What is the difference between editing and proofreading?

You’ve written some content. You know it needs some work, but is it editing or proofreading you need?

The problem is, it depends who you ask.

I learned early in my career that the words ‘editing’ and ‘proofreading’ mean different things to different people.

Inside the publishing industry

In the traditional publishing world, there’s a fairly clear-cut distinction between proofreading and other types of editing.

In fact, there are different levels of editing depending on what stage the publication is at. In the publishing industry, people generally know what to expect at each stage.

Editing (before design)

First comes what some people call either structural editing or developmental editing. These types of editing look at the bigger picture, making sure the manuscript does what it sets out to do in a logical and effective way.

After that there’s line editing, which is an in-depth look at word choice, phrasing and sentence structure.

Copyediting is the last stage of editing before the text goes to design. Tasks include:

• looking for errors in grammar, punctuation and spelling
• achieving consistency in editorial style
• addressing potential issues with word choice and sentence structure, or anything else that might be confusing for the reader
• checking any illustrations
• making sure the document is ready for the designer, with clear tags or Word styles in place.

Proofreading (after design)

Proofreading is a final quality check before a publication goes to print.

A proofreader works on text that has already been laid out by a designer – this is called a ‘proof’. Traditionally, proofreaders worked on paper, using a pen to mark the changes needed. Nowadays, they tend to work on screen, marking up their changes on a PDF.

The aim is to pick up errors that might have been missed at earlier stages or introduced during design. Proofreaders will also check all the various design elements and make sure everything is correct and where it should be.

It isn’t a proofreader’s job to make significant changes, unless something really isn’t right. A proofreader knows when to leave something alone if it’s good enough.

Outside the publishing industry

In the rest of the world, there’s no clear consensus on the difference between editing and proofreading.

People often use the word ‘proofread’ when what they’re really asking for is editing of some kind.

I’ve also noticed people using the words interchangeably or even together: ‘Can you edit and proofread this document?’

The freelance marketplace Upwork distinguishes them like this:

Editing is making changes and suggestions to improve the quality, flow and clarity of writing.

Proofreading then corrects grammar, spelling, and punctuation.

In my experience, this is how most non-publishing people see the distinction. Proofreading is about picking up errors. Editing is about improving the writing.

But I’ve seen lots of variation. I’ve had people ask me to ‘proofread’ a document when what they really wanted was a detailed edit, verging on a complete rewrite.

Whether proofreading is seen as a pre- or post-design task varies from job to job.

There’s also a lot of variation in what people mean when they talk about ‘editing’. The distinction between line editing and copyediting isn’t widely recognised outside the publishing world. And people might ask for an ‘editor’ when looking for anything from a complete rewrite to something more akin to copyediting.

Why this confusion exists

There are a few likely reasons.

• Lack of publishing expertise. Many companies that need to publish things (leaflets, adverts, brochures, white papers and so on) don’t have in-house publishing experts. They know they need help producing a high-quality product, but they don’t necessarily know what to ask for.
• Non-standard workflow. Inside the publishing world, there are clearly delineated steps to follow to complete a publishing project. In the rest of the world, these steps can very massively. Sometimes, there’s no clear process at all. I’ve worked in places where the only editing that happens is tapping a colleague on the shoulder and asking them for ‘a second pair of eyes’.
• The blurred distinction between pre- and post-design. People might be typing blog posts directly into WordPress or another content management system. Or they might be uploading Word documents to a publishing platform such as Kindle Direct Publishing. In these scenarios, it doesn’t make sense to distinguish between things that happen before and after design, because there’s no design stage as such.

The names don’t matter, but the work does

So we’ve seen that ‘proofreading’ and ‘editing’ mean different things to different people.

What should we do about this confusion?

I used to try to insist on using the ‘right’ term for each stage of the process. But I’ve realised that this isn’t particularly helpful. What matters is getting a clear sense of what people need from me. If I can help by suggesting things they may not have thought of, that’s great too.

So nowadays, whenever anyone asks me to do some ‘proofreading’ or ‘editing’, my first step is to ask some questions.

The main thing I need to know is what level of intervention they want from me. For example:

• just correct spelling, grammar and punctuation, and nothing else
• achieve a consistent editorial style as well
• propose improvements to make the text easier to read
• provide feedback about the structure and content of the piece.

It’s also helpful to know:

• how the document is being published eventually
• what editing work has already been done on it
• what editing or proofreading work will happen after I’ve finished
• how it’s being designed (by a professional designer in InDesign, in Word using a pre-designed template, etc.).

Knowing all these things helps me price a job correctly. But it also helps avoid any surprises down the line. And I can say something early on if I’m being asked to do a task I’m not qualified for.

In summary

The actual definitions of ‘editing’ and ‘proofreading’ vary hugely depending on who you talk to. They vary so much that, in many non-publishing contexts, the terms have stopped being meaningful.

It’s important to agree, early in the process, what specific tasks are being asked for. It doesn’t matter so much what you call the tasks, as long as everyone understands what’s needed for this particular job.