Copy edit, proofread or reader’s report?

Filed under Improve your book.

BubbleCow will edit your book

I was recently talking to a friend, trying to explain what BubbleCow actually does. I told him that we helped writers to get published by offering advice and editorial support. Being an inquisitive kind of guy he wanted to know what ‘editorial support’ meant. I explained that we edited books. The penny finally dropped and he replied, ‘what, like proofreading?’

This got me thinking. Do writers really know the difference between copy editing, proofreading and a reader’s report?

Copy editing

Copy editing is the process that all books go through before they go to print and it is the core of BubbleCow’s business. In essence it involves an editor, who will almost certainly be a writer in their own right, going through the text providing the writer with detailed feedback. This is not a grammar check but instead a full structural edit.

The editor will be looking for (amongst other things):

  • Plot holes and inconsistencies,
  • Major and minor structural problems,
  • Pacing issues,
  • An inconsistent voice,
  • Strong themes,
  • Character development,
  • And much more…

BubbleCow book editAs I said, this is the core of BubbleCow’s business and we pride ourselves on giving feedback of unrivalled detail. We work mostly in Word documents editing the text directly onto the manuscript. We use the review function of the word processing package. This allows us the ability to provide line-by-line assessment. You can find out more about BubbleCow editing your book here.

Proofreading

What BubbleCow doesn’t provide is proofreading. This is the process of checking a text for grammar and spelling mistakes. It is a specialised service provided by highly skilled individuals. BubbleCow will gladly put you in touch with a suitably qualified proofreader, you only need to email and ask. Just be aware that as in all professions there are good and bad proofreaders. Also be aware that even the most prestigious publishers know that no proofreader is 100% accurate and mistakes in a published text are inevitable.

Reader’s report

In recent years there has been a growing trend for literary consultancies to offer a reader’s report. After all it makes sense, they are quicker to produce than a good copy edit and require far less work on the part of the editor. They involve the editor reading over your manuscript and providing a generalised summary of your work. Though BubbleCow do not provide reader’s reports (we have instead chosen to focus on more useful copy edits) they do have a place in the industry and can be useful for writers looking for low level feedback. However, please be aware that a reader’s report is not a detailed copy edit. So when you are looking to employ an editor. Please ensure that you are paying for what you need to make your book better.

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  • http://howpublishingreallyworks.blogspot.com Jane Smith

    With all due respect, my dear Bubble, I don’t agree with your labels here (although we are in agreement on what needs to be done to get books publishable).

    What you refer to as a copy-edit I’d call a line edit, a structural edit, or just an edit. Once all the structural work is done (all those plot-holes are filled in, characterisation is strengthened, and pacing, voice, and so on), then the text is given a copy-edit to try to eradicate any typos, homophone substitutions, punctuation problems or spelling issues.

    Proof-reading can only happen once a book is in proof form–if you’re reading a manuscript looking for minor errors, you’re copy-editing. With any luck you won’t find much to correct at proof stage but sadly, you often do.

    As for a reader’s report: yes. Absolutely. Very valuable in giving a broad idea of what’s wrong, but they shouldn’t be confused with full editorial comments.

  • http://www.maryhoffman.co.uk Mary Hoffman

    I agree absolutely with Jane. But is this a US/UK distinction? I recently found that Americans use “blurb” to mean what I would call a “puff” – a couple of lines of endorsement from another writer or expert in the field, whereas to me a blurb is just jacket or jacket flap copy.

    Mary Hoffman
    The Book Maven
    http://bookmavenmary.blogspot.com

  • http://howpublishingreallyworks.blogspot.com Jane Smith

    Gary wrote, “there is a clear difference between editing and proofreading”.

    I agree with you on that one, Gary: there is a clear difference between the two. But my point is that what you call copy-editing isn’t what I call copy-editing: I call that major overhauling of the text editing. The error-checking that goes after it, while the book is still in manuscript form, is what I call copy-editing. And by definition, proof-reading can’t take place until the book is in proof-form, that is, it’s gone through the whole layout process and you have page proofs, rather than a print-out that you’ve printed direct from your word processing software.

    I do wonder if we’re falling foul of transatlantic differences here, as Mary says: in the UK, back cover copy is usually referred to as the blurb, while in America blurb is used to describe those endorsements which other writers give the book.

    We need a dictionary, I think, to translate things for ourselves.

  • Gary Smailes

    Jane: The fact that we are debating this issues highlights the big problems with getting published – there is no one answer! A big gap exists between writers perceptions of what is needed (and the right way to do things) and the reality of the industry. The fact that we both agree that clarity needs to be brought to the concept of editing and proofreading is a prime example. I hope that readers will go through these comments and take note that ANY advice they receive must be taken with a big pinch of salt.

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  • Gary Smailes

    Jane, Sorry to not agree but I find that there is a clear difference between editing and proofreading. I suspect that the confusion may arise from the fact that with most books the proofread tends to happen last to make sure as many errors as possible are caught.