Editor's blog

The difference between copyediting and proofreading

Thu, 17 Feb 2011 05:49:00 GMT

The terms copyediting and proofreading are often confused in the business field. While both services can certainly overlap, one is going to give you more of a comprehensive review of your message than the other. Both are professional services within their own right, and to ensure a quality outcome, both require skill, knowledge and experience as well as appropriate time and a high level of commitment.

Proofreading
The proofread will check the grammar, punctuation and spelling contained in your message, as well as ensuring general consistency throughout these aspects. However, it won't check the sense of your message. It won't check whether you're achieving your intentions via your message, method of delivery or document structure.

A proofread reviews your words at a very low level of detail, and is too intricate a service to fairly be able to concentrate and comment on the structure of your sentences, paragraphs and overall message at the same time.

That's where copyediting comes along.

Copyediting

If you want someone to review your punctuation, grammar and spelling, as well as whether or not you're actually delivering the message you're intending to deliver in a clear, concise and consistent way, then you're after a copyeditor.

A copyeditor will need a clear brief, because this can be a comprehensive role. A coypeditor needs to know exactly what your expectations are of them, because their role can include review of meaning, structure, clarity, consistency, facts, tables and references, to name just a few potential requirements.

In the publishing world, proofreading and copyediting roles are often quite distinct roles. Copyeditors who are working with business clients are more likely encompassing both of these services in one. Always consider what you're asking for, as both are independent skills, and quality can take time to deliver.

To wrap it up

If your message is gobbledy-gook, a proofread will ensure it's well-written and correctly spelt and punctuated gobbledy-gook, and a copyedit will ensure it's revised into a professionally-written, clear message.

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We're back!

Wed, 09 Feb 2011 02:51:00 GMT

Some of you may have noticed that we've been quiet at Birch Writing Solutions for a while, but we're back now, and plan to bring you fairly regular (we won't promise the moon - we've been caught out on that before) updates and information that might be of interest to you, or make you think, smile or question. Thanks to all our loyal clients who have continued to work with us over the past twelve months.

We can now service all your writing needs. We’ve expanded our range of professional editing and writing services and have grown our range of specialised editors, business writers and trainers so that we can help you more.

We have developed stringent quality procedures so that we associate with only the best, most professional national editors, and we only offer you experts who have met our expectations in terms of values, standards and provision of service excellence. We intend to bring you more and more of what you need, and access to services that are ideal for your purposes.

We welcome your enquiries and suggestions in relation to anything that you see or want to know more about. You can contact us at any time, and are never under any obligation. You, and your information and details, will be treated with privacy and respect at all times. We are here to help you and support you, and part of our plan to do that is to provide you with a realistic, proactive online service, where you can find relevant, current and useful information, links and downloads.

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When 1 + 1 = 3

Wed, 09 Feb 2011 02:29:00 GMT

Just as you can confuse by being ambiguous when you write, I was at cross-purposes while chatting with a friend at the gym last week. My friend said “Are you a word expert Lesley?” to which I replied “Yes.” My friend went on to talk about how she was experiencing many problems and verging on insanity trying to format a report she was doing at work.

I explained I could definitely help her with the content, and with the formatting to a point, but that I had a colleague who would be able to help her with her formatting issues better than I could.

My friend went on to outline some of the problems she was having and I continued to explain that I could help her with some of them, but probably wasn’t the best person for the job.

We went on a little bit like this for a while. I’d told her I was an expert so understandably she was expecting me to be able to help her solve her problems. The more she told me, the more I could picture my colleague helping her to bring her report together nicely. On hindsight I was beginning to wonder why she’d asked if I was a word expert, when it didn’t appear that she really wanted any help with her words at all. We left the conversation open, deciding to continue later in the week when we both had more time.

Not until I was cycling my way home did the penny finally drop – my friend had asked me if I was a Microsoft Word expert, not a simple, everyday, generic English language ‘word’ expert. Suddenly, the light was on and there was somebody home!
Lesley MacCulloch, Director