Are online proofreading & editing classes worth it?

In My Humble Opinion
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I’ve always had fairly good skills with the mechanics of English writing and it recently dawned on me that proofreading might be a good career choice. I know that being able to spot spelling & grammar errors is only one part of proofreading, so I figure I should take a class or do something to learn more of the skills I’ll need.

This morning I spent a fair bit of time looking at different online courses. It seems a lot of them are basically crazy expensive books that you pay to have access to online. Maybe there’s more to it, but I’m hesitant to spend anywhere from $100-$450 on this if I don’t need to.

Would I be able to find something in a book store that’d give me the same lessons or is a class the only way to go here? It doesn’t look like I’d be missing any kind of human help anyway (aside from an “online tutor” that’s basically there only if you get stuck).

As a small aside: What exactly is the difference between proofreading and editing?

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[QUOTE=Thorny Platypus]
As a small aside: What exactly is the difference between proofreading and editing?
[/QUOTE]

I can’t answer anything else, but I can take a crack at this. Proofreading is basically going through a document and making sure that there are no errors in the grammar, spelling or punctuation. It’s pretty straightforward and not necessarily exciting work.

Editing is a more general task of producing a final version of a document from a rough draft. It involves proofreading, but also making stylistic choices, and deciding which sections to leave out, expand or rearrange. It may also involve taking pieces of a document produced by different authors and integrating them as a single document.

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[QUOTE=Thorny Platypus]
As a small aside: What exactly is the difference between proofreading and editing?
[/QUOTE]
(Links go to Wiki)

Proofreading is simply checking a document for factual errors in spelling, punctuation, and a couple other things depending on the job. Depending on the job, it might entail looking for grammatical errors as well.

Editing is a bit broader, and involves manipulating content such that it’s presentable. Editors make decisions about what does or doesn’t see print, arrange text and graphics in particular fashions, and the like.

My current job is a mix of both. I proof transcripts to verify spelling of words, names, products, and such, and make sure the punctuation provides for a readable document. I also handle formatting, setting up the document to match customer specifications.

I didn’t actually take a course for proofing, so I can’t help you there. I got this job through virtue of having a degree in Linguistics and being very meticulous in making sure my cover letter and resume were spelled perfectly. :slight_smile: My suggestion, FWIW, would be to get yourself style manuals, such as the Chicago Manual of Style, and make yourself familiar with it. You can then use that as a selling point on your resume. Sorry I can’t be of further help, though.

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I concur with the above. I would also recommend the AP Style Manual. When I was hired as a copy editor a few years ago (based on passing a test, rather than any credentials I had), the first thing I did was read it cover to cover. After finishing it, I had a pretty good handle on what the common proofreading concerns in journalism are. (Reading the CMS is a far more daunting task, but it is more rewarding than one might expect. The authors have done a wonderful job of using subtly hilarious sentences to illustrate the finer points of grammar, punctuation, and so forth. It is most effective if you read them through sequentially.)

There are a number of websites and associations for copyeditors (or copy editors, take your pick - just be consistent, as consistency is one the the most cherished values in the field). Google a bit and you will find a number of resources and sample tests you can take to see how sharp an eye you have.

BTW, fellow Dopers, I’m sure there is a mistake in my post so I’m not even going to reread what I’ve written to try to find it. Find a misspelling or error if you must, just don’t point it out to me in a subsequent post. Thank you.

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[QUOTE=CairoCarol]
just be consistent, as consistency is one the the most cherished values in the field
[/QUOTE]
Amen, amen, amen. A coworker had a saying I appropriated gleefully: “Be right or be wrong, but be consistent.”

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Thank you for the information :slight_smile:

It’s nice to hear I have options other than expensive classes. It sounds like my first stop after I get paid is a book store! I like that you can get a job in that field based more on skill rather than credentials.

I don’t know if I’d rather do proofreading or editing; maybe I’ll get lucky and snag a job combining the two, after I learn some new skills.

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[QUOTE=Thorny Platypus]
I don’t know if I’d rather do proofreading or editing; maybe I’ll get lucky and snag a job combining the two, after I learn some new skills.
[/QUOTE]
Editing is, on the whole, a tougher job than proofreading. Proofreading jobs are very lenient about prerequisites, from what I’ve seen on the job-hunting sites, while editing jobs really want you to have a degree in English or Journalism and sometimes Communication. There’s a lot more decison-making involved in editing than in proofreading, so employers like more upfront proof that you have what they need.

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[QUOTE=Bosstone]
(Links go to Wiki)

Proofreading is simply checking a document for factual errors in spelling, punctuation, and a couple other things depending on the job. Depending on the job, it might entail looking for grammatical errors as well.

