Problems Arise When "Someone" Edits Your Work

This post is part of our Self-Publishing Series, designed to provide important information for writers considering the editorial responsibilities, benefits and costs associated with publishing their own work. For details on available editing services or to learn more about getting your writing into print, contact PJC Editing for a free editorial consultation.

ALSO IN THE SELF-PUBLISHING SERIES

What is Proofreading? An Overview of Editing's Final Stage

Creative Versus Critical Eyes: Why It's So Hard to Edit Your Own Writing

The Difference Between Writing and Self-Publishing a Book

Proofreading is More Than Spotting Spelling Errors and Tossing Typos

Problems Arise When "Someone" Edits Your Work

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Earlier this year we received an email from a soon-to-be self-published author eager to have a proofreader give her book a final review before sending it off to print. Checking and rechecking her work dozens of times, she said, turned up glaring mistakes she had already missed in the previous reads. After all the work she put in, the last thing she wanted was to overlook clear typos and grammatical errors. It would be wise to bring in a professional to handle the edits, she determined.

We discussed the proofreading process, and as a courtesy I pointed out a few mistakes that leaped off the page. ("Oh my God, I never noticed that in all my reads," she said of mistyping "hard to hear" as "hard to near." We covered cost, timeline and other particulars. She said she would think about it and get back to me.

A week later she told me by email that her cousin, an English teacher, would handle the proofread. She appreciated our discussion, but a professional edit was simply not in her budget.

Another week passed before another note arrived in my inbox. "I'd like to know if the quote you sent to me is still valid," she wrote.

[Pictured: A business invitation before it made its way to PJC for a professional edit.]

As it turns out, the writer's well-meaning and well-educated cousin was not equipped to stand in for an experienced proofreader. "He told me I should change the title and rename one of the characters," she said. "All I got out of it was some improved punctuation and an argument about serial commas. When it was over I was still catching mistakes."

There is a great deal of space between self-editing your work and hiring a professional, and it might seem like having "someone" do the work — a friend, family member, a friend's coworker's aunt who reads two books a week, and so on — is a reasonable way to bridge that gap.

It is not.

Proofreaders and copy editors read content with a critical eye. They are trained to look for certain grammar, spelling and style errors. Their experience enables them to find mistakes with a heightened level of skill and consistency.

"Someone" does not review with a critical eye. Often they are hesitant to point out errors and inconsistencies because they think it will offend the writer. Or they interject on aspects of the work that are outside the realm of the proofreader/copy editor (like recommending title or character changes).

Proofreaders are also trained to get way down into the details — checking URLs and phone numbers, making sure the table of contents matches the page numbering, ensuring names and proper nouns are spelled and listed the same way throughout the text. "Someone" is not doing that...ever.

For instance, when editing for businesses, we find most errors hidden in About Us web pages and deep within contact info. We've seen URLs spelled three different ways on one business website. That means broken links and misdirected emails.

So, understand that taking a step from self-editing (not recommended) to having "someone" check your work as a favor is not really a step at all. Professional editing is a crucial investment that we advise all writers to make.