Editing Proofreading

{{Short description|Detection of errors in transcribed text}}
{{About|the detection and correction of transcription errors in typeset work|proofreading in DNA replication|Proofreading (biology)|identification of errors in grammar or spelling|Copy editing|the song|Proofread (song)}}{{More citations needed|date=February 2009}}

'''Proofreading''' is a phase in the process of [[publishing]] where [[galley proof]]s are compared against the original [[manuscript]]s or [[graphic arts|graphic artworks]], to identify [[wikt:transcribe|transcription]] errors in the [[typesetting]] process.<ref>{{cite EB1911|wstitle=Proof-Reading}}</ref><ref name="Levy-al. (1984)">{{cite journal|vauthors=Levy B, Begin J |title=Proofreading familiar text: allocating resources to perceptual and conceptual processes |journal=Memory & Cognition |pages=621–632 |date=1984 |volume=12 |issue=6 |doi=10.3758/BF03213351|doi-access=free |pmid=6533431 }}</ref> In the past, proofreaders would place corrections or proofreading marks along the margins.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Proofreading Marks and What They Mean|url=https://www.editorworld.com/article/302/proofreading-marks-and-what-they-mean|access-date=2023-03-09|website=Editor World|language=en-US|archive-date=2023-03-09|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230309133451/https://www.editorworld.com/article/302/proofreading-marks-and-what-they-mean|url-status=live}}</ref> In modern publishing, material is generally provided in electronic form, traditional typesetting is no longer used and thus (in general) this kind of transcription no longer occurs.{{efn|An equivalent function continues in specialist scientific, technical and mathematical publications, where complex notations or diagrams are transcribed from manuscripts to electronic document form using specialist software.}} 

==Professional==
===Traditional method===
[[File:Historical sketch of Posey County, Indiana - DPLA - 195d919570db0bda5f26f016757a9014 (page 14).jpg|thumb|A galley proof]]
A "galley proof" (familiarly, "a proof") is a [[Typesetting|typeset]] version of [[Copy (publishing)|copy]] or a [[Manuscript (publishing)|manuscript]] [[document]]. It may contain [[typographical error]]s ("printer's errors"), as a result of human error during typesetting. Traditionally, a proofreader looks at a portion of text on the copy, compares it to the corresponding typeset portion, and then marks any errors (sometimes called "line edits") using [[List of proofreader's marks|standard proofreaders' marks]].<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.merriam-webster.com/mw/table/proofrea.htm |title=Proofreaders' Marks |access-date=2009-06-16 |archive-date=2010-08-16 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100816210104/http://www.merriam-webster.com/mw/table/proofrea.htm |url-status=dead }} from [[Merriam Webster]]</ref>

Unlike [[copy editing]], the defining procedure of a proofreading service is to work directly with two sets of information at the same time. Proofs are then returned to the typesetter for correction. Correction-cycle proofs will typically have one descriptive term, such as "bounce", "bump", or "revise" unique to the department or organization and used for clarity to the strict exclusion of any other.{{cn|date=April 2025}}

===Alternative methods===
"Copy holding" or "copy reading" employs two readers per proof. The first reads the text aloud literally as it appears, usually at a comparatively fast but uniform rate. The second reader follows along and marks any pertinent differences between what is read and what was typeset. This method is appropriate for large quantities of [[boilerplate text]] where it is assumed that there will be comparatively few mistakes.

Experienced copy holders employ various [[code]]s and verbal shortcuts that accompany their reading. The spoken word "digits", for example, means that the numbers about to be read are not words spelled out; and "in a hole" can mean that the upcoming segment of text is within [[parentheses]]. "Bang" means an [[exclamation point]]. A "thump" or "screamer" made with a finger on the table represents the [[List of typographic features|initial cap]], [[comma]], [[Full stop|period]], or similar obvious attribute being read simultaneously. Thus the line of text "''(He said the address was 1234 Central Blvd., and to hurry!)''" would be read aloud as "''in a hole'' [thump] ''he said the address was digits 1 2 3 4'' [thump] ''central'' [thump] ''buluhvuhd'' [thump] ''comma and to hurry bang''". Mutual understanding is the only guiding principle, so codes evolve as opportunity permits. In the above example, two thumps after ''buluhvuhd'' might be acceptable to proofreaders familiar with the text.

"Double reading" is when a single proofreader checks a proof in the traditional manner and then another reader repeats the process. Both initial the proof. With both copy holding and double reading, responsibility for a given proof is necessarily shared by the two proofreaders.

"Scanning" is used to check a proof without reading it word for word, has become common with computerization of typesetting and the popularization of [[Word processor|word processing]]. Many publishers have their own proprietary typesetting systems,<ref>See 1983 {{cite web |title=Company timeline |url=http://www.bowne.com/about/timeline.asp |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100429014855/http://www.bowne.com/about/timeline.asp |archive-date=April 29, 2010 }}</ref> while their customers use more common commercial programs. Before the original data can be published, it must be converted into a format used by the publisher. The end product is usually called a ''conversion''. If a customer has already proofread the contents of a file before submitting it to a publisher, there will be no reason for another proofreader to re-read it from the copy (although this additional service may be requested and paid for). Instead, the publisher is held responsible only for formatting errors, such as typeface, page width, and alignment of [[Column (typography)|columns]] in [[Table (database)|tables]]; and production errors such as text inadvertently deleted. To simplify matters further, a given conversion will usually be assigned a specific [[Template (file format)|template]].

===Checklists===
Proofreaders are expected to be consistently accurate by default because they occupy the last stage of typographic production before [[publication]].

