“I need an editor.” “I need a copy-editor.” “I need a proof reader.”
“Oh, I need someone to review my work.”   Who or what exactly do you
need?

Some people use these words inter-changeably, with the assumption that one cannot be that different from the other.

Let’s try dissecting the two.

Editing and proofreading both require making some changes on a written work, but that is as far as the similarity goes.

Editing:

An
editor in this case sees to the internal consistency of a work.  A very
quick and simple example:  if it is ‘Vivian’ in page two, it should
still be ‘Vivian’ and not ‘Vivienne’ in page ten.

An editor
ensures there is no ambiguity of any kind, and thatthe meaning is the
same to everyone who picks up the work.  In other words, editors see to
the clarity of an author’s message.

Editors also ensure continuity
of storyline in the case of novels or other narrative works. Chapter
one should not talk about a certain Mr. James and his gang who robbed
two banks in a day and then he and his gang are not to be mentioned or
linked to the rest of the story. So why were they in the story in the
first place? There must be something taking the reader back to that
incident.

In a nutshell, editors make a work clearer and more
understandable This is why they are expected to have the requisite
knowledgeon the subject of any work; fiction or non-fiction, which
enables them remove, reconstruct or re-write entire sentences or
paragraphs. Yes, they enjoy that liberty by reason of their craft.

So, we can see that an editor’s work can be simple or compound, depending on the experience of the author.

Proofreading:

A
proof reader comes in after the editor is done with his part of the
work.  They deal with the final draft but do not necessarily have to
have expert knowledge of subject of work.

Basically, a proof
reader has no business with content, as they are not paid to make any
major changes, even if the work sucks. They can, of course, point out
certain parts of the work for revision or even make suggestions, but
that is as far as they can go. They do not enjoy the liberty an editor
enjoys in that regard.

A proof reader takes care of spellings, grammatical and typographical errors.

A
proof reader takes care of other things like page numbering, footnotes,
page margins, style format, etc, things that an editor may have
overlooked or not have the time for.

In a nutshell, a proof reader formats. They see to it that the manuscript is ready for the print.

So, when next you ask for help, know exactly what you want and be ready to pay for it!