Guess what? I obtained a new nonfiction client: Tiger Oak Media! All of my clients are amazing, of course, but this one is pretty cool, because it's contracted work like I have through DPP, but it's for magazines not novels. I get to brush off my AP Stylebook skills from my time as a copyeditor at PSU and put them to good use. It'll be odd transferring back to AP Style from Chicago, since I use Chicago WAY MORE than I use AP, buuuuut I'm ready for the challenge. Basically, I'll be proofreading two monthly magazines, Maple Grove and Southwest Metro. I start THIS TUESDAY, and I'm so hyped.
How did I learn about this opportunity?
Well a good friend of mine from high school who works for the company reached out because she knew I was looking for work and knew I edit things and offered the connection. So...moral of the story here? Networking works! (Even though we technically connected in high school, we still chat with each other so it counts. It does, honest!)
What the heck is proofreading?
Well, after the design phase, the work goes into the proofreading phase. Basically, the proofreader is the last line of defense before the work goes out into the world. A proofreader doesn't make any huge sweeping changes because that would entail going backwards (to the writing/developmental phases) instead of forward. A proofreader looks at the whole thing - how it looks on the page, making sure everything is consistent for each page, ensuring it sticks with the house style, etc - but also looks for smaller mistakes that could've happened during the design phase - a misplaced comma, a widow or orphan, a misspelling - so it's an important step. Here are some of the most important things for a proofreader to keep in mind: read the work slowly, only change things that are definitely incorrect, and make sure everything is consistent with the house style. There are a lot of correlating parts to juggle, so a lot of proofreaders say focusing on one thing at a time (say: the headers or the title page) can help.
Anyway, I'm excited about this opportunity and look forward to proofreading these two wonderful magazines.
I hope you're having a lovely weekend!
Warm regards,
Kellie