why hire a professional proofreader or editor?
Here are 3 reasons why it's critical to have a professional review your work.
You’ve finished your thesis or dissertation, scientific article, novel, or non-fiction piece, the culmination of several weeks’, months’, or even years’ worth of hard work. You can’t wait to finally complete it and move on to your next project.
I get it, I’ve been there, too. But hang on—now’s not the time for a dash to the finish line! You’ve worked so hard for so long, don’t let it go to waste.
Here’s why you should hire a professional proofreader or editor to check your work:
1. Everyone makes mistakes (even professional writers)
Perhaps you’re a native speaker and already have several years of professional writing experience. Or maybe English is your second (or third!) language and you aren’t sure that you have a full grasp of all the grammar and punctuation rules.
Wherever you fall on the skills and experience spectrum, it’s difficult to pick up on every single error in your own text. In fact, our eyes like to skip over mistakes or automaticaly correct them while we read—without us noticing. (By the way, did you see the missing “l” in “automatically” in the last sentence?) That’s why even published authors have at least one professional editor go over their various drafts with a fine-tooth comb.
A professional proofreader or editor doesn’t merely read your text. Our job involves scrutinizing your text by going over it very deliberately and very slowly, word for word and line by line, usually more than once, to make sure to pick up on anything that may have been overlooked on previous passes.
2. First impressions matter
Many publishers, journals, and job recruiters will immediately reject a manuscript, article, or an application if they see more than one typographical or grammatical mistake on the first page.
You want to make sure that your work shines right from the start. Your audience should focus on the content and what you have to say rather than get distracted by perfectly avoidable spelling and grammar mistakes, overlooked inconsistencies, confusing contradictions, or annoying redundancies.
Having a clean document with engaging content and powerful language takes you one step closer to publishing your manuscript, to getting that job interview you really want, or to holding that proof of academic achievement in your hands.
3. It’s difficult to be objective about your own work
When you’ve been working on the same text for a long time, it simply becomes impossible to find any remaining errors, inconsistencies, or awkward sentences in your text. You know your text too well.
It can often help to put the piece away for a while and return to it with a fresh mind. But even then, you probably won’t pick up on every mistake or poor word choice because you simply can’t be objective. You need someone with a fresh perspective and the ability to provide helpful and constructive feedback on your work.
This is where a professional proofreader or editor comes in: a new set of eyes with the necessary language expertise and editorial experience. Someone to help you make sure that your target readership can focus on your content and message.
Are you ready to take the next step to make sure that your document is polished and meets professional writing and publishing standards? Then check out my proofreading and editing services to find out more!
You’ll be so glad you took that additional step because you’ll know that your work makes the best possible impression.
Not sure which one you need?
Don’t worry: I’ve created an overview of the differences to help you choose the one that’s right for you.