Check all your superscript in-text number citations. Make sure they are all there, in order, none missing, none duplicated, and that they correspond to the correct citation at either the bottom of the page (footnotes) or the end of the book (endnotes).
Check your point of view (POV). If you are talking to the reader, you’ll say “you,” and if you’re talking to the reader about someone else, you’ll say, “they.” It’s easy to switch back and forth accidentally, but you want to remain consistent. Identify your POV and edit as needed.
Check your links. This is threefold. One, click on and open each link in your browser to be sure it’s working properly. Two, make sure you formatted them all the same (start with https:// over here but www. over here?). Three, if they’re meant to be used by the reader, don’t split a link across two lines.
Check your numbers. Do you spell out numbers up to ninety-nine? Or only eleven? Keep this consistent. (If you’re working with stats or excessive quantities of numbers, there are exceptions.)
Check your paragraph indents. Are all of your paragraphs indented by the same amount? Many times, people miss a paragraph, and it doesn’t indent like the rest.
Check your subtitles. After you have your document formatted (and before, honestly), check that all of your subtitles are capitalized or bold or set apart uniformly. I have come across subtitles that got missed and were formatted like a normal paragraph, in 12-pointTimes New Roman font, while the other subtitles were Like This.
Listen to your doc using an audio assistant. Read your document to yourself, or have an online service (usually free) read it to you. You’ll catch missing words, sentences you don’t like, and more. Check your ampersands (&). Often, people like to use them with a comma, like this: I went to the store with my mom, dad, & grandma. That is incorrect. It is correct to use it like this: I went to the store with my mom, dad & grandma. There are other times that are okay to use ampersands, such as in business names or chapter titles.
Check your punctuation on bulleted lists. Are you ending each bullet/list point with a period or leaving it open? Check all your lists to make sure they’re consistent.
Check the Table of Contents against the manuscript. If the TOC says Chapter Two starts on page fourteen, then Chapter Two had better start on page fourteen in your manuscript.
Want help with the other 70+ proofreading tasks, or someone to double-check you?DM me on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/adelinehull/Email me: adeline@elevatededitspot.comContact me via my website: https://www.elevatededitspot.com/
I’ve got you covered. I work primarily with business books and business content. I also have experience with other nonfiction.
Did you learn something? I’d love to know!
Congratulations on “proofing” yourself, and impressing your proofreader!
About Adeline Hull: Adeline enjoys helping people communicate their thoughts clearly and smoothly. She believes authors should have credibility, authority, and well-spoken messages; readers should have a smooth experience, turning page to page without any hiccups. When Adeline's not editing, or talking with other people in the industry, you might find her working out, helping at the local homeless shelter, reading, listening to music, or seeing friends.