What is a proofreading? By definition proofread is: to read (copy or printer’s proofs) to detect and mark errors to be corrected
Hiring a proofreader to do a final read through to catch missing words, misspellings, and punctuation errors. As a reader, one of the worst things is coming across is a book that has a lot of errors. Recently, there was a book I was reading. The story was engaging, the characters were fully fleshed out, and I was excited to read it. But there were so many misspellings, missing words, and mistakes in the manuscript that I was frustrated. I finished the story because the story itself was good, but readers will be turned off if an author doesn’t take the time and effort to make sure the work they put out isn’t their best. Mistakes are often reported back to retails and can be a cause for a retailer to remove your book for purchase.
Now that isn’t to say that mistakes don’t get missed. It happens, and those are not the instances I am speaking to… it is where there is a bevy of issues that aren’t addressed. You, as an author, need to make sure your reader is getting your best work, and you should want to prove your worth. A final proofing or read through from a professional can go a long way to making sure you are putting your best work out into the world.