There’s a “vs.” in the title but it’s not really a battle.
From a quick glance, it may appear simple enough: while an editor does a deep dive into the content and also considers structural and flow matters, the proofreader focuses on spelling, grammar, and punctuation. Yet there’s a bit more that goes into each, and overlaps are unavoidable.
When we think about the different stages of publishing a book, editing comes before proofreading.
An editor keeps an eye on character development, the flow of the story, whether there are inconsistencies or plot holes, what the tone and rhythm of the text are, and more. There’s usually a back-and-forth with the writer(s) where questions and suggestions are noted, and depending on specific circumstances, more or fewer changes may be applied.
If an author is being traditionally published, then the editor will be more involved and the relationship will be more back-and-forth. On the other hand, when going the self-publishing route, an editor may be hired on a freelance bases as most self-publishing houses will offer a proofreader’s services in-house, at most. (This last service may also be part of the fees paid.) In any case, a freelance editor will probably specify the number of reviews and returns, as well as deadlines, and given that the editor isn’t as affected by the text that is published, and because of the nature of self-publishing in general, authors may feel less pressure to make certain changes. (But maybe this is the more cynical perspective—plenty of writers take what feedback they are given by editors and make hearty use of it.)
Proofreaders are brought into the mix once the final version of the manuscript is completed. It would be quite silly to correct spelling, grammar, and punctuation, only for a chapter or two (or more) to be tweaked or entirely rewritten.
If proofreaders are hired on a freelance basis, there could be different stages of work that are agreed—with the differing corresponding fees. Such stages may go from a basic spelling, grammar, and punctuation check, to including some fact-, name-, and date-checking, and depending on the proofreader, edits in terms of structuring some of the content (such as changing the beginning or ending of a chapter) may be involved.
So, as you can see, editors and proofreaders complement each other in terms of what steps and tasks they carry out in the publishing industry. And both roles are important as they’re meant to bring out the best in a text, each in their own way. And yes, I say this as an editor and proofreader. We can’t be replaced by a computer checker. Yes, we can be complemented. But not replaced.
