Proofreading is the last stage of the editing process, and its goal is to do a final check of the finished copy and ensure there are no typos, missing punctuation, grammatical errors, etc. It is essential that the copy submitted for proofreading is ready; otherwise there's a risk the work will either be wasted (if the text is subsequently edited), or insufficient (if the text has not been edited, it will not read well even after proofreading).

Note: There is no consistent terminology in the industry. Many places use the terms "copy editing" and "proofreading" interchangeably. Other places don't differentiate between "line edit" and "copy edit". I offer all three as different services.

Do

• Make sure the text is the final draft, and has been fully line and copy edited, as applicable.
• Double-check that the correct file is being submitted, and an older copy isn't accidentally getting sent.
• My standard working language variety is British English. Please indicate clearly if your project should be edited in US English.
• If the copy should be edited according to a specific style guide, please indicate that clearly.
• If the text will be specially typeset (e.g. for a magazine publication), it is appropriate to do a rough layout from the draft prior to proofreading, as long as it is able to accommodate minor changes resulting from the proofreading process.
• If the copy that was proofread was not the final form (i.e. it will be typeset, entered into a website's CMS, or converted to multiple formats like PDF and EPUB), make sure it gets checked again before you hit the "Publish" button. It doesn't need to be checked by the same editor who did the proofreading, but it needs to be checked.
• Every format you plan to publish in should be checked individually prior to publishing. Pay special attention to problems specific to the format (e.g. check the links work in an online post; check the screenshots for the correct version are included in software user manual; check the images display correctly in an EPUB, etc.).
• Try to have different people do editing and final checks. More eyes mean higher chance that simple mistakes get caught.

Don't

• Do not submit copy that is expected to have any changes done to it. A text that changes for any reason will have to be checked again.
• Do not submit text that hasn't been fully edited. Fixing typos in a draft that hasn't been edited for style and pacing won't do it much good.
• Do not expect substantial issues such as plot holes or character inconsistency to be fixed by proofreading. The editor can't focus on every aspect at once, and at this stage, they are expecting an edited copy and will be scanning for mechanical issues only.
• Do not do final typesetting prior to proofreading. Fine-tuned layout items such as manual kerning, hyphenation, orphans and widows, headline placement, column breaks, etc. will be disturbed by the changes resulting from proofreading and will have to be redone.
• Do not skip the final check prior to publishing. Even minor changes such as adjusting hyphenation might cause cascading changes that potentially result in significant issues some text being cut off the page, etc.