Proofreading and Editing

“I’d like to say what a pleasure it has been working with Maggie Berney Office Services on the PickPocket Foragers’ project. Your turn around time has been very good indeed, your attention to the smallest details has been excellent and your editing skills are superb. The overall service I have received is exemplary and I feel confident that the brochure and other marketing documents that we are putting out into the public domain are, with your help, highly professional. Thank you very much.”
– Kate Mallatratt, PickPocket Foragers



For book manuscripts, reports and dissertations, we at Maggie Berney Office Services can check your documents for grammar, punctuation and continuity and make suggestions for amendments to improve clarity without changing the original meaning. We can also review your website copy or other promotional material and help to give it a final polish. This can also be combined with our typing and formatting services (insert link) if required.

Why do I need a proofreader?

There are lots of reasons why using a proofreader makes sense, for instance if English is not your first language or if you have dyslexia. However, probably the two best reasons are that you want to appear professional and that you want to get a clear message across.

When you write something you become familiar with the material you have produced; this familiarity with the whole picture can prevent you spotting small mistakes in the details.  Additionally, you will write from your perspective and your level of knowledge of a subject, however your readers may not have the same insight and could require more clarification, for instance if specialist vocabulary is used. A proofreader can provide feedback on making your content more readable for its intended audience and flag up any errors that might have slipped in.

What’s the difference between proofreading and editing?

Proofreading a document will pull up simple grammatical, punctuation and spelling mistakes. If a document is formatted ready to print it will also highlight any formatting errors, such as a page break between a picture and the caption underneath. Usually proofreading would be the final step before publication.

Editing, on the other hand, is a more in-depth look at the material. It covers the same areas as proofreading but additionally will highlight issues with readability, clarity and factual mistakes and make suggestions for improvements. A good editor will also flag up any inconsistencies which can be particularly important in larger documents such as novel manuscripts.  If you’re not sure which service you require, please contact us to discuss your requirements.