Proof Review Process

Print Review Processes

Marking Up Word Docs and PDFs

Word docs are generally marked up using Microsoft Word, either directly making edits or using track changes. Check with the account exec if you are unsure whether you should be using track changes.

Pdfs are marked up using Adobe. If you are unfamiliar with marking up proofs using Adobe, please see our Professional Development page, under Outside Organizations, for instructions on how to use this tool.

Editor

  • Concepting Phase
    • The editor is not always brought in at this phase, but if they are, they may offer suggestions to the designer and/or writer.
  • Manuscript Reviews
    • Editor reviews the entire manuscript, including any client edits.
    • The most extensive edits are made here.
    • Editor reviews all text with an eye to the responsibilities listed here.
  • Querying Externally/Client Queries
    • Anything that the editor cannot answer themselves, particularly inconsistencies, things that feel like mistakes but are ambiguous, or items the editor is recommending against should be emailed as a list of questions to the account exec in charge of the project to pass along to the client. Write all communication as if it will be passed along directly as-is to the client with no edits or changes from the account exec. 
  • Proof Reviews
    • All proofs returning from the client are sent to the editor for review.
    • Editor reviews all new client additions with an eye to the responsibilities listed here.
    • Editor also reviews and answers or passes along any queries the copy editors may have after their review.
  • Querying Internally
    • For questions that can be answered by members of the team, the project’s Slack channel is usually recommended. However, if you need to reach someone specific, it’s a good idea to follow up or also (or instead) use a direct Slack message or email, as queries to the team Slack channel can get lost in other comments. Leaving queries on the job’s Smartsheet card is not recommended.

Copy Editor

Please see the copy edit checklist for a brief summary of what the copy editor checks.

  • Proof 1 Reviews
    • Most in-depth copy edit review before the free read.
    • If project is a redesign or completely new, copy editor also ensures all provided manuscript text also appears in the newly designed proof.
  • Proof 2 and Beyond Reviews
    • Copy edit reviews changes made by Studio/Design and ensures they have all been made. This usually results in the proof going back and forth several times between Copy Edit and Studio/Design.
  • Querying Internally/Editor or Design/Studio Queries
    • At any proof stage, the copy editor can leave queries as comments on a pdf for the editor, studio, or design. They address the person or team they need to answer the query. If they are unsure who the query is for, they can list more than one group on the query. If the queries are for the editor or possibly the client, they pass the proof back to the editor to review them and make changes or pass them along to the account exec.
  • Fact Checking
    • In very specific circumstances, usually limited to the Annual Report and alumni magazines, copy editors will provide fact checking. This is only for projects where it is being specifically requested and fact checking services have been requested in advance and time has been allocated.
    • Fact checking is usually done at earlier stages of a project (around Proof 1) and often when the project is with the client, to reduce time constraints.
    • Copy editors are not responsible for checking everything; they check items listed on the Fact Checking Guidelines page.
  • Free Reads
    • Design or Studio passes the job directly to copy edit. The copy editor thoroughly reads the job, including all captions, headers, pullquotes, eyebrows, etc. This is (hopefully) the last chance to make changes, so everything should be marked or queried.
    • For smaller projects with minimal or no changes, the free read does not need to involve the editor. However, the copy editor can always pass the proof back to the editor and, in the cases of extensive changes, should go through editor review after the copy editor. The proof goes back and forth between copy edit and the studio/design until it’s clean, after which the final pdf is generated by Studio.
  • Printer’s Proofs
    • At this last stage before printing, the copy editor compares the final pdf to the printer’s proof, making sure nothing looks strange, comparing line endings, etc. The copy editor is NOT reading the printer’s proof, however. They are welcome to call out any additional mistakes they notice, but at this late stage, only true errors should be fixed, and even then, there will need to be a discussion with the print department, and the account exec and client may need to be involved as well, since changes at this late stage usually create additional costs.

Web Review Process

Editor Review

  • How much or how little an editor does on a web project can vary widely from project to project. Usually, an editor is involved at an early stage and will have specific instructions as to what is scoped for the project.

Copy Edit Review

Bulletin

As time allows during the Bulletin job cycle, copy edit goes to the Bulletin Trello board and claims a school to work on. In the Trello card is a checklist of files, which corresponds to word docs on the server. The copy editor checks that the changes marked in each file have been made on the Bulletin website, fixes anything that was missed, queries anything they are confused or unsure about in the Trello card, and then moves the card to either the Has Queries column (if there are queries) or Ok column (if there are no queries).

Other Websites

Although this can change due to specific project guidelines, generally for new websites, copy edit does a free read of top-level pages for a website (the home page and the other landing pages). For example, in the screenshot below, the top-level pages would be the home page, Boston University, Creative Services, Onboarding Checklists, and Departments.

Jobs are listed on the Copy Edit Queue Trello board. The project manager alerts the senior managing editor that a job has come in, puts the list of pages to review in the Trello card (or simply says “top-level pages”), and moves the card to “Ready for Review.” The senior managing editor finds out which copy editor will review the job, copies them on the card, and adds them to the website to review it. The copy editor moves the card to “Under Review” when they begin to work on the job. They can put any queries they have in the card. When they are done, the copy editor moves the card to “Revision/Action Required” if they have any queries or “Approved” if there are no queries.

Copy editors make edits directly on the website.