Copyediting vs. proofreading: two different jobs at two different times

What a copyeditor does

The Editorial Freelancers Association (EFA) calls copyediting "perhaps the most familiar kind of editing": correcting spelling, grammar, usage and punctuation, checking cross-references, and preparing the style sheets that guide consistency and accuracy across the manuscript. On a nonfiction book, a copyeditor will typically:

• Fix errors of grammar, spelling and punctuation.
• Make terms, names, numbers, capitals and hyphens consistent from page 1 to the last page.
• Check that "see chapter 6" really points to chapter 6, and that numbered lists and figures run in order.
• Format notes and citations in one consistent style.
• Flag facts, dates and figures that look wrong or contradict each other (a flag, not a full fact-check).
• Leave queries for you where a fix needs your judgment.

You get back the manuscript with tracked changes, the queries, and a style sheet. You review, answer the queries, and return it. The copyeditor then usually does a clean-up pass on your responses.

Copyediting should be the last time the text changes in a big way. The Scribe Method's chapter on copyediting makes the point bluntly: every change after formatting and layout begins can add hours of work and hundreds, if not thousands, of dollars in costs.

What a proofreader does

The EFA describes proofreading as among the last stages before publication, a check for typographical errors and formatting mistakes. In traditional publishing it is done on the publisher's proof, the file that will actually be printed, comparing it with the previous version to make sure every correction went in. On a nonfiction book, a proofreader checks:

• Typos and small errors the copyedit missed.
• Text that went missing or doubled in layout.
• The table of contents against the actual chapter titles and page numbers.
• Running heads (the chapter or book title at the top of each page) and page numbers.
• Bad word breaks at line ends, and headings stranded at the bottom of a page.
• Single short lines left alone at the top or bottom of a page.
• Captions, figure numbers and pull quotes against the text.
• Cross-references that now need real page numbers.

A proofreader marks corrections on a PDF or in a list for the designer. They do not rewrite. If a proofreader is finding sentences to improve, either the copyedit was not finished or the author kept writing after it.

The style sheet, explained

A style sheet is the record of every decision made about how your book is written. Many choices in English have more than one correct answer: "healthcare" or "health care," "chapter 3" or "Chapter 3," "10 percent" or "10%." Neither is wrong. What is wrong is using both. The copyeditor picks one (following a style manual, your preferences and the book's needs), writes it down, and applies it everywhere. The proofreader, the designer and anyone working on a later edition use the same sheet.

Here is part of an example style sheet we wrote for a fictional business book. Real ones are organized by category and then alphabetically, and run one to several pages.

Two practical points. First, ask for the style sheet as a deliverable in your contract; some editors do not send it unless asked. Second, you can start one yourself while drafting. Each time you make a choice (how to write your framework's name, what to call a client), note it. Your copyeditor will thank you, and it will save editing hours.

The Chicago Manual of Style

Style sheets sit on top of a style manual. For US books, that manual is usually The Chicago Manual of Style, published by the University of Chicago Press. Its official history describes it as "the authoritative reference work for writers, editors, proofreaders, indexers, copywriters, designers, and publishers." The same history credits its 1969 edition with cementing the manual's position as "the industry leader on style matters." The current edition is the 18th, published in 2024. Its first part covers publishing and editing, including manuscript editing and proofreading, and its later parts cover grammar, punctuation, numbers, quotations, source citations and indexes (see the table of contents).

Fittingly, the manual began as a style sheet. According to the same history, the staff of the University of Chicago Press composing room drew one up in the Press's early years (it opened in 1891) to bring a common set of rules to their work. The sheet grew into a pamphlet, and by 1906 the pamphlet had become a book.

You do not need to buy the manual to write your book. Your copyeditor will have it. But it helps to know that when a copyeditor changes something you thought was fine, they are usually applying the manual, not personal taste. Ask which rule they followed if you are curious. If you want a different choice, say so; it goes on the style sheet as an exception.

Getting the most from both

1. Use different people

   A proofreader who did not copyedit the book reads what is on the page, not what they remember being there.

2. Give the proofreader the style sheet

   Without it, they may "correct" a deliberate choice back to the default.

3. Finish writing before the copyedit

   Anything you add later has not been copyedited. If you must add, mark it so the proofreader gives it a closer read.

4. Proofread every format

   Print and ebook files are laid out separately. Check both, and check the ebook on an actual device.

5. Read the proof yourself too

   You know the names, numbers and stories better than anyone. Read slowly, ideally on paper.

If you are budgeting for both, our guide to what a book editor costs works through the arithmetic for a 50,000-word manuscript.