Honesty and Respect

There is a certain amount of honesty needed when proofreading, and that would be complete honesty. The promise of proofreading a book (or other works) requires the proofreader to be 100% candid with their feedback with a bit of finesse. They need to be able to tell the hard truths, but politely.

Bad example: "You're story makes no sense at [insert certain part] and needs to be rewritten."

Good example: "At this [insert certain part], it doesn't make a whole lot of sense. [This] and [that] could be like [this] in order to flow with your story better. If you agree, can this part be rewritten?"

You can be honest about your feedback without being brash about it. I had an author state that they received feedback that was very critical and harsh regarding the same book I proofread. The author said my feedback was "very nice to hear and will be making the specific changes" that I suggested. The way I see it, why be rude about this work of art that the author has put a lot of heart, thought, and effort into?

Anyways, that's my two cents on being honest, but also being respectful. It was upsetting to hear that someone was so rude and dismissive about the aforementioned author's book. It was an enjoyable read with very few errors and needed very little critiques. The author did an amazing job considering they never had the book edited.

I hope this opens some eyes on how to better treat the client. Sorry for the rant.

Have a great week everyone!