How can a freelance proofreader help?
It’s always a good idea to ask someone else to read over our writing before it’s published. It is one of life’s annoying facts that our eyes will see words that aren’t there and our brain will understand something we’ve written that doesn’t quite clearly communicate what we want it to say!
What can be even more difficult (and annoying) is trying to proofread detailed marketing materials – product brochures, catalogue or magazines – that we have worked on for many weeks and are definitely too close to.
As a qualified freelance proofreader, I will have a completely fresh pair of eyes: I won’t have seen the material before, I won’t know what it should say and, therefore, I will be able to spot errors, ambiguity and inconsistency.
I am trained to proofread, and I am experienced in breaking down the different elements of a big publication so that I can accurately read and check what is written and how it has been designed/laid out.
When I proofread marketing materials and business documents, I check for spelling, grammar, punctuation, double/missing words, incorrect words, clarity, consistency, captions, contents, page numbers and design layout/formatting. If your organisation (or the client you’re working for) has a style guide, I’ll adhere to that.
How I proofread Word documents...
I make changes within the text and add comments with the track changes function turned on so that clients can see every change being suggested. Clients can then work through these changes and ‘Accept’ or ‘Reject’ using Word’s easy-to-use functionality.
Professional proofreading of brochure or website content at Word stage can help avoid time-consuming, and sometimes costly, changes once it has been incorporated into the artwork or uploaded to a website design.
How I proofread PDFs...
I use markup tools and comments to show the changes being suggested. I place simple marks within the text and accompany these with concise comments to explain the correction required. For example, a blue strikethrough of an incorrect spelling of ‘there’ will be accompanied by the comment ‘Replace with: their’. I then send this proofread PDF back to my client so that these suggested changes can be made in the original artwork file.
Please take a look at my Useful Guide to PDF Markup.
Most clients work digitally and send Word and PDF files via email or file transfer websites. I can also proofread hard-copy documents if required and am trained to use the British Standards Institution’s proof-correction marks.
It’s always a good idea to ask someone else to read over our writing before it’s published. It is one of life’s annoying facts that our eyes will see words that aren’t there and our brain will understand something we’ve written that doesn’t quite clearly communicate what we want it to say!
What can be even more difficult (and annoying) is trying to proofread detailed marketing materials – product brochures, catalogue or magazines – that we have worked on for many weeks and are definitely too close to.
As a qualified freelance proofreader, I will have a completely fresh pair of eyes: I won’t have seen the material before, I won’t know what it should say and, therefore, I will be able to spot errors, ambiguity and inconsistency.
I am trained to proofread, and I am experienced in breaking down the different elements of a big publication so that I can accurately read and check what is written and how it has been designed/laid out.
When I proofread marketing materials and business documents, I check for spelling, grammar, punctuation, double/missing words, incorrect words, clarity, consistency, captions, contents, page numbers and design layout/formatting. If your organisation (or the client you’re working for) has a style guide, I’ll adhere to that.
How I proofread Word documents...
I make changes within the text and add comments with the track changes function turned on so that clients can see every change being suggested. Clients can then work through these changes and ‘Accept’ or ‘Reject’ using Word’s easy-to-use functionality.
Professional proofreading of brochure or website content at Word stage can help avoid time-consuming, and sometimes costly, changes once it has been incorporated into the artwork or uploaded to a website design.
How I proofread PDFs...
I use markup tools and comments to show the changes being suggested. I place simple marks within the text and accompany these with concise comments to explain the correction required. For example, a blue strikethrough of an incorrect spelling of ‘there’ will be accompanied by the comment ‘Replace with: their’. I then send this proofread PDF back to my client so that these suggested changes can be made in the original artwork file.
Please take a look at my Useful Guide to PDF Markup.
Most clients work digitally and send Word and PDF files via email or file transfer websites. I can also proofread hard-copy documents if required and am trained to use the British Standards Institution’s proof-correction marks.
"We have used Jenny for the past few years to proofread our school magazines (about 160 pages each) and reports.
She is very thorough in her work and a pleasure to work with."
Hannah Smith, Marketing and Communications Manager, Norwich School
"Thank you for the detailed PDF you sent back. The comments were very clear and easy to understand and the additional document you sent over to accompany the marked-up version was really helpful.
Thank you for proofreading this so quickly too."
Lyndsey Sheedy, Marketing Agency Copywriter