It feels like ages ago, but it was actually less than two years ago that I reached a point where I needed to find professional assistance for my first novel. I’d listened to a great deal of podcast and read through endless online articles and social media posts trying to figure out the most cost efficient way to turn my manuscript into a published novel.
I decided to omit most of the editing process, such as developmental editing and copyediting. Those services are expensive, and while they might make some improvements to a novel, I decided I could tackle most of that myself. I knew how I wanted to tell my story, and I didn’t want to muddle my voice by involving others on that level. No part of me regrets that decision.
With all that said, I knew there would be typos. The average person makes one typo every thousand words. I made up that statistic, but certainly, everyone makes typos. You can reread your manuscript hundreds of times and still miss a few. It’s human nature. Our minds often digest words as wholes rather than the individual letters that form them. So I knew I needed to dish out the money for a proofreader.
But where does one find a proofreader? I asked around on some author related social media pages, and there were lots of individuals that offered to proofread for what appeared to be ridiculous prices. Some commented that I should look on Fiverr or directed me to some sketchy looking websites with high prices. I was concerned about being scammed or paying too much for someone that really wasn’t qualified to be doing the proofreading. How would I know?
Eventually, I found Reedsy. This is one of the greatest websites for indie authors. You can find professionals to assist you with editing, book design, publicity, marketing, translations, ghostwriting, and more. In addition, Reedsy also has learning resources for self-publishing. This is a wonderful place for indie authors.
So two years ago, I made an account on Reedsy and began to browse for a proofreader. The website makes it easy. You can refine your search specifically for proofreaders in your genre. The professionals have reviews, so you can see if others are happy with the service they received. You can collect quotes from multiple professional before deciding who you want to go with.
After looking around Reedsy, I selected a few professional that I thought would be a good fit and I received quotes from them. The quotes I received were all lower than anything I’d seen previously. That is excluding some numbers I saw on Fiverr. Well, at this point, I was still concerned about hiring the wrong person. So I hired two proofreaders. Together they cost about the same as some quotes I received when I asked around author related social media pages.
The process was super simple, all done through Reedsy’s website. If there was a problem, Reedsy had a guarantee where I’d get refunded. I accepted the two quotes, uploaded my manuscript, and waited for them to turn it around. When requesting a quote, you get to set a deadline for the project. Both proofreaders got my work back to me on time and both did an excellent job.
Ultimately, hiring two proofreaders was a mistake. It gave me some peace of mind when they both produced similar results, but it was a nightmare updated my manuscript based on two different sources. I’ve got another blog post where whine about that, so I won’t go into detail here. But I will say that it brought my brain great suffering.
Thus ended my search for a professional proofreader. On my following projects, I’ve continued to work with the cheaper of the two proofers, and he’s continued to do an amazing job. My experience with him and Reedsy has been a 5/5 star experience all the way. I highly recommend finding your next person on Reedsy. Best of luck to you.