Proofreaders: Job Description

The job of a proofreader is to ensure that all changes that need to be made are made, that anything that the author, editor or publishing company has requested be done has been carried out appropriately and that the manuscript has been completely corrected and adheres to everything that they are expecting.



As I stated earlier you will find that a proofreader can work in a wide range of differing materials. You will find proofreaders in the field of academics spanning across to the media fields and much more. These individuals will find that traditionally many proofreaders would solely be given paper, hard copies of the manuscript that is being edited but with the world of proofreading also changing you will find that soft copies that are sent online through computers are becoming quite popular. Therefore, for individuals interested in the world of proofreading, you should know how to operate a computer properly and use editing programs on their as well.

There are certain styles of proofreading that are expected from a proofreader before they begin working at a particular job. Just like any job, you will find that every job, employer and company is different. In the proofreading world every publisher has a different style that they expect out of their proofreaders. Therefore, it would be smart of you to familiarize yourself with the particular writing style expected before you start the job. For instance some companies may give you a short style guide, essentially just saying to make sure that the font type is a certain size, bold certain words or phrases, italicize this and that is it. Some people will have style guides that are pages long, with tons of rules and for placement, font, editing, centering, alignment and much more. Figuring out a certain style can become quite exhaustive for a proofreader to get down or understand, hence, being well aware of a companies style guide is important.

Proofreaders Job Description