Checklists are common in proof-rooms where there is sufficient uniformity of product to distil some or all of its components into a list. They may also act as a training tool for new hires. Checklists are never comprehensive, however: proofreaders still have to find all mistakes that are ''not'' mentioned or described, thus limiting their usefulness.

==Proofreading and copy-editing==
[[File:Example of copyedited manuscript.jpg|thumb|Example of non-professional copy editing in progress.]]
The term "proofreading" is sometimes incorrectly used to refer to [[copy editing]], and vice versa. Although there is necessarily some overlap, proofreaders typically lack any real editorial or managerial authority, but they may mark queries for typesetters, editors, or authors. To set expectations before hiring proofreaders, some employers post a notice that the job advertised is not a writing or editing position and will not become one. Creativity and critical thinking by their very nature conflict with the strict copy-following discipline that [[Commerce|commercial]] and [[United States Government Printing Office|government]]al proofreading requires. Thus, proofreading and editing are fundamentally separate responsibilities. In contrast to proofreaders, copy editors focus on a sentence-by-sentence analysis of the text to "clean it up" by improving grammar, spelling, punctuation, syntax, and structure. The copy editor is usually the last editor an author will work with. Copy editing focuses intensely on style, content, punctuation, [[grammar]], and consistency of usage.<ref>{{cite web| url=http://www.proofreadingcamp.com/types-editing-proofreading/| title=Copy That: The Categories and Classes of Editing| author=ProofreadingCamp.com| access-date=August 25, 2014| archive-date=August 26, 2014| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140826114213/http://www.proofreadingcamp.com/types-editing-proofreading/| url-status=dead}}</ref>

Copy editing and proofreading are parts of the same process; each is necessary at a different stage of the writing process. Copy editing is required during the drafting stage. The copy editors polish the text for precision and conciseness. They attempt to understand the purpose of the writing and the intended audience; therefore, they ask questions such as where the document will be published and who will read it, and they edit accordingly. Proofreading, rather, is required during the last stage of the editing process. Its scope is limited, as the proofreaders focus only on reading the text to ensure the document is error-free and ready for publication.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Editing vs. Proofreading: What's The Difference|url=https://www.enago.com/author-hub/editing-vs-proofreading|access-date=2021-09-10|website=Enago|language=en-US|archive-date=2021-09-10|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210910125304/https://www.enago.com/author-hub/editing-vs-proofreading|url-status=live}}</ref> Proofreading generally focuses on correcting any final typos, spelling errors, stylistic inconsistencies (e.g., whether words or numerals are used for numbers), and punctuation errors.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Guide to Proofreading|url=https://www.editorworld.com/article/347/guide-to-proofreading|access-date=2023-02-28|website=Editor World|language=en-US|archive-date=2023-02-28|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230228205318/https://www.editorworld.com/article/347/guide-to-proofreading|url-status=live}}</ref>

==In fiction==
Examples of proofreaders in fiction include: 
* ''[[The History of the Siege of Lisbon]]'' (''Historia do Cerco de Lisboa''), a 1989 novel by Nobel laureate [[Jose Saramago]]
* the short story "Proofs" in [[George Steiner]]'s ''Proofs and Three Parables'' (1992)
* the short story "Evermore" in ''Cross Channel'' (1996) by [[Julian Barnes]], in which the protagonist Miss Moss is a proofreader for a dictionary. 
* Under the headline "Orthographical" in [[James Joyce]]'s 1922 novel ''[[Ulysses (novel)|Ulysses]]'', the protagonist [[Leopold Bloom]], watching the typesetter foreman Mr. Nannetti read over a "limp galleypage", thinks "Proof fever".<ref>{{cite book |title=Ulysses |pages=116{{ndash}}117 |chapter=Chapter 7 |url=https://www.gutenberg.org/files/4300/4300-h/4300-h.htm#chap07 |date=1922 |publisher=Egoist Press, John Rodker |location=London, Paris |last1=Joyce |first1=James |via=[[Project Gutenberg]] |access-date=2021-09-10 |archive-date=2021-01-20 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210120140801/https://www.gutenberg.org/files/4300/4300-h/4300-h.htm#chap07 |url-status=live }} ([https://archive.org/details/ulysses00joyc_1/page/116/mode/2up Facsimile copy at Archive.org])</ref> 
* [[Isaac Asimov]]'s short story "[[Galley Slave]]" features a robot proofreader.

==See also==
*{{Annotated link |Camera-ready}}
*{{Annotated link |Distributed Proofreaders}}
*{{Annotated link |Etaoin shrdlu}}
*{{Annotated link |Galley proof}}
*{{Annotated link |ISO 5776}}
*{{Annotated link |List of proofreader's marks}}
*{{Annotated link |Obelism}}
*{{Annotated link |Press check (printing)}}
*{{Annotated link |Style guide}}
<!-- Style guides are used by copy-editors, not proof-readers. Please do not expand. -->
*{{Annotated link |Typographical syntax}}
*{{Annotated link |Writing circle}}

==Notes==
{{notelist}}

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
{{Wiktionary}}
{{Commons category|Proofreading}}
{{EB1911 poster|Proof-Reading}}
 
*[https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/27583 ''The Importance of the Proof-reader''] by John Wilson (1901)
*[http://www.pgdp.net Project Gutenberg Distributed Proofreaders]
<!-- DEAD LINK 5 Jan 2023, not in any archive. Delete if still dead after a month: *[https://pioneerpapers.co.uk/importance-of-proofreading-services-for-documents/ Importance of Proofreading] -->

{{Book publishing process}}

{{Authority control}}

[[Category:Proofreading| ]]