Editing is a bit broader, and involves manipulating content such that it’s presentable. Editors make decisions about what does or doesn’t see print, arrange text and graphics in particular fashions, and the like.
[/QUOTE]

Not necessarily. In my world (book publishing, and these are general observations; YMMV):

Editing (or, more specifically, copyediting) involves the hands-on mechanical correction of grammar/usage/spelling/consistency and so on. It involves working directly with the manuscript, either on paper or in the electronic (usually Word) file. Some minor fact-checking may be involved. You ensure consistent treatment of references/bibliography, art numbering/labeling, styles of heads and other elements, number style, actual text content against the TOC/chapter objectives/summary, etc. etc. If author says we are going to discuss X, Y, and Z, you make sure he does so in that order (unless there’s a compelling reason not to) and doesn’t leave out Y, and you query if he goes into X and Y in detail but only touches on Z, or if perhaps he might like to talk about W as well. Does Figure 13 show what he says it does? Does this column of numbers sum correctly? Are list items in parallel construction (all questions, sentences, or fragments/initial cap or lowercase/closing period or not)? And on and on.

The edited file goes to typesetting/composition, and then . . .

Proofreading involves comparing the typeset pages to the original edited manuscript to see that the compositor set the text according to the instructions on manuscript. This generally involves a word-for-word read of Ms. against proofs as well as checking the pages visually against sample design pages or written specs: are the fonts correct, do things align as they should, are the dingbats correct, is art placed properly, are running heads correct, etc. A good proofreader also wears the copyeditor hat while reading, but the object here is to keep editorial changes to a minimum, generally correcting/querying only outright errors. The proofreader’s job is not to second-guess the copyeditor’s overall decisions, but only to catch goofs.

I know I’ve gone into this in more detail elsewhere, but I’m on deadline today ( :smiley: ) and don’t have time to search. If you search on my handle and “copyediting” you should find a bunch of stuff.

Recommended books for newbies:

The Copyeditor’s Handbook, by Amy Einsohn
Copyediting: A Practical Guide, by Karen Judd

You might also consider joining the Copyediting-L mailing list. Googling should turn up the link.

The USDA (yes, Department of Agriculture) correspondence course in copyediting has a good rep. (I’ve never taken it.)

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[QUOTE=Scarlett67]
a word-for-word read of Ms. against proofs as well as checking the pages visually against sample design pages or written specs: are the fonts correct, do things align as they should, are the dingbats correct, is art placed properly, are running heads correct, etc.
[/QUOTE]
Nice to hear written specs are still around. I was a proofreader in the 80s as publishing houses were transitioning to electronic layout. Last year I was looking online for some examples of specs to show to my word-processing class, and couldn’t find any. Do you know of examples online, or would you be willing to share some specs with me?

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[QUOTE=E. Thorp]
Nice to hear written specs are still around. I was a proofreader in the 80s as publishing houses were transitioning to electronic layout. Last year I was looking online for some examples of specs to show to my word-processing class, and couldn’t find any. Do you know of examples online, or would you be willing to share some specs with me?
[/QUOTE]

To be honest, I don’t see them much anymore. Wish I did! But check your e-mail.

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Checked, and please check yours, and thanks!

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You might also look at Distributed Proofreading, where volunteers do online proofreading for Project Gutenberg, the online repository of free e-books.

Note that this isn’t quite proofreading – you don’t correct what the author wrote, just ensure that the OCR text correctly matches the author’s printed words. But the skills needed are quite similar. And it’s a good cause to help!

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Alternatively, you can have a degree/experience in a specialized field. I don’t have an English or Communications degree. Instead, I have a public policy degree and work experience in development/international business. As a consequence, I am hired to edit technical documents where a knowledge of international economics, statistics, or business is required. Mind you, I am an expert in none of these fields, but at least I can recognize an author’s tortured attempt to describe elasticity, social capital, or the principle of subsidiarity when I see it.

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Depending on the field, editors may also assign jobs to authors, select graphics and pictures, etc.

In some fields, there is a person who is halfway between a proofreader and an editor. For example, in one big project we had a “training team” who wrote the courses about the program we were installing and who trained the local teachers. Part of the job of the “consultants” was to review those courses before they were taught to teachers - in theory we weren’t supposed to do spellchecking, but to ensure that what was being said was what had to be said. There were cases when the course talked about production process A, but the process being followed by the factories in a particular group was B, except for one factory which had both… so we had to tell them to include both processes and indicate to teachers that they should speak with their local production manager to see which one(s) needed to be taught to operators. We weren’t allowed to write the courses or to criticise the style, though, as we didn’t have degrees in English or Journalism.

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Thought I might do a small update to my thread here. I’m lucky enough to have a boyfriend who’s reasonably high up in a small company, where one of his jobs is editing rules for their product. He doesn’t do grammar, spelling or style so much as editing what the rules themselves are. Anyway, he’s going to give me some work here and there so I can get some experience and the one guy they have doing the copyediting/proofreading can have an easier time.

I picked up a copy of The Chicago Manual of Style and a couple of small grammar & style books. We’ll see how things go from here. After I get some experience, I’ll ask around at other companies and see if they’ll take some free help.

Thanks again for all of the input!