Editorial Heaven

I can't even describe how gratifying it is to finally, finally be working on a cookbook! I am having so much fun, it barely seems possible that I'm getting paid for this, too. And I can tell I'm doing a really good job—I do believe I've found my calling! (Or, perhaps more apt, my calling has at last found me.)

I don't think I mentioned that this particular job is for proofreading, which means that it's already been copyedited; my job is to read the page proofs against the copyedited manuscript. I prefer copyediting, because it's more creative, but I don't mind proofreading. In truth it's probably a good thing that my first project with this client is proofreading, which is considerably more straightforward than copyediting. That is, a good proofreader just has to be accurate and on time, so I know I can really shine for my first job with them. (That being said, I can't wait until they give me my first copyediting project!)

As a proofreader, I'm supposed to mark only actual errors, or at most things that could be misleading or confusing. I've already made some good catches that the copyeditor missed, which is always exciting. But the time has passed for rewriting for graceful prose and sparkling syntax. The frustrating part of proofreading is when I come across something that I don't like (awkward construction, less-than-ideal word choice, etc.), but I can't do anything about it. So I just bite my tongue pencil—or, occasionally, leave a flag with my suggestion, if I really can't bear not to.

Comments

[Di]

How do you get such a job?

[Karen]

You wait a long time: http://verbatim.blogs.com/verbatim/2008/02/major-professio.html