Copy Editing vs. Proofreading: What's the Difference?

Written and edited by Kelsey Spence - September 30th, 2024

If you’re a freelancer and you find yourself stuck between proofreading and copy editing a book or other written content, it can be tricky to determine whether you should charge copy editing or proofreading rates, which are lower. The main reason that it can be tricky is because you might struggle to determine the difference between the two.

The goal of this article is to help you struggle no longer! After reading, you should know the difference when it comes to copy editing vs. proofreading.

Copy Editing

When looking at the differences between copy editing and proofreading, the first thing to note is that copy editing comes before proofreading in the editorial process.

Copy editing happens within the stage where a written piece is still in the process of being shaped and typically after a developmental edit. It usually includes making direct changes to a document, though oftentimes using a tool such as Microsoft Word’s Tracked Changes feature.

Copy editing involves a heavy review of spelling, punctuation, grammar, and sentence structure of a work, or in other words, it mostly fixes technical issues. A copy editor also keeps their eyes peeled for inconsistencies, such as the color of a character’s hair changing later in a book or a changing formatting style.

Lastly, many copy editors are also tasked with fact-checking written works, making sure the date given for an event is accurate or if the spelling of a historical figure’s name is correct.

Proofreading

The most telling characteristic of proofreading is that it almost always takes place within written content’s final stage of production. Oftentimes, it is done by making comments or proofreading marks on a PDF. Thus, most proofreaders do not directly make changes to the writing at this editorial stage.

At the time of proofreading, a piece should have already been combed through various times by editorial staff. This is why proofreaders typically only need to find formatting issues or minor errors that were missed by the copy editor, which is why rates for proofreading are lower than copy editing rates.

If you are still struggling to figure out what sets copy editing and proofreading apart from each other, you could always think about asking the writer of the content what kind of edits have already been done to the piece, if any.

If you are the first editorial eyes to touch the written work, it might be best to charge for copy editing. If you are the last, perhaps charging for proofreading would make more sense.