Proofreading is not synonymous with speed-reading
The Society for Editors and Proofreaders believe a professional proofreader can read an average of ten pages an hour, with 300 words per page.
That’s ten pages, not sixty odd. It never ceases to amaze me that people think anyone, let alone a proofreader, can do a top-notch proofreading job if reading at speed.
Yet, that seems to be the case. I’ve certainly encountered it, and a fellow proofreader recently recounted to me the bawling out her boss gave her for missing a mistake (just one mind) in a long document she had been forced to speed-read with constant interruptions of, ‘Are you done yet?’
Proofreading by its very nature is slooooooooow and methodical. Speed-reading may seem an efficient way to get the job done faster, but it comes back to bite you in the end if you want a good, accurate result.
As a professional proofreader, I can’t really see the point at all of hiring a proofreader and then asking for speed-reading: You may as well not bother having the document proofread in the first place as it won’t finish up error-free.
That’s one of the things I love most about working for myself, and in my home office. I can take as long as I need over thoroughly reading material, and there’s no one hovering over my shoulder distracting and pressurising me.
To coin a phrase, more haste less speed, and if a job’s worth doing, it’s worth doing properly.
That’s ten pages, not sixty odd. It never ceases to amaze me that people think anyone, let alone a proofreader, can do a top-notch proofreading job if reading at speed.
Yet, that seems to be the case. I’ve certainly encountered it, and a fellow proofreader recently recounted to me the bawling out her boss gave her for missing a mistake (just one mind) in a long document she had been forced to speed-read with constant interruptions of, ‘Are you done yet?’
Proofreading by its very nature is slooooooooow and methodical. Speed-reading may seem an efficient way to get the job done faster, but it comes back to bite you in the end if you want a good, accurate result.
As a professional proofreader, I can’t really see the point at all of hiring a proofreader and then asking for speed-reading: You may as well not bother having the document proofread in the first place as it won’t finish up error-free.
That’s one of the things I love most about working for myself, and in my home office. I can take as long as I need over thoroughly reading material, and there’s no one hovering over my shoulder distracting and pressurising me.
To coin a phrase, more haste less speed, and if a job’s worth doing, it’s worth doing properly.
Labels: proofreading
posted by Charlie at
10:33
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