A Note from Julie, the Greenhouse Curator: |
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This is the moment we’ve been counting down to—not only because it’s Issue 100 of The Leaflet newsletter (yay!), but because today, I’m opening the doors to the brand-new website for The Proofreader Greenhouse. 🎉  This is a soft launch, which means you, Leaflet readers, are the first ones to see the website. I’ll be sharing it publicly later this coming week, but I wanted you to have early access because this community is the heart of TPG. If anyone will notice small details (and cheer me on in the process), it’s you.  I’ll admit that sharing a new website with a group of proofreaders and editors is a little intimidating. But it also feels exactly right. You’re not just subscribers; you believe in the mission of helping proofreaders and editors thrive. I couldn’t imagine a better group to see the updated TPG website first.  Before you click over, I want to take a moment to thank my incredible sister-in-law, Sandra. She’s been part of The Proofreader Greenhouse from the beginning—brainstorming ideas, creating graphics, and helping shape the vision—so it only made sense that she would be the one to help bring this new website to life. (She’s launching her own business soon, and when she does, I’ll be sure to let you know.)  As you explore the new website, if you spot a typo, a broken link, or something that doesn’t look quite right, please let me know. You can use the contact form on the website or simply reply to this email. A quick note: Some links from past Leaflet issues might be temporarily broken while I finish setting up redirects. If you land on a page that isn’t working yet, feel free to let me know; every bit of feedback helps make the site better for the whole community.  Ready to enter the new Proofreader Greenhouse website? Click the button below. |
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This week's screenshot has three errors, but I want to focus on the axel/axle mistake. An axel is a jump in figure skating where the skater takes off facing forward and lands on the opposite foot after one and a half (or more) rotations. An axle is a rod or shaft that connects wheels so they turn together. Catch of the Week screenshots come from my transcript proofreading. I can't change what a person said, but I can make sure words are spelled correctly and punctuation marks are in the right spots. If you're interested in learning more about transcript proofreading, I wrote an article about it here. |
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This Week's Featured Proofreader or Editor: |
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Perfect Words by Amanda George |
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 The Proofreader Greenhouse asked: - What type of content do you proofread or edit?Â
Mostly academic, business or charity output, including journal articles, papers, case studies, business books and reports, but I have been known to work on fiction, which makes a welcome change.Â
 - Did you complete training for proofreading or editing?
I did the mammoth Copy-editing by Distance Learning course with the Publishing Training Centre (PTC), plus others with the PTC, and several of the CIEP courses, including the core proofreading and copy-editing training, which I am currently working my way through (I'm on level two: Headway). To say they are challenging me is an understatement, especially when studying has to be fitted around clients and other life commitments. But growth doesn't come without challenges, so I'm sticking with them.
 - What's your favorite thing about your proofreading or editing work?
I'm a details person, with mild OCD and perfectionism (Should I have admitted that?), so proofreading and editing provide a (mostly) healthy outlet for these quirks. I also love language (English, French, Latin, Italian, Spanish) and writing, so it feels very natural for me to work with other people's words, checking and tweaking them to maximise their impact. Â
 - What's the most challenging part of your work?
There are so many challenges, especially when you're a perfectionist. Here are a few:
- judging the right level of intervention (not too much, but enough)
- inadequate or missing style guides (from clients)
- tight deadlines (this is often a problem in academia)
- small budgets (which constrains what we can achieve)
- a misunderstanding of what proofreading and editing involve
- a feeling you've never done a good enough job (perfectionism) Â
 - What tip(s) can you share with other proofreaders or editors?
Communication is really important when you're running a business and dealing with people. It helps you and your client to maximise the booking – and therefore the results. Time management is also key, especially when your diary is bursting and every moment in a day needs to be leveraged. Having a dedicated workspace, and minimising distractions, are also key. And finally, I'm making better use of tools. PerfectIt is an amazing (non-AI) consistency tool, and a simple grammar and spelling check (in Word) can pick up tiny details you might have missed when you were focused on the bigger picture.
Editing and proofreading involve multi-tasking to a high level, so stacking as much in our favour as possible (in terms of tools and good working habits) will boost our results – and those of our clients.Â
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My little haworthia rarely flowers, and this bloom hasn’t even opened yet—but the stalk is growing. It feels like the perfect symbol for all the new things sprouting inside The Proofreader Greenhouse. 🌱 |
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Let's keep growing together! |
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 If this newsletter was forwarded to you or you found a link to it online, why not get The Leaflet delivered straight to your inbox? ✨ Subscribe now ✨ for grammar tips, tricky word pairs, client strategies, and helpful online tools. |
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7893 Old US Highway 52
Lexington, NC 27295, United States |
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