Proofreading vs Editing

Have you ever been reading a book, and you spot a tiny little error? Maybe the sentence is missing an “a” or has an “it” when it should be an “if.” That’s what a proofreader must be able to spot—the little things that editors miss when focusing on bigger issues such as style, sentence structure, flow, and dialogue.

A proofreading is not something that should be done instead of editing. A manuscript that is submitted for proofreading should already have gone through a professional editor, ideally more than once. It is the final stage before formatting and publication, and it is usually best to go through more than one round of proofreading.

While each author’s skill level is unique, most manuscripts that have not been professionally edited will not be accepted for this service. 

Proofreading Team

Rates and Services

Proofreading services cover misspelled words, incorrect words, punctuation errors, grammar errors, and formatting issues.

Standard Proofreading – Starting at $0.007 per word, my Standard Proofreading service includes one pass.

Premium Proofreading – Starting at $0.013 per word, my Premium Proofreading service includes two passes by two separate people.

Nonfiction Proofreading – Rates for nonfiction projects start at $0.008 per word, unless the proofreading must be done on a PDF, in which case a rate of $35 per hour will apply.

Premium Proofreading via Pikko’s House is not considered an acceptable alternative to editing, and work will be stopped if too many errors are spotted. 

Proofreading Delivery

Should you hire us to proofread your manuscript, we will provide you with the following:

• A Microsoft Word document with Track Changes markup, checked and verified by the proofreader and by me.

I strongly recommend you turn in the complete manuscript for proofreading, including things such as copyright, dedications, introductions, notes, prologues, indexes, glossaries, appendixes, thank-yous, and acknowledgments.

Types of projects accepted for proofreading:

• Short stories
• Novellettes
• Novellas
• Novels
• Nonfiction books
• Catalogs

Please note that while we make every effort to maintain a high catch rate of 95%, more than one round of proofreading is recommended, depending on your budget.