I know this sounds silly, and if this question has been posted before I apologize for that, I don't know how to search quickly if it has.

Anyways, the title says it all. I'm not fully certain of the purposes for both sides. And which do you think it's better to get first? A proofreader or editor?

972482 Uhh... I couldn't tell you to be honest. I was under the impression that they were very similar, if not the same. But considering I'm supposedly one I should know, huh?

Hmm... I think it's just a difference in title. But if anything, a proofreader just corrects grammar and spelling, whereas an editor also makes suggestions on what to change in the plot, etc.

972482

Proofreader: Someone who points out how something can be written in a better way, or to make things flow more smoothly.

Editor: Someone who points out your flaws, misspellings and grammatical errors.

proofreaders just correct grammar and spelling, editors give creative advice, like keeping the plot on track or changing it, or just smaller details, on top of grammar and spelling

972482
If you wanted to get technical you could say that a "Proofreader" is someone who reads your work for errors but doesn't correct them (instead just telling you what you did wrong.) while an "editor" will fix the errors has he reads.

Although you may be confusing the term "proofreader" with "pre-reader" who is someone who reads your work before posting and express their opinions on it, like a beta tester. At least...that's what I think that is...

Yeah, I always think of an editor as the more in-depth proofreader. Proof readers will read your chapter and point out things that bogged the reading down. Editors do that, but also will toss ideas your way and suggestions to consider.

972482
A proofreader, in my experience, generally focuses on grammatical and spelling issues. As well as some micro edits if an obvious change is required.
An editor will work with you on making the macro elements of the piece stronger, identify and help you developed missed opportunities in the story and, if they're good, when it comes to micro-details they'll pick apart your weaker sentences and help you fine tune the entire fic.

From the way I understand it, there are three categories: prereaders, editors, and proofreaders.

Prereader - Goes over your story to assess things such as plot, humor, characterization, etc. They pretty much read your story as a normal reader would, and give you their critique as a reader.

Editor - Goes over your story to assess grammar, punctuation, spelling, etc. Doesn't necessarily worry about anything else, instead just making sure your story is good by a technical standpoint.

Proofreader - A prereader and editor combined. A proofreader will go over all of your story and give you advice and corrections in every aspect.

EDIT - Or perhaps I have proofreader and editor mixed up? I'm not sure, but that's my understanding.

972482 a proofreader is someone that goes through the documents and looks for grammatical and spelling errors such as typos. An editor is someone that goes through a document looking for not only grammatical and spelling errors but also mechanical errors and a few other things that I forget at the moment.

hope this helps

972482
I see it on a scale.

Pre-readers give you general feedback as a reader, with any issues they happen to notice.
Proofreaders go over spelling, grammar, cohesion, pacing, and other surface-level or structural issues.
Editors will go over pretty much everything, and will help rework entire sections or chapters if necessary. They're in deep to tear your lovely darling apart and rebuild it as the best story you could make.
Co-authors are actually writing the damn thing with you, so they have some level of control over the story, whereas an editor can be followed or ignored at leisure. You don't want to do the latter in most cases...

Spelling

A proofreader fixes your bad grammar. An editor gives you critique and suggestions on how to make your story better.

Given the lack of agreement in the answers so far, it is probably safer to assume that you will need to specify what you want rather than just say "editor" or "proofreader.". If there's no widely agreed-upon answer here then there probably isn't one in the general FiMfic community either, no matter what the "right" answer is.

972482

As I'm editing a story, I go through the story and change grammar and make it flow more smoothly. I'm editing Fluttershy the Marewolf by BuddistBrony. I've only done Chapter 1 so far.

I'd appreciate if you took a look!

972482 I use the title interchangeably, but (taken with a grain of salt, if you understand) the difference seems to be that a proofreader is just reading for grammar and mechanics and spelling. The Editor is like, a contributing editor who's fixing subpar prose as well.

972482

Proofreading is just going over the story for technical errors, nothing more. Editors work with the author in order to improve the the writing itself as well as the content and ideas of a story.

972482
It doesn't seem like there's any consensus among the fandom or those here on what exactly the difference is, but as a member of The Proofreader Group, I do hold my own personal definitions of the terms. However, I'd like to add this as a disclaimer: It doesn't matter much what they're called, it's up to you to outline what you expect of them. When I receive a request, I make a point of telling them the basics of what I do and asking them what they need and expect of me.

Prereader: A person that takes a look at your story or chapter before it's published to discuss things like continuity, characterization, prose and descriptiveness, flow, or any possible confusion.

Proofreader: A person whose primary focus is grammar and other technical aspects including those assigned to prereaders. However, they are most likely to only give feedback pertaining to the story up to the current point, and more often than not, the proofreader won't worry much about the story overall. This is why it's important to outline your expectations. There are proofreaders that make decent editors, but they're still more inclined to look over your grammar, usage and mechanics.

Editor: A proofreader and prereader combined at the base level, but also with the additional aspect being there to assist in editing aspects of your story. You can generally run ideas that come to you by an editor or just write them out and see what they think. An editor will review your story first, and proof it later.

After the level of editor you get into co-authoring your story since any more involvement and the other person may as well be writing the story with you.

Hope this clears some things up since it looks like you got a lot of mixed answers from this thread. If you're looking for a proofreader or editor you can always check out The Proofreader Group and Looking for Editors.

975571
Yeah I do received a lot of mixed answers. But after analyzing every single one of them, seems like the definition of each of those terms turned out very similar from your point of view.

Proofreaders point out your flaws, from grammar to oddly written sentences. An editor fixes up the mistakes for you. And a pre-reader only reads your story and gives you a critique. Those were my initial thoughts before I posted this thread, but now I realize what really matters is to give your specific expectations so the editor, proofreader or pre-reader can act accordingly.

975628
Excellent, glad to have helped. Though I'm really sure where the whole "Proofreaders won't actually fix the errors" thing comes from. That's not how I do it at least. I'll fix the errors and put them as a side by side comparison with the original so the author can see where the mistakes were made. Then they can learn from the frequent ones and I end up with less to fix in the future.

I really do treat it as more of a tutor-student relationship rather than a business relationship.