The Pocket Book of Proofreading: A guide to freelance proofreading & copy-editing

by William Critchley

LEARN ALL THE SECRETS of successful freelancing for publishers. This new book is a powerful guide to earning your own living as a FREELANCE PROOFREADER and COPY-EDITOR and will make you an expert in no time at all. No previous experience required, work from home full or part time. A total of 26 chapters, plus appendices, glossary, index, and practical exercises make this a very useful 'pocket' book, just right for anyone considering freelance proofreading. You can learn all about copy-editing too. (Copy-edited by William Critchley and Michèle Clarke, CIEP advanced member.) It's a complete professional guide for £14.99 (now only £10.64!), plus you can download a selection of helpful proofreading exercises if you wish. Learn how to earn around £26 per hour with this new book and course. Right up to date for 2021. (You can follow all the latest news at LearnFreelancing.com) Chart your way to success, improve your skills and find work in many proofreading and copy-editing for book publishers, corporate websites, magazine features, theses, blogs, leaflets and more. William's experience in publishing covers many years, and he has proofread and edited hundreds of titles for well-known book publishers. ALL ASPECTS OF PROOFREADING fully covered, also editing online using Word's 'Track Changes', and full descriptions and examples of proofreading marks in current use. There's no need to spend huge sums on heavily-promoted courses that are not always what they seem. This book is literally a course in itself - and it doesn't cost the earth. Want to brush up your grammar too? Commas, apostrophes, and full stops all explained! The Pocket Book of Proofreading is just right. It offers so much more for much less. Learn THE SECRETS of SUCCESSFUL PROOFREADING and freelancing for publishers, and how to earn extra income from home. The optional instant file download (PDF) is a professional three-part proofreading and copy-editing course with free extra exercises. Uses BS 5261 (marks for copy preparation and proof correction). The Pocket Book of Proofreading offers a comprehensive overview of freelancing for publishers and working as a freelance proofreader. If this book were simply turned into A4 pages and made into a proofreading and editing course (which in fact it actually was originally), it would make a course that could be sold at the same price as existing proofreading courses on the market, starting from about £200. Hence the value of this popular book. The Pocket Book of Proofreading contains 262 pages and is complete as it is. You don't really need anything more. If you are keen to learn more, however, the book tells you how to access a new downloadable proofreading and copy-editing course with FREE extra exercises (approximately 170 A4 pages, making a total of 432 pages!) at a great price. It's all you need. Learn Freelancing offers a professional and comprehensive proofreading course, and you can learn about copy-editing too. Many people have been successful as a result of taking this Proofreading and Editing Course, and have found regular work as freelances, working from home full or part time, or are now working in-house for publishing companies. There is competition naturally, so you need the best possible start. You'll find this with The Pocket Book of Proofreading. the book was proofread and copy-edited by a distinguished, advanced member of the Society for Editors and Proofreaders (SfEP), so you can sure of the quality and relevance of this material. The SfEP has now been renamed as The Chartered Institute of Editing and Proofreading (CIEP).

Genres: Writing, Nonfiction, Reference

262 pages, Paperback

First published July 1, 2007

Reviews

[Elise Edmonds · Rating 3 out of 5]

Very technical. It would be a useful book if you were planning to take up proofreading as a profession.

As someone who hopes to self publish at some point, it has reinforced the consideration that it would be worth forking out for a proofreader if I have the money.

[Sarina Langer · Rating 4 out of 5]

You know, I've read a fair few books on writing and editing, but this is possibly the first one that reminds you to step away and take a break if needed. Because you're human and it's totally fine to need some time away from work.

That was early on, and we got on well after that!

I always struggle to review theory books, because it's not like I can comment on the plot or the world-building or the loss of a map. Don't you? :/

What I loved about this is that it's not just a book on proofreading, but it's a book on freelance proofreading. It has chapters on how to find work and how to get started as a proofreader. It's honest but encouraging, too.

There's a link to a proofreading course so you can test your skills for free, as well as practice exercises and answers inside the book.

I borrowed this one from my library, but I'm quite tempted to buy my own copy. It's not a new book anymore (published 2007) so I worry that parts of it will be outdated now. There have got to be up-to-date guides out there, right? Sadly, there's no updated version of this, but if you know of a good alternative...

I'd still recommend this to anyone considering freelance proofreading as a potential career. It may be 11 years out of date, and yes, the industry has changed a bit in that time, but most of what Critchley has to say is transferable. The first half would also be useful for anyone wanting a proofreading guide for their own work.

[Jessica Hughes · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very informative and useful. I’ve jumped back into it a few times while proofreading and it has proved useful. Some areas could have been explained a bit more clearly.
It was also very funny which I wasn’t expecting!

[Annie · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is for someone interested in working as a freelance proofreader in the UK. There are so many differences between American English and British English (or American spelling and English as the author would refer to it), the book isn't useful for readers outside of that market.

[Susan Rheingruber · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fantastic!

I learned so much from this book. None of the other books I’ve read have provided answers using the recommended proofreading marks. “Archie” makes it fun.

[Sondra Sawyer · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very informative.

[Chris · Rating 4 out of 5]

Handy, helpful and humorous!  
As a proofreader I found this extremely useful with lots of tips and tricks even I didn't know about! 
 
William Critchley provides a light-hearted and often humorous look into the world of proofreading and copy-editing. 
 
There are plenty of examples and step-by-step instructions and some useful exercises towards the end for you to practice. 
 
I have given the book four stars - as opposed to full marks - for two reasons:
 
A. I found some of his symbols very outdated compared to today's marks and at times this was a bit confusing.
 
B. The constant reference to a bear called Archie and Eva Longoria was both tedious and unnecessary. I am not sure why he kept mentioning them and am still unsure of who Archie is. Although some explanation is given at the end. Even so it got very tiresome! 
 
Overall though, I would recommend this to beginners and experienced proofreaders looking to maybe refresh or rekindle old-style memories.

[Kay · Rating 4 out of 5]

Useful guide for anybody interested in proof reading.

Personally, I purchased a copy to help in editing my n work in the future as well as doing some work for others.

I keep it to hand on my desk for easy reference.

Full Blog Post #427 (March 2014)

[Hanan Elsharif]

I think I want to do this. Not sure where to start

http://www.globalproofreading.com/fre...

[Amanda Jones · Rating 5 out of 5]

A great guide for better self-editing, as well as an introduction to proofreading for anyone considering doing it professionally.