Think your book doesn't need proofreading? Think again!

Posted on May 5, 2018 (Subscribe to Blog)

I've been offering a proofreading service for a while now, and it's turning out to be quite a nice sideline business. What can be better than reading a book for money, right?

Except it's actually quite hard work, because I have to study every single word rather than just fly through at normal reading speed. Also, because I comment or mark things every minute or so, I need to read it on my laptop rather than on my phone; the laptop is just easier to use when it comes to writing suggestions.

Every book I proofread, no matter how clean it appears on the surface, has a pretty good number of small typos regarding commas and other punctuation. I also add a whole bunch of suggestions or comments about repeated words, confusing statements, ambiguity, and so on. For a typical manuscript, I'll leave somewhere in the region of 300-800 comments.

Sounds like a lot, right? Well, I consider 300 a reasonably clean book. With 800, perhaps the author should have checked the book over one more time before sending it to a proofreader. Either way, anything up to around 800 is within the "acceptable" range as far as my very reasonable proofreading rate goes.

One recent example: a 55,000-word novel with around 650 typos, comments, and suggestions. Remember, not everything I comment on or suggest is an error; it's just something that could be improved or needs checking. And the majority of typos are comma related; very few are incorrect spellings, because most software nowadays has a built-in spell check that underlines errors with squiggly lines the moment you finish typing them.

Another example: 72,000 words with 260 typos, comments, and suggestions. And another: 51,000 words with 800 or more!

So it varies, but in all cases, the author is usually very happy they spent a little extra money. A recent customer said, "I'm halfway through your corrections and man they are thorough and I totally agree with every single one so far. Including all the places where you recommend me putting in dialogue tags earlier. That makes a huge difference and really makes it read so much better. Your help at proofreading is extraordinary and I'll take all your suggestions on board and hopefully not repeat them all over again in book 2. Some of them are my habits! Thanks again for such a fantastic edit."

But what does this proofreading service cost? At the moment, it's very reasonable indeed, no more than 0.004 cents per word, or $0.04 for every ten words, or $0.40 for 100 words. Of course, novels are typically between 50-150k, a price range of $200-$600 (US Dollars). You can find out the exact cost by using the simple calculator on my novel proofreading page.

I expect to increase the price a little as time goes on, so if you have a completed novel or one that's nearing completion, and you want a final proofread, book it in now by emailing me at keith@unearthlytales.com. Allow me 10-15 days to work on it.

And if you don't think commas are all that important, just imagine a bunch of happy kids shouting, "Let's eat Grandma!"

If you can't see it, then you really need a proofreader.

Comment by BRIAN CLOPPER on Saturday, May 5, 2018...

I can attest to Keith’s excellence! His comments are always so keen, and he makes you a more circumspect writer. I get better and better with each manuscript because I apply his fixes and they stick in my head for the next book. In a way, he’s a great teacher as well as proofreader. I wonder if he’s available in a life coach capacity. :)

Comment by KEITH ROBINSON on Saturday, May 5, 2018...

Ha! Thanks, Brian. And... no. I'll stick to proofreading.

Comment by ROGER ESCHBACHER on Sunday, May 6, 2018...

Keith is a top-notch proofreader who *always* finds tons of errors in my manuscripts (I've learned not to even dare to think I've found everything until Keith takes a look). Like Brian, my writing has steadily improved thanks to Keith's guiding hand.

Comment by KEITH ROBINSON on Sunday, May 6, 2018...

Thank you, The Rog! :-)

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