader is more likely to notice any remaining problems if they have some distance from the work that came before. Sometimes this is not possible. In that case, having the page proofs in a different format from the edited document (i.e. Word file versus PDF file) does go some way in giving the editor/proofreader a different perspective. When proofreading takes place by the editor in the same Microsoft Word file in which they edited the text, changing the font, font size and colour, page colour, column layout or margins can help their mind see the words as new. Using Microsoft Word’s Read Aloud function can also be helpful. (This applies when writers are proofreading their own work, too.)
The checklist below is intended to show you what a proofreader will be on the lookout for. It can be used as a practical tool for proofreading, but keep in mind, some of the items don’t apply to all content types and there will undoubtedly be extra things that need checking in your document.
Proofreading checklist
Overall document
• Check that all components – prelims, chapters, appendixes, annexes and end matter – are present and in the correct order
• Check that all items (e.g. chapters) start on recto/verso pages as they should
For headers and footers:
• Check that they are present and appear correctly on recto/verso pages
• Cross-check them against their source (book, part or chapter title), which might change during proofreading
Check pagination, and that page numbers are present and correct for:
• Each page
- Check the use of Roman and Arabic numerals (e.g. Roman numerals for prelims)
- Check for pages (e.g. part title pages) that intentionally omit the page number
- Intentional blank pages should be noted as such
- Take special care to check numbers following a blank page
• Table of contents
• Lists of tables, illustrations and boxes
• Index
• Internal cross-references that cite page numbers
Check numbering (or lettering) is continuous throughout the document or restarts as necessary for:
• Part, chapter and section headings
• Paragraphs
• Lists (displayed and in-line)
• Tables, illustrations and other elements that stand apart from the text
• Footnotes, endnotes and (numbered) references
• Appendixes and annexes
Check design or formatting specifications have been followed for:
• Font and font size for each text element (e.g. each heading level)
• Style for each text element
• Column width, line length and margins
• Space around tables, illustrations and other elements that stand apart from the text
• Weight of lines/rules
• Appearance of design features such as pull quotes and margin notes
• Use of colour
Page layout
Check for:
• Uneven page spread alignments
• Uneven column alignments
• Fewer than five characters on a line at the end of a paragraph
• ‘Rivers’ of white space
• Widows (a short last line of a paragraph carried over to the top of the next page)
• Orphans (the first line of a paragraph appearing on the bottom of a page)
• A heading on its own at the bottom of a page
• Page breaks to avoid:
- Fewer than three lines of text on a page
- Fewer than two lines following a heading at the bottom of a page
- Fewer than two items in a displayed list at the bottom of a page
- No line of text at the top of a page before a displayed list
Text
See also my copyediting post and checklist. Though that list contains many items for which it might be too late to make changes at the proofreading stage, it provides an overview of the things to look out for when checking over text.
Aside from errors missed during editing, check for:
• Passages or paragraphs of text inadvertently omitted or duplicated
• Italics, bolding, small caps, superscripts and subscripts that have dropped out during file conversion
• Character and symbol corruption (e.g. letters with diacritics in foreign language words)
• Awkward end-of-line word breaks in justified text (check against the dictionary used for editing if necessary)
• End-of-line word breaks in left-aligned text (i.e. there shouldn’t be any)
• Ladders (hyphens at the end of a line for more than three lines in a row)
• Anomalies in word spacing
• Anomalies in line spacing
• Irregularities in the use of fonts
• Text that is blurry or too light or dark
Non-text elements/artwork
For tables, figures (e.g. graphs, charts, diagrams, drawings, photos, maps), text boxes, margin notes, pull quotes, equations and other such items that stand apart from the text, check that:
• Orientation is correct (e.g. photos are the right way up)
• Size and cropping of figures are correct (e.g. important parts of a photo haven’t been cropped out)
• Location is appropriate (close to its citation on the correct page)
• Position on the page is appropriate (usually top or bottom, not sandwiched between text)
• Captions are present and in the correct location (above, below or beside the element, and closer to the element than to the text)
• Captions are correct (i.e. match what is shown in the table or figure)
• Table layout matches design or formatting specifications for rules, column widths, text and number alignment in cells, the order of notes under the table, etc.
• Tables are not split unnecessarily
• Tables that continue over two pages are (preferably) on a recto–verso spread
Internal cross-references
Check that:
• Footnote numbers and content correspond to their references in the text
• Endnote numbers and content correspond to their references in the text
• Footnotes begin on the page on which they are cited
• Cross-references have the correct section, paragraph or page number
• Citations of tables, figures and other non-text elements match up with the element they are citing
• For digital content, hyperlinks lead to the correct section or page
Prelims (front matter) and end matter
• Cross-check the table of contents against (for order and accuracy):
- Titles and headings in the text
- Prelims and end matter
• Check the order, layout and accuracy of:
- Imprint/copyright page
- Title page
- Foreword and preface
- List of contributors (cross-check against chapter title pages if names are also given there)
- Acknowledgements
- List of abbreviations and acronyms
- Lists of tables, illustrations and boxes (cross-check against their captions in the text)
- Bibliography or reference list
- Glossary
• Check the content, style and layout of the index (if the index is to be prepared from the paginated first set of proofs, it won’t be able to be checked until revised proof stage)
Covers or title page
• Triple check the front and back covers – everyone involved in the production of the document (e.g. client, author and marketer) should review the cover proof if possible. The information that needs to be checked is, for example:
- Title
- Subtitle
- Author name(s)
- Author bio
- ISBN
- Cover photo caption and credit
- Publisher logo and any other logos (e.g. funding bodies) are in the preferred format and colour
- For series: title, volume number, issue number, page range
• Check the text on the spine
• For title pages of journal articles, check, for example, catchline (issue, cover month, year, volume number), DOI, copyright line, article type, author affiliations, correspondence address, acceptance date and online publication date
• For title pages of organisation-specific documents, check, for example, document number or symbol, document type, date, and meeting name, date and participants
A final tip
Determine whether any corrections made during proofreading will result in repagination and require adjustment to page references in other locations of the document, such as the table of contents (this may not be able to be checked until revised proof stage).