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The Proofreading Course: what's in it?

You won’t find any flab on this book; it’s been pared down to the bone. Just the essentials. It’s a lean, mean teaching machine.

Everything in this book, everything, will help you realistically and confidently pursue genuine professional proofreading opportunities.

I haven’t padded it out with countless proofreading exercises. If you want to practice your proofreading, this book will point you to a plentiful supply of exercises that not only won’t cost you a penny but will also give your Curriculum Vitae a significant credibility injection.

As for grammar, punctuation and spelling, I’ll direct you to a number of comprehensive resources, all of which, once again, won’t cost you a penny.

So, that’s a quick précis of what isn’t in it. But what is in it?

Here’s the Contents page.

Introduction: Welcome to the No-Nonsense Proofreading Course.

Chapter 1. The Not-So-Dark Art of Proofreading.
There are always those in any profession who will claim that their particular field is accessible only to those with specific and innate talents. But this is rarely true. Almost anything can be learned. Don’t get me wrong, there are those people who are innately gifted and, often, you’ll find them at or near the pinnacle of their chosen field of endeavour. But this doesn’t mean one needs to be innately gifted in order to become competent or even very effective in said field. In this chapter, I demystify the ‘dark art’ of proofreading.

Chapter 2. What a Proofreader Does. And Doesn't.
A proofreader’s role is to check documents, identify errors and supply clear correctional instructions with regard to these errors. That’s it, in a nutshell. However, in my experience, there’s a lot more to it. There’s the logistics of proofreading, the administration, the mindset. In this chapter, I not only cover these areas, I also explore where the professional proofreader should draw the line. And it’s a very fine line between conscientious proofreader and opinionated pain in the backside.

Chapter 3. Proofreader’s Marks and How to Use Them. And When Not to Bother.
At first glance, proofreaders’ marks can be a little intimidating. More than anything else it is these little hieroglyphic squiggles that make your average proofreader seem like the keeper of some dark and arcane knowledge.

Thankfully, they’re a lot easier to understand than first impressions would indicate. And once used, they’re never forgotten.

For this book, I’ve used the British Standards Institute proofreading marks as my central point of reference.

Chapter 4. A Proofreader’s Vocabulary. 30 Useful Terms.
As with the proofreaders’ marks, the proofreaders’ vocabulary can be a little off-putting. But this is no different from any other profession; take a little time to familiarise yourself with the lingo and you’ll soon be wondering what all the fuss was about.

In this chapter, I present you with 30 expressions commonly used by proofreaders and those in publishing-related industries

Chapter 5. Proofreading Methodology and Techniques.
The first half of this chapter consists of my own personal proofreading methodology, the stages I go through when checking a document, developed over the last 20 years.

The second half of this chapter consists of tried and tested proofreading techniques, the kind of things all proofreaders tend to use, and some simple but effective tricks used by myself and some of the proofreaders with whom I’ve had the good fortune to have worked with and learned from.

Chapter 6. The Second Read. And the Third. And The Fourth...
Once you’ve proofread a document, that isn’t the end of it. Someone (a typesetter, Mac operator, graphic designer) will take your marked-up proof and carry out your instructions. They will then return to you a ‘clean’ proof and your original marked-up proof. Now, by ‘clean’, I mean that this individual believes they have executed every correction you have called for. However, it’s rarely as simple as that, and this is where many novice proofreaders come unstuck.

Proofreading a document from scratch is, in some ways, easier than carrying out a second proof read. With an initial read, you’re generally looking at an unmarked, uncluttered document or, if you’re checking against an original manuscript, two unmarked, uncluttered documents. With subsequent reads, you’re checking against your original marked-up proof, and this can be very cluttered indeed. It’s quite easy for a typesetter or Mac operator to overlook one or more of your instructions; and it’s distressingly easy for you to overlook that overlooked instruction. This chapter will help you avoid the pitfalls of ‘subsequent reads’.

Chapter 7. The Digital Proofreader.
If you’re looking to take advantage of the many online ‘remote-working’ opportunities available to proofreaders, you’re going to have to present yourself as a fully-functioning digital proofreader.

It’s very unlikely, if you’re working in London and your client’s base of operations is in Chicago, Melbourne or Copenhagen that you’re going to be sending proofs back and forth through the post or via FedEx. Depressingly few people I’ve worked with have something as archaic as a fax machine anymore. If your client does have such a device and it hasn’t been rendered inoperable by a thick accretion of dust, and you also have access to such a thing yourself, then count your blessings and make the most of it. For the rest of you, this chapter is essential.”

Chapter 8. From Effective Proofreader to Indispensable Proofreader (It’s Really Not That Far).
To begin with, you’ll just want to focus on being an effective proofreader. Pick up the errors in syntax, grammar and spelling. Query any oddities, ensure consistency, keep things tight. Believe me, for any employer or manager that’s going to be more than enough; you’ll be well thought of and, economic catastrophes aside, you’ll be pretty much guaranteed continued employment or a steady flow of freelance work.

At some point, however, you’ll feel confident enough and authoritative enough to offer a little more. Precisely when this will happen varies from proofreader to proofreader. I’m afraid it’s one of those things where you’ll ‘just know’ you’re ready to make the shift from effective proofreader to indispensable proofreader.

