This month’s issue includes a proofreading checklist and a podcast rec.

Proofreading Outside of Spelling and Grammar

When I talk to people about proofreading being a big part of my job, a lot of them think I’m mainly finding spelling mistakes, and errors in punctuation and grammar.

But there’s a lot more to proofing that goes beyond spelling and grammar. There’s also mechanics — which includes typographic style like bold vs. italics, using figures vs. spelling out numbers, whether to use the degree symbol or spell out "degrees," and so on.

When I proofread, here’s what I look for in addition to spelling and grammar — and what your editorial team should be looking out for too.

What to Look for When Proofreading

Font/typeface
- Does it match the organization’s brand guidelines?
- Is it uniform and consistent throughout?
- Is it the right type, size and color?
- Is the treatment (bold, italics, underline) correct?
URLs
- Are they spelled correctly?
- Are they all presented consistently?
- And importantly, do they work? I often find URLs that lead to page not found errors.
Line and column breaks
- Does the text flow correctly?
- If the client does not use hyphens at the ends of lines to break up multisyllabic words, are all line-ending words unhyphenated?
Consistency within bulleted lists
- Is punctuation correct and consistent at the end of each bulleted item?
- Is the list appropriate as a bulleted list, or should it be numbered (and vice versa)?
Spacing
- Check for extra spaces, missing spaces, correct line spacing.
- Is there only one space after ending punctuation, including periods, question marks and exclamation marks?
Hyphens (-) vs. en dashes (–) vs. em dashes (—)
- Are they used correctly?
- Is there proper spacing around them (based on the editorial style being used)?
Image captions
- Are images labeled correctly and consistently (i.e., if each is introduced by the word “Figure”)?
- Ensure they follow sentence case or title case, per the client’s style.
Images
- Did any edges get cut off while the image was being formatted?
- Are they stretched/out of proportion?
- Do they look like they’re the right resolution?

I also have this in a downloadable checklist format. If you’d like a copy, I’d be happy to share it. Just reply to this email.

P.S. I survived! Turns out the couple in the park didn't have it in for me. I enjoyed their delicious croissant and made it back for another newsletter. 😃

Check It Out: Podcast Rec

If you enjoy play on words, learning where and how phrases originated, and just language in general, check out the podcast A Way With Words. The hosts talk about coined phrases, slang terms, regional dialects and so much more. I learn something new every time I tune in!

Something You Might Not Know About Me...

Each year I try to read (or re-read) at least one book that’s considered a classic. This year it’s been The Handmaid’s Tale by Margaret Atwood and Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen. Surprisingly it was the first time reading both of these for me.

P.S. I don’t really know who gets to name a book as a classic.

My Schedule

• Now booking assignments for 4Q2025.

• I will be out of the office October 9 and October 16-17.

What's Been On My Plate

The America's River Roots festival kicks off the celebration of our country's 250th anniversary in Cincinnati next month. I was fortunate enough to work on this Q&A with one of the event coordinators recently.

What’s up? I'd love to hear from you! Some things you might want to share: