Always submit clean proofread manuscripts! On the other hand, if you are seeking to publish through professional publishers, proofreading should occur before you submit to a literary agent or a small publishing house that may work with new authors without going through a literary agent, and also if you are already working with a publisher. If you self-publish, this may be before submitting to a copy editor or development editor, certainly before you actually publish. There are often different parts of the publishing process when you should proofread your book.įirst time is when you are writing, before you submit your manuscript. You can even pay a professional proofreader to look over your manuscript - they usually are less expensive than an editor. Have someone who can do the job well do it for you. If you aren’t particularly detail oriented, if you aren’t good at spelling, if you aren’t particularly good at grammar or punctuation, if you are rushed, if you have attention deficit disorder, if you have eyesight challenges, then proofreading may be difficult for you. Every author should have their work proofread. Maybe I should alter that first sentence above. If your manuscript is not presentable, these people won’t work with it! It’s as simple as that. You catch errors to make your work more presentable: to the reader, the literary agent, the publisher, the book editor, the copy editor, the professional proofreader, and if the publisher uses one, the typesetter. Following up on an earlier post, here are some tips on how to proofread your book manuscript for publishing.Įvery author should proofread their work. It’s only purpose is to catch errors.

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