An indispensable proofreader doesn’t just think about syntax, grammar and spelling. They think about the purpose of the document they are proofreading. This chapter will hold your hand whilst you make this small (but dramatic) leap.

Chapter 9. How to Set Up and Promote Your Proofreading Business for Next to Nothing, Right Now.
It’s all well and good being capable of being a proofreader, but how do you actually become a proofreader? Well, it’s like anything: you become something by doing something. You become a proofreader by proofreading.

In this chapter, I have laid out a five-part plan to create your own proofreading business, both online and offline. Follow the stages laid out here and you’ll soon be a proofreader who actually proofreads. What’s more, you’ll be a proofreader who gets paid to proofread.

If you’re not particularly interested in being a freelance proofreader and want instead to secure full-time, permanent employment, I’d still advise you to follow the freelance route to begin with. First of all, it will allow you to build up the necessary portfolio of work and testimonials in order to impress a prospective employer but, more significantly, many employers like to bring in proofreaders on a freelance basis initially so they can evaluate them. When I was at Shop Direct, almost all the permanent, full-time proofreaders started out as freelancers brought in to assist with seasonal peaks in production.

Chapter 10. What to do when it All Goes Horribly Wrong.
It happens to the best of us. We miss things. Nobody’s perfect. But what do you do if you allow a mistake to slip though your fingers?

It’s what you absolutely must do prior to a potential error occurring that’s important. You must ensure ‘due diligence’. This means you must be able to demonstrate that you have done everything reasonable to prevent an error from occurring.

In this chapter, I show you how to create a robust audit trail that will serve as your defence in the event of a catastrophe, and the steps you must take to ensure you are legally protected from any fallout.

We live in a cynical, litigious world, so this chapter is vitally important.

Chapter 11. The Proofreader's Toolkit.
An inventory of everything a modern proofreader needs to do their job and a whole host of supporting material for The No-Nonsense Proofreading Course.

Plus! 20 FREE Proofreading Exercises.
Once you've bought the eBook you will be taken automatically to a download page, where you'll find 20 proofreading exercises collected into a single PDF. These challenging and realistic proofreading exercises will enable you to practice your skills and monitor your development.

And that’s it. No padding. No hot air. No nonsense.

To find out more about the author of The No-Nonsense Proofreading Course, Mike Sellars, click here.

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Thank you, and good luck with all your proofreading endeavours.

The No-Nonsense Proofreading Course comes with a 30-day 100% money-back guarantee.

If, for whatever reason, you are not completely satisfied with the No-Nonsense Proofreading Course, or you feel the proof reader's life just isn't for you, simply let me know by email within 30 days of purchase, and I'll arrange a 100% refund via PayPal. No quibbles. No questions. No hard feelings.

For a limited time: order NOW and receive SIX classic eBooks ABSOLUTELY FREE!

Over 670 pages exploring the finer points of English grammar, punctuation and the role of the proofreader.

An English Grammar by W.M. Baskervill and J.W. Sewell

This timeless 1895 text covers everything you need to know about English grammar, from the parts of speech, through sentence analysis to syntax. Packed with invaluable information as well as heaps of challenging exercises to help you hone your skills, this is an essential volume for any budding proofreader.

The importance of the proofreader, free download

The Importance of the Proof-Reader by John Wilson

A paper read by John Wilson before the Club of Odd Volumes in Boston. Originally published by the Cambridge University Press. Here’s a little sample, “Many intelligent persons regard the duty of a proof-reader as consisting in simply following his copy and in securing the proper spelling of words. If this, however, were the sum of his accomplishments, many an author would come to grief.”

Stops. Or How to Punctuate, a Practical Guide for Writers and Students by Paul Allardyce

Originally published in 1895, this handy guide details the uses (and abuses) of every punctuation mark: the full stop, comma, colon, semicolon, question mark, exclamation mark, parenthesis, inverted commas, apostrophe, ellipsis, dash and hyphen (and, yes, there is a difference between a dash and a hyphen).

Write It Right by Ambrose Bierce

This is a compendium of literary and linguistic pet peeves by Ambrose Bierce, the prolific satirist and journalist, author of the much-loved Devil’s Dictionary. Interestingly, some of his targets have now crept into popular usage, while others are still hotly debated. Bierce’s withering tones are irresistible.

American and British English: Key Differences in Grammar and Spelling

As a proofreader, you’ll doubtless be hunting for work online. This is almost certain to result in offers from the other side of the Atlantic. So, it helps to know your ‘tap’ from your ‘faucet’, your ‘nappy’ from your ‘diaper’ and your ‘boot’ from your ‘trunk’. And that’s just the tip of the iceberg. This eBook explores everything from verb morphology and use of tenses to vocabulary and idioms. Essential.

A Spelling Book for Advanced Classes by William T. Adams

Although we live in the age of the spell checker, there really is no substitute for the human brain. These 163 spelling tests will challenge and develop even the most enthusiastic Scrabble or Boggle fanatic, with words like ‘succedaneum’, ‘hornblende’, ‘mucilaginous’ and ‘auscultation’. Fun and educational.

* Figure based on suggested minimum freelance proofreading rate of £20.25 from the Society for Editors and Proofreaders in April 2011. To view figure in other currencies, click here.