Ten Things Proofreaders Wish Designers Would Do
If you work in the field of graphic design, there’s a good chance that at some point you’ll need to send something to a proofreader. Whether what you’ll be sending is digital or physical, these same tips will apply.
The job of being a proofreader puts a ton of strain on the eyes. Having to focus for sometimes hours at a time, picking up on the smallest errors is challenging enough, so to help your proofreader and make their life a bit easier, you should always keep these things in mind before you send something off!
1. Run a spellchecker before sending for proofing
You’d be surprised how many people don’t do this. Simply running a spellchecker in your word processor of choice and making any corrections will enable the proofing process to be much smoother, for both yourself and your proofreader.
2. Check all the previous amends have been made before sending for a second proof
This is something that you must ALWAYS do. Sending a document for a second proof with errors that are still there from the first is a sure-fire way to annoy your proofreader!
3. If you have any questions, gather them all up and send/ask them in one big chunk
A proofreader is often constantly busy, and as such, they don’t have time to field questions that are being sent throughout the day.
Read through the proofed document. Make a note of the things that either you don’t understand or need some clarification on, and send them all in one go. This will make the whole process much smoother for everyone involved!
4. If physical, print A4 pages in A3 to allow more space for notes
You might think that this is a bit silly, but trust me. Proofreaders need a lot of margin space to jot down their annotations, so a lot of the time they’ll rapidly run out of room on an A4 page.
5. Ensure that your proofreader has access to brand guidelines before beginning
Are there any words that your brand spell differently to the standard way? Any internal acronyms or abbreviations that should be known before getting started? Be sure to give your proofreader access to any brand guidelines and/or glossaries!
6. Keep all proofs for reference at a later date
If you’re sending a document multiple times, or even having to send multiple documents, be sure to keep all of them for the duration of the project.
Doing this allows you to keep track of any changes or spot the point in which an overlooked error snuck its way in! This isn’t so much of a concern with digital documents, as edit history is almost always automatically recorded, but it’s super important when it comes to physicals!
7. It takes time. Don’t rush your proofreader!
This one is simple. Proofreading takes a LONG time, even for a professional. If you’ve sent something for proof, don’t bombard your proofreader with constant questions asking when it will be done. Let them do their job.
8. Remember that writing and proofreading is a skill
This ties right into number seven. In the same way that it takes skill to do what you do, writing and proofreading is a skill that takes years to hone. Don’t take what they’re doing for granted, or get frustrated if it takes longer than you think.
9. Leave line endings until the final proof
Do you have any words that are going to be cut off when the copy is put into the final design? If so, leave these for the final proof. This will make the process a lot smoother, and will avoid any potential confusion.
10. Do not change anything after the final sign-off
Once yourself, your client and the proofreader are happy with the final sign-off do not make any more changes. Making a change, even a small one, at the end of a project may lead to errors making their way into the copy.
By keeping those ten points in mind when it comes to sending something off to be proofread, you’ll be doing your bit to ensure the process is as smooth as it can be, for both yourself and your proofreader!
Have you received a document back from a proofreader that’s covered in weird symbols? Those are called Reader’s Marks. See what they all mean in this guide!