Copyediting and Proofreading: What’s the Difference?
Have you heard the words “copyediting” and “proofreading” before but don’t really know what they mean? Maybe your organization is hiring for these roles or a coworker suggested your documents need these tasks performed. Whatever the reason, you want to understand the differences in these two distinct and separate steps in the writing process that are necessary for producing high‑quality content.
Copyediting is a substantive, thorough review (“edit”) of the author’s text (“copy”). Copyeditors use a specific style guide, such as The Chicago Manual of Style or the Government Publishing Office, and a style sheet, which is a detailed document that ensures the text’s consistency. Style sheets are custom to the organization or project and provide editors with proper industry terms, acronyms, and spelling choices. The editor will examine the text for overall issues with readability, semantics, organization, and presentation, and focus on more specific errors with spelling, grammar, spacing, and punctuation. The editor may also leave comments and questions for the author seeking clarity. They will always try to retain the author’s style, or “voice,” while keeping in mind these concerns.
Copyediting requires a deep understanding of language rules and editorial guidelines to ensure the document is well‑written, error‑free, and in tune with the audience. Editors must also be adept at communicating with authors, clarifying meaning, and, in some cases, suggesting rewrites when things get muddy.
Proofreading, on the other hand, is meant to take place as close to final publication as possible. A “proof” is a copy of the document that shows exactly what it will look like when it is published. When text is formatted for a proof, new errors can be introduced; proofreading is the last chance to catch these errors, as well as any that may have been missed during copyediting.
Proofreading requires patience and a keen eye for detail. Proofreaders must be meticulous and focused because they often work with texts that are already in their final stages and require only minor corrections. One of the big differences between copyediting and proofreading is that a proofreader must know when to hold back on unnecessary edits and when to call attention to problems.
Although this is a basic overview of copyediting and proofreading, keep in mind that organizations may have their own process depending on certain factors, such as the type of documents they publish or the organization’s size.
These two roles play different parts in the publishing process and have their own specific purpose and scope. When put together, the result is a document that is error‑free, formatted correctly, and engaging.
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