Laurence,

If you're talking about online services, the two disciplines are often combined, but in the publishing world, they're quite different.

Because it's expensive to alter a "proof" once the typesetting has been carried out, a proofreader is traditionally the last person to check that the manuscript is suitable for publishing. Before that stage, the editor (or copy-editor) would have already had an important input.

Professional copy-editors correct errors in spelling, grammar, punctuation, style and usage. They also ensure that the writing is pitched at the correct level for the intended audience by, for example, checking whether any technical or industry-specific terms need to be further explained or simplified.

A copy-editor will look for any obvious factual discrepancies within the piece and alert the client to potential legal issues (such as breaches of copyright or libel), although the responsibility for them remains with the author/publisher.

Generally, a copy-editor will check that the text flows in an orderly and logical fashion, without unnecessarily complicated words or phrases. If the author is a non-native English speaker, the editor will be particularly careful to ensure that the writing reads smoothly and naturally for native English speakers, and contains appropriate idiomatic terms. This may well require a restructuring of sentences or paragraphs and the rewording of some existing text. Of course, any major alterations would be carried out in consultation with the author.

The proofreader will check for any spelling or grammatical errors that may have slipped past the editor, check for inconsistencies in style across the entirety of the manuscript, make sure page numbers, chapter headings etc. are correctly listed (cross-checking with the TOC), and check that the text and captions correspond to any pictures or illustrations.

There's a more detailed explanation of the individual roles on this site (The Society for Editors and Proofreaders): Copy-editing - Society for Editors and Proofreaders


Frank

Hi Frank,

Thanks for your reply.
I should have clarified what I am talking about further.
Yes, I am only talking about online material.
It could be articles, ebooks, sales letters, website content, reports or anything else.

I agree that in the publishing world they are far different and I have not worked in that field before. I mainly do online material BUT, having said that, I just picked up a new client that I am editing/proofing reports for court cases.
Obviously I won't say anything more about that actual job but it will be used as hard copy material but for ease and convenience, we are communicating via email.

I hope what I am saying makes sense to you and maybe you have a different answer now I have clarified my intentions further.

Thanks Frank.
I think so far I have been more of a proofreader with some suggestions thrown in but never changing large chunks of text. So I guess I could say I am a Proofreader/Editor instead of a Copy Editor or Editor/Proofreader.

(ignoring Dan), Thanks Claude. I will certainly keep that in mind.
I was wondering if you were going to use me....I do recall you saying that quite a while ago. But I guess you went elsewhere or did it yourself.

I don't have one of those so I have no trouble saying "no." hehehe. and btw, as for spelling, there's no W in my name I would be honoured to proofread your work anytime, Claude.

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For content - basically one job.

For copywriting - two very distinct things... though a copywriter should be doing everything themselves, since copy is so important and precise.

Therefore for all intents and purposes, I'd say it's really one job (since you should only be hiring for content, not copywriting).

It looks like I would be in agreement with the others here. A Proofreader is EXPECTED to be only making sure that it is understandable, has proper grammar, is broken up the right way, etc.... Editor, today, could mean almost anything, but generally DOESN'T mean proofreading. You can always check the dictionary!

EDITOR: PROOFREADER BTW An editor in computer terms used to ONLY deal with TEXT! A WORDPROCESSOR used to only deal with the spelling of words and their placement on the page, along with appearance criteria, like font size. For YEARS, there were programs like grammatik http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grammatik that provided the simple automated proofreading.

Steve