Important Tips for Professional Proofreading Services

Most people recognise the importance of error-proofing a piece of written work before showing it to an audience. However, the importance of professional proofreading services, should not be underestimated . The incredible utility of having a fully trained professional check over your documents cannot be overestimated. If you’ve ever received professional proofreading services, you will know this from experience. For this reason, it is unsurprising to note that the online proofreading services sector is one of the fastest-growing in Internet-based education services.

Rapid growth in the proofreading services sector means that, for consumers, the number of options to choose from is truly enormous.Therefore, the first critical tip in selecting professional proofreading services is to do thorough research about your chosen proofreader or proofreading company before hiring them. Although most service providers offer reliable and cost-effective services, consumers should also ask questions, read reviews, and – ideally – receive a free sample before entrusting a proofreader with their mission-critical documents. If a company does not offer a way to receive a free sample on their website, you can send an email and ask for one – in most cases, companies will readily provide these samples.

Tip #1:Research helps you find the best proofreader

If you are a first-time hirer in the proofreading services space,it is also important to identify the qualities your proofreader must have in order to work most effectively on revising, correcting, and error-proofing your document. As a case in point, even if you have written a very technical document, you should know that, in most cases, you will not need a proofreader with an equally technical background. Instead, you can look for an experienced proofreader, ideally with some technical knowledge, who is an expert in English rather than being a subject matter expert in your field. Unless you want someone to look over your manuscript and offer technical advice, an English language expert is a far more valuable asset than a technically knowledgeable but somewhat clumsy proofreader or writer.

Tip #2: Think about the qualities you want in a proofreader

Supposeyou’re submitting an article to Frontiers in Chemistry, and the journal has told you that, in order to be published, your article should meet international standards in written English.They then advise that, if you choose their recommended professional proofreading services provider (and, in the case of Frontiers in Chemistry, pay a high fee to work with a subject matter expert),you can improve your article’s standard of written English and increase your chances of successful publication.If you want to receive advice, comments, and technical feedback on your document, proofreading is the wrong service at this stage (look for copy editingor general editing instead). However, if you just want your written English polishing,you can find just assuitable and more cost-effective services elsewhere online.

Tip #3: Find an English language expert, not a subject matter expert

There are other useful things to consider before hiring a freelance proofreader or a proofreading company, ranging from finding the best value service to always using discount codes (when available – and, in most cases, they are!). However, if you pay attention to the three tips given here, the outcome of your collaboration with your proofreader is much more likely to be successful.