Proofreading or editing—how do you know which one to do? What is the difference? Most people use the two terms interchangeably, but there is technically a slight difference between the two.
Think of editing as something you do all during the writing process, while proofreading is something you do right before you turn in your project.
Everyone has their own way to work through the writing process. Let’s look at writing a novel. A typical pattern for someone might be to brainstorm for ideas. Then make an outline of the story. The next step would be to go ahead and write a first draft of the story. The best way to go about that would be to just write it without trying to make too many corrections along the way—that’s what editing is for. Sometimes if too much time is spent editing “while” you’re actually writing, you can lose focus and drive and risk your story falling flat. Once your “rough draft” is complete, now is the time to go back through and “edit.”
During the editing process, you’ll want to look for:
- Context—is your story complete?
- Is the point of view consistent?
- Who is your audience?
- Does your story flow smoothly?
- Is the plot line resolved?
- How is the imagery?
- How is the character development?
Obviously, this is not an exhaustive list, just a few things to consider while editing. There is no set number of drafts for writing a novel; you just keep polishing it until the writing is smooth, well written, and all loose ends are taken care of. However, before you send it off to the publisher, it must be proofread.
Proofreading is the final run-through before your writing is submitted. This is where you concentrate on spelling, grammar, punctuation, and syntax. You are dotting all the i’s and crossing all the t’s. This is also where you polish your formatting and make sure you are consistent throughout.
- Do you have the same font throughout the text?
- Are all of your chapter headings in the correct numerical order?
- If you are writing to submit to a publisher, be sure to get the specs they require for submission; not all of them are the same.
Some people find it helpful to have another person look at it at the end stage in order to get a fresh perspective.
All-in-all the editing process is more intensive, while proofreading catches those overlooked errors that you definitely don’t want to make it all the way to the publisher. Both processes are important and needed in order to produce a final, polished piece of writing.
Tags: Professional Editing, Professional Editor, Proofreading, Writing Process
