EVERYTHING needs to be checked before it goes somewhere. From company reports to family newsletters to dissertations, resumes and cover letters. Sometimes proofreading even means comparing figures to make sure those figures were correctly entered. I can help you with that. I can proofread for grammar, spelling, punctuation, and missed or wrong words. 

Copy editing is a more extensive form of proofreading.  It means checking for awkward sentences, continuity, logic, and whether or not it all makes sense, occasionally revising sentences. Copy editing adds clarity while keeping the voice and intent of the writer.

Rewriting and/or reformatting technical documentation, checking for errors, moving from one type of document to another (PDF to Word or Excel for example).

Your masterpiece is finally some form of finished, but you're not sure it works. You want an editor to go through not just for grammar or punctuation, but to make sure the story flows, the characters are complete, the chapters and scenes work in the order they are written in, and that there's enough tension to keep the reader turning the page.

While clear communication between the writer and the proofreader or copyeditor is important, it's even more important between a writer and the developmental editor. Be prepared to put together a list of specific things you want me to look for while going through your book. Also provide a synopsis of the work and a list of characters.

(Actually, this writer probably puts it much more succinctly, but you can read my version down below. Check out this Writers Digest article on what to look for in an editor by Tanya Egan Gibson.)

What, specifically, are you looking for?

• Before hiring anyone, ask yourself what you are looking for in your freelancer.
• Proofreader, copyeditor, editor? Is your project complete? The time to hire someone to proofread, copy edit or edit your work is not when you are "almost" done. The time to hire someone for those tasks is only after you have completed your book. Until your book is finished, nothing else matters. You should be so tired of your book that you don't even want to look at it for at least a month, because that's how long it will take once the freelancer begins work on your manuscript. Once they fit you into their schedule.
• Realistically, what is your time frame? Do you have a schedule you must adhere to? In my experience, most schedules are manufactured "hurryness." Unless you have an editor waiting for your masterpiece, then you have time. It took time to write your masterpiece. Give your freelancers the time we need to help you make it a little bit better.
• If you do have an actual schedule, then keep this in mind when finding your freelancer. Ask them what their schedule is. Freelancers are people, too. We might work on your book at 3 a.m. on a Wednesday morning, but that doesn't mean we don't take Sundays off, have dinner, see friends, go on vacation or like to have time off for Thanksgiving, Christmas, Yom Kippur, Festivus, Valentine's Day, or in short, have a life.
• Be aware of a realistic time frame. A full fledged book will take longer than a week, at least two weeks and possibly a month, or even longer, depending what you are asking of the freelancer and what their schedule is.

What are you, the writer, responsible for? What is the freelancer responsible for?

• Proofreading, copyediting and editing are very specific skillsets. Your proofreader, copyeditor or editor is not a substitute for taking a writing class, being in a writers group or having a critique partner. They have very specific tasks — it is their job to find problems with your work. That's it. And if they are good, they will find 80-90% of the grammar, spelling, syntax and other errors in your work. If they are very good, they may find 95%. Once you get it back from them, you are responsible for finding that last 5-20%, because it is your manuscript and your work. Your responsibility. They might be nice people and volunteer information and support, but if you want critique and feedback and to take your writing to the next level, then find a writers group and be willing to get constructive criticism.
• It's your — the writer's — job to take ownership of your work. Not only should you complete your book before showing it to a proofreader, but you should have rewritten and revised it several times, had it read by friends, family, a writing teacher or critique partner before even thinking of showing it to a proofreader, copyeditor or editor. Sending it off to someone like me who will charge you a minimum of $30 an hour for a book that could take anywhere from 10 to 30 hours of work should be one of the last things you do, not one of the first. And think about how much more that will cost if you're hiring me for copyediting or developmental editing?
• If you are self-publishing your work then you will need to take ownership of everything — from the dedication to the cover to the photographs and uploading of the book. Don't expect your proofreader to be your critique partner. Don't expect your illustrator to be your computer tech who uploads and fixes things for you. You either need to dig in and figure things out for yourself, or save your pennies and hire people with the requisite expertise in what you need (proofreading, graphic design and illustration, layout and upload, marketing).
• Book layout for print publication or ebook book publication and uploading or self-publishing. Sometimes people you work with might know a little bit about these things and help you with them (for a fee), but places like Lulu, Amazon (CreateSpace/Kindle), BookLocker, Lightning Source, and Smashwords have specific people you can hire to format and upload your work. Or, you can dig in and figure it out for yourself. Or you can see if there's a proofreader/editor out there willing to format a manuscript for you. But when self-publishing, ultimately, you are the one responsible for uploading your file and upkeeping your file. You will be the one responsible for the marketing of your book.
  
  Don't ever assume that the writing and publishing of a book will provide you with a "passive" income.