Things you should know before hiring a Professional Proofreading Service Provider

It is not necessary to have specific qualifications to become a proofreader, unlike other regulated professions such as nursing or electrical engineering.Therefore, when you hire someone to provide professional proofreading services or book proofreading services, it is essential to ensure that they have the expertise, experience, and know-how needed to provide an excellent service that completely addresses your needs.

At some proofreading companies, high service standards are maintained, and rigorous testing and interview processes are used to select only the strongest proofreaders to work on your book, essay, and other writing-related projects. However, at other service providers, low-quality proofreaders with very little experience, potentially even without knowledge in your area, are recruited to work on your important projects. This is a critically important thing to know before hiring someone for professional proofreading services, since it highlights the importance of getting to know the company and proofreader you are working with to realise the direct effect these services have on written work.

For book proofreading services, learning about what your proofreader, or what the service provider’s team, can offer you is the first important step, and you should do this before purchasing any services. For example, most online proofreading companies allow you to order a service and make the payment without asking any questions or interacting with their team first. All you have to do is pay (e.g., see the image below), send your document, and a proofreader will begin providing a service.

Instead of doing this, (i) get in touch with the service provider’s team, (ii) tell them what your book is about, what your aims are, and provide other essential information; (iii) get a clear sense of how the book proofreading services on offer can specifically benefit you.

Image: Navigation interface with payment option, website of a well-known proofreading company

Before you purchase professional proofreading services or book proofreading services, it is also worthwhile to consider a set of all-important questions relating to issues such as your personal needs, your deadline, and your budget. The main questions you should ask yourself are the following:

·         Do I need this?

·         What’s the maximum amount I’m willing to spend?

·         When do I need my proofread document returned by?

Image:Three all-important questions

The first of these questions, “Do I really need professional proofreading services?”, is an especially critical one. This is because, for example, if you have not yet finalised your document but you still pay for it to be corrected by a proofreader, you are likely to need to change it at a later date, in which case you will need to have it checked over again. This is something to avoid, and so you should only ever use a proofreading service as the very last step before submitting an essay, a book, or any other piece of written work.

Knowing all of the above can save you a lot of money when you first begin using these kinds of services, which greatly improve your writing outcomes.As for the final two questions of your budget and your deadline, you must ensure that you find someone to check over your written work who is not only qualified but also who can return your document for a reasonable fee and in a timely, efficient manner.