Do you know what a “script supervisor” is? This is a person who is responsible for maintaining continuity throughout filming a major motion picture. If you were watching a film, and the main character’s hairstyle went from straight to curly between acts one and two… and then back to straight in act three with no explanation, that would be distracting. The same problem can happen in books; that’s why it’s vital that continuity is maintained from cover to cover. This is something a proofreader can help with.
As a proofreader, I take pride in my ability to pay close attention to details in order to help readers come away with a cohesive experience. What helps me with this is the style sheet I build as I’m working on any given project. In this document, I take note of a client’s preferences, as well as facts about characters and the world they inhabit. Is my client using serial commas? How many asterisks are used for section breaks? How many lines of blank space before and after those asterisks? Are they using the spelling “gray” or “grey”? It’s my responsibility to check that all of these things and more are consistent throughout the book.
Like a script supervisor, I also have to check for internal consistency of facts. If a character says they were born in Sweden in the first chapter of a book, it’s an issue if they later say they were born in Norway.
If you’re looking for someone to help with continuity and consistency in your book, I would love to help. Please reach out to me today.
Timothy