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Wednesday, 12 October 2016

Claire Langford gives Digital Proofreading the thumbs up

Claire Langford v2After deciding it was time to update my skills and make the transition from paper-based to on-screen proofreading (gulp!), I registered for the Publishing Training Centre’s Digital Proofreading course. The course was tailored to the needs of the attendees and covered a wide range of topics, from PDF mark-ups and Word’s Track Changes to proofreading websites. We even dabbled in a bit of HTML coding!

Having worked as a proofreader for two years, I thought I might be intimidated by the experience levels of others on the course, but my fellow attendees were a real mix of relatively-new-to-publishing and seasoned old-timers. The learning environment was such that I felt completely comfortable asking questions, and it was useful to hear how others approach the various challenges related to proofreading on-screen. We were given handouts galore which saved us from having to scribble down notes as we went along and meant that we weren’t overloaded with information on the day. We also used individual laptops to practise on-screen mark-ups: I really enjoyed this practical element of the course. A special mention goes to the course catering: I only wish I’d had a doggy bag!

Despite my previous scepticism about the advantages of proofreading on-screen, Digital Proofreading has opened my eyes to new ways of working and has reassured me that the basic techniques of proofreading remain the same, whatever medium you are working in. The course has given me the confidence to start proofreading on-screen and I came back to the office with a whole host of ideas as to how I could streamline working processes and reduce our reliance on paper.

Digital Proofreading has been replaced by Proofreading PDFs, a half-day virtual course which demonstrates the full potential of Adobe Acrobat's mark-up tools. It's packed with ideas and tips to instantly improve your working practices and help you work quickly, neatly and efficiently. Click on the link to find out more and enrol.

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Train to be a professional proofreader with Essential Proofreading, a self-study, tutor-guided course