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What to include in a fiction proofreading enquiry

When you’re looking for a proofreader for your novel, a proofreading enquiry is a valuable tool in determining the best fit for you. The information you put into an enquiry form helps proofreaders work out what you’re looking for and whether they can meet your needs.

Other than availability and budget, enquiries can also show you what a proofreader is like to work with.

Read more about how to make the best use out of an enquiry form and why they’re an important indicator of who to work with.

Image by Vadim Bogulov on Unsplash

What is a fiction proofreading enquiry?

Online service businesses often have an enquiry form to fill out when you want to ask about their services. This enquiry form collects relevant information about you (the client) and your project (a novel).

You’ll then receive a reply letting you know if they have availability for your project. You might also receive follow-up questions to help them provide you with a quote.

A quote is one of the most important reasons to send a proofreading enquiry. When you’re looking for the best proofreader for your novel, sending multiple enquiries can help you:

  • Narrow down your list
  • Find out who provides free sample proofreads
  • Check who is available to work with you
  • Compare quotes

Everyone knows that writing is an expensive hobby, and self-publishing a novel is even more expensive. By getting quotes from different proofreaders, you can find out who fits within your budget.

That isn’t to say “Go for the proofreader with the least expensive quote” – but it’s an important aspect of choosing a proofreader.

With a detailed enquiry, you can find out more about your prospective proofreader(s) and determine who the best fit is for you.

Questions to ask yourself when sending a proofreading enquiry

Asking a fiction proofreader questions can help you find out more about them, but there are also questions you can ask yourself.

What is my budget?

The biggest question – but one that isn’t on every proofreader’s enquiry form – is asking what your budget for proofreading is.

If you’re self-publishing, this is a question you should ideally have asked yourself at the beginning, as it will help you budget for editor(s), a designer, and a book cover.

When am I publishing my book?

If you have a publication date in mind, brilliant! While proofreading is one of the final steps before publishing, you need to remember to build in buffer time as well.

This buffer time covers:

  • Any schedule conflicts or changes
  • Sending or applying the proofreader’s changes to the typeset book
  • Any pre-launch marketing strategies you might have

When will editing be complete?

On the other side of proofreading is editing – if you’re working with professional editors, you should have an idea already of when editing will be completed.

Once again, you need to remember to give yourself buffer time to go through the editor’s changes and feedback.

You also need to give yourself or your designer/typesetter time to transform your manuscript into a proof copy of the book.

What kind of proofreader do I want to work with?

This is the most personal question you can ask to figure out who you want to work with. Your answer might be as simple as “someone who has worked on books in my genre”, or it might be more specific and complex.

This question hopefully came up while researching proofreaders to help you narrow down who you want to contact. If it didn’t, that’s okay.

Some of the characteristics and preferences you might have for a proofreader could include:

  • What books they’ve worked on in the past (check their portfolio)
  • How many years they’ve been working in publishing
  • How they identify (especially for LGBTQ+ writers, you might be more comfortable working with an LGBTQ+ proofreader)
  • What training they’ve completed (an English degree alone isn’t enough – but if your budget is small, you might reconsider this)

How do I want to contact a proofreader?

Email is the most common method of communicating with a proofreader, but it doesn’t work for everyone. Some proofreaders are happy to offer video calls and/or phone calls with clients.

If you have any accessibility requirements, it’s worth outlining this in your enquiry so you can communicate in your preferred way as soon as possible.

Why enquiries are important when finding proofreading services for authors

There are many people out there offering proofreading services for authors, just as there are many editing services. Enquiries are usually the first point of contact between you and a proofreader, and it’s the best way to find if they’re a good fit for you and your book.

An enquiry tells the proofreader:

  • Who you are
  • What you’re writing
  • What you want them to do
  • When you want them to do it
  • How much you’re comfortable paying

Along with any other information you share with them.

Meanwhile, an enquiry helps the author find out:

  • Whether they’re available to work with you
  • Whether they can work within your budget

A response to an enquiry can tell you even more, such as how quick their response rate is (anything within 1 week is fast, within 2 weeks is ideal, and any longer might be too long); what their personality is like (are they friendly and enthusiastic? are they professional? do they make mistakes in their response?); and more.

The alternative to sending an enquiry is to send a message on social media or fill out an order form on places like Fiverr. There are issues with these methods, though they do work for some authors.

The likelihood of getting caught in a scam is lowered when you send an enquiry though, because of the inherent effort put into setting up and replying to responses. Especially compared to finding a proofreader on social media, an enquiry gives you a professional and trustworthy (or at least more trustworthy) way of communicating your needs to a proofreader.

Proofreading enquiry checklist

When you fill out a fiction proofreader’s enquiry form, make sure to:

  • Share relevant details about your book or project, such as the genre, word count, and any other important information
  • Share when you want to book with them – based on your schedule for self-publishing
  • Give the proofreader an idea of your budget – this saves you and them time
  • Ask any questions you